How do Creo , Heidelberg, Fuji, Screen USA Cezanne and Scanview prepress professional flatbed scanners compare as options instead of a drum scanner?

The Fuji C-550 Lanovia made a notable impression for its high quality and industrial-strength construction. But it turned out that people who actually wanted to buy one after reading my review complained that Fujifilm was difficult to locate and even harder to contact.

I even went to their booth at GraphExpo '99 trade show in Chicago and no one appeared interested in the slightest about discussing the scanners other than to indicate that a revised attribute was now included.

No Lanovia scanner as at the Fuji booth at PMA trade show; no Lanovia at the Fuji booth at CeBIT computer trade show either (and neither the OEM version at the Agfa booth either). Three years later I am still unable to name a specific reseller who handles the nice Fuji scanners. Yet I personally know several places who are highly experienced with the Creo scanners.

Heidelberg Prepress released an impressive looking new high-end flatbed, the Nexscan, but the managers in the USA said that tests had to be done in a Linocolor facility. The Purup-Eskofot scanner faired poorly in quality tests by Seybold. In any event, Purup-Eskofot said they had no interest in providing a model for another review (rather understandable if the scanner did not do well in an earlier test). Purup-Eskofot said I had to come to their company to do the test in their office. (They don't seem to understand that a real-world test means that the end user needs to have the unit in their own office, to see if he/she can actually make the scanner work as well as the ads claim it is supposed to).

This leaves the field wide open for Creo. Now here is a company that understands what prepress professionals want in a flatbed scanner. Even more important, Creo is flexible enough to recognize that in the Internet millennium that prepress professionals do come to a review site on the Internet to check out $45,000 scanners just as easily and successfully as the Internet is the source for $400 scanners (recognizing the obvious difference in market segment).

Creo is definitely in the top three of the highly regarded heavy-duty prepress and printing companies. A demo model of the Creo EverSmart supreme arrived at our office (mid-March, 2000), so we will fill this site with a complete report on the multiple capabilities of these renowned prepress flatbed scanners.

That same year Creo beefed up its EverSmart scanners with the EverSmart Jazz and EverSmart Jazz+ (up to 2540 dpi, and for a Creo scanner this means over the entire bed, not merely a sweet spot down the middle). Most other scanners such as Umax give their top scan rating only for a narrow strip down the middle of the bed. XY stitching is what brings full-dpi to the entire bed (12x17 inches in this case).

The Jazz was manufactured by Microtek, indeed you could get the same scanner at less price from Microtek itself. Difference is that with Microtek you don't get the Creo software (which is very good).

Since Microtek is sort of the low-end of the market, if you are a pre-press shop or aspire for a name in the fine art giclee world, your clients would prefer to see something better than a Microtek or Umax. These two brands are not bad, it's just they are the Ford and Chevy of scanners. Creo is the Rolls Royce.

By the summer of 2002 the Jazz and Jazz+ (and the EverSmart Pro II) had been replaced by the Creo iQsmart2, the iQsmart3 and the Select. The EverSmart Supreme II is now the top of the line (USB 2 version to replace the earlier SCSI version).

Prices have dropped substantially. FLAAR does not sell scanners, but you can find out from a licensed Creo dealer, Parrot Digigraphic, e-mail imaging@parrotcolor.com. If you with to obtain information directly from Kodak, their telephone is 800 929-9209, e-mail scanner@creo.com (this e-mail is valid worldwide).

Unfortunately Heidelberg dropped out of scanners, as did Agfa. The only top quality scanners in mid-range price are the iQsmart2 and the FineScan 2750 from Fujifilm Electronic Imaging. If we ever can find a dealer for the excellent Fuji scanners we will update these pages. We prefer to recommend dealers who also know wide format inkjet printers and digital imaging in general.

The history of these scanners started with Scitex. They were bought by Creo and named CreoScitex for a while. Then Creo dropped the name Scitex the the scanners became well known as "Creo scanners." Then a few years later Kodak bought Creo and is already dropping the name Creo. The Supreme scanner model, has remained their top of the line, with occasional tweaks such as the upgrade from SCSI to USB 2.

 

What better way to prepare an image for an eventual giclee fine art print on a ColorSpan, HP, Roland, Mutoh Biojet, or the newer faster Mimaki JV-5?

Get a head start by using a Creo, Heidelberg or Fuji scanner. The downside of a used scanner is that they don’t work on Mac OS X operating system.

The book "Understanding Digital Color" (2nd edition), uses the Creo scanner to illustrate a high-end flatbed scanner. Out of the dozens of professional scanners available, the Creo Smart 340 was selected. This model is the ancestor of today's EverSmart series, which are considerably more advanced.

If you are in the USA, and have general questions about Creo scanners, you can obtain further information from Creo (Kodak) directly: 1 800 685-9462.

The better scanners include an oil-mounting station. This allows you to mount your slides off-site while the scanner is busy at work (you are not required to oil-mount them). At least one of the top boxes is this mounting station.

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• Most recently updated April 18, 2006.
  Redesign May. 2004/ Updated Dec. 20, 2001, updated Aug. 1, 2002, updated March 8, 2006.