List of drum scanner manufacturers.

Listing of scanner models and specs, links, and information about all known drum scanners that we could find. For pre-press, design and graphics shops, service bureaus, advertising agencies, and in-house publishing, drum scanners are the expected level of professional quality.

Now that prices have come down from the stratosphere, drum scanners should be seriously considered by all who work with large format printers. Your large format printer needs plenty of dpi for those giant enlargements.

The favorite way for flatbed scanner companies to compete is to suggest their scanners are "drum scanner quality." This type of claim shows all the more pointedly that it takes a real drum scanner to produce drum scanner quality. Several manufacturers of flatbed scanners have recognized the advantages of a flatbed scanner (namely that it is flat). ScanView, FujiFilm, and Heidelberg (Linotype-Hell, LinoColor) all used to produce professional quality flatbed scanners as well as drum scanners.

When drum scanner companies first entered the flatbed market they attempted to bring their high asking price to the flatbed world. Thus the first Howtek flatbed scanner (about 5 years ago) was ridiculously overpriced and offered a measly 1200 dpi or something similar to consumer level/entry level flatbeds which cost (then) less than $4000 and today cost less than $1800. The newer Howtek flatbed scanners are not as unreasonable, but if you want a professional flatbed scanner, at least get one with high-end capabilities, namely FujiFilm FineScan, Heidelberg, Creo EverSmart, Screen or comparable. We made the effort to track down as complete a list as we could.

Aztek bought what was left of Howtek. The scans Howtek and Aztek did for us several years ago were poor quality. The current models of Aztek are different, but if a company is not willing to provide a scanner for long-range testing, and since we know and trust the ICG, it is the ICG that we recommend, as well as the Screen drum scanner at the high end.

Celare Technologies Budde International sells ScanView high end as well as an unusual entry level ScanMate Magic. We do not know if this brand or model still exists.

Crosfield DuPont changed hands, bought by Fuji. No longer made. If you have a used one, if it works, it ought to be good...until you need spare parts.

Eurocore Scantronix in USA Hi-Scan, 10,000 dpi, several models, Windows version includes SilverFast interface. We do not know if this brand or model still exists. Lots of drum scanner products have totally disappeared in the last three years.

Fujifilm Electronic Imaging Fuji makes industrial strength drum scanners for professional prepress, Celsis 6250 and 5250 inherited from Crosfield. We will check at DRUPA 2004, but based on comments made in 2003, Fuji is moving out of the prepress drum scanner business.

Howtek HiResolve, low end. Test scans were so bad we could not use them without massive repair, but probably if we tried other transparencies and if our own staff could do the test perhaps the results would be better. At least one Aztek seemed to be a Howtek scanner with a different label and different software. The one set of test scans from this were also not useable, but it may have been a problem in the original transparencies.

ICG formerly Itek Colour Graphics, then ICG, then bought by Global Graphics hardware. Reborn as Heights after being in limbo for a year after a management buyout. Models 330i, 360, and 370 drum scanner. Circa end of 2003, ICG reappeared on the scene via DCS Associates, we will report it what we see at Photokina 2004. DCS Associates now owns the original name of ICG so their new web site (as of summer 2004) is ICG.ltd.uk. Contact is Andre Fletcher, andre@dcs-imago.com. Their current model is the ICG 380. We are not able to recommend any scanner we have not used ourselves in-house (we have not used any ICG at FLAAR itself), but the people behind DCS Associates and Colour People are capable and honorable.

Imacon (Denmark) upright CCD scanner. This is not a drum scanner no matter how much their clever and frankly exaggerated ads claim it. We repeat this, this brand is not a drum scanner and ads that claim or use the designation of drum scanner are potentially misleading. If you want a drum scanner, then you do not want an Imacon because it is not a PMT technology.

Imaco (Canada) No relation to Imacon. QCS-4100 Drum Scanner (I did not find this in any published list of drum scanners; fished it out entirely by coincidence). I have no idea if this company still exists.

Isomet 405HR, 455HR, up to 12500 dpi sounds rather high-end. This company fizzled out long ago.

JEI Corporation, Juno Enterprises Corporation. This drum scanner no longer exists.

Linotype-Hell, Heidelberg Tango. The best of the best, but no longer made.

Optronics ColorGetter. We have received complaints about failures in Optronics drum scanner; mute point because the company probably no longer makes these models. But be wary of used ones lurking on eBay. Never buy a used scanner if the company or that model no longer exists.

ScanView Scanmate, various models. Their flatbeds are being sold from stock on hand; whether this scanner is still being developed (in the sense of improved models) is unclear.

Although normally we do not recommend used equipment, this Screen scanner is doing great for Gary Kerr in his giclee print shop. But never buy any used scanner unless you pay with a credit card, and, have in writing, a 30-day return right. And it would not be a good idea to buy any used printer from a company that no longer exists.

Screen USA SG-8060P, 12,000 dpi. No scanner in their booth at DRUPA 2004 but evidently this SG-8060P Mark II drum scanner is still available. This is one of the great traditional drum scanners. We know someone who has a used earlier model, and he likes the results.

Storm, a company in Germany which repackaged scanners from OEM sources; went bankrupt in the USA. They did not exhibit at DRUPA 2004, nor did I hear a peep about them while in Germany.

As you can see, more than half the drum scanner manufacturers went belly up between 1999 and 2002 (most failed in the last two years). Why?

Because the average American either swallows the hype of flatbed scanners, or is afraid they can't handle a true drum scanner, or they know the average American client just wants a cheap scan. But if you want drum scanner quality, you need not only a drum scanner, but a really good one.

Elsewhere, however, be wary of drum scanner companies who market flatbeds at outrageous prices (such as the infamous Howtek 2500 which had only a measly 600x1200 dpi, yet was priced at $15,900 in its day). You could have bought two Umax Mirage flatbeds for that price.

High quality flatbed scanners do exist, the Creo EverSmart Jazz+ was about $15,000 and the first scanner of this price that really offered performance. It's replacement is the much better iQsmart2 and iQsmart3. Both the Creo iQsmart models have impressive specifications and lower prices than the Jazz models they replaced. Fuji also makes excellent flatbed scanner in these price ranges. But these too are reportedly available, but no longer manufactured.

Otherwise, a truly professional 13 x 18" flatbed is $45,000 and produces absolutely outstanding scans. Realize that you need anti-Newton Glass for scanning 4x5 and 8x10 transparencies. Nonetheless, there are certain jobs that really need a drum scanner.

I would personally prefer to work with a drum scanner of a major manufacturer rather than a company which is not as well known internationally. Based on our initial survey we recommend you check out scanners by Heidelberg, Fuji, Screen, and ICG. We especially like the dual capability of several ICG drum scanners. You can obtain an optional drum which has special slots (one for 35mm, another for 6x6, another for 4x5). With this optional drum you do not have to slather your precious film with oil or other mounting liquids. Whereas this is traditional (and recommended) for trained prepress operators, the majority of the new graphics shops going into business nowadays, they do not have time to clean the oil off, nor time to train the operators. The newer generation wants a scanner that operates after you unpack it from the box.

Almost all the scanner manufacturers require that tests and evaluations of their scanners take place in their company offices (somewhat understandable when a scanner costs $34,000 to $54,000).

However such tests are not realistic for an end user because a realistic test has to last more than a mere 30 days. If you are about to plunk down $25,000 to $50,000 for a scanner, you want to read the evaluation results of someone (like FLAAR) who has used the equipment continuously for a long time.

Hence the FLAAR policy is to evaluate and recommend only those scanners that we have used in our own office under actual prepress or photo archive conditions. Actually it is easier for us to find the strong points and selling points of a scanner when we have it on open-ended long-term loan in our own office. There, in peace and quiet, we can learn everything about a scanner.

Creo was the prepress company that recognized the potential of doing such outside independent evaluations of their EverSmart flatbed scanner. Creo realized their scanner would do just fine in the FLAAR office, indeed after the first month we are still discovering hidden gems inside the fabulous Creo prepress scanner software.

Not many drum scanner companies were still functioning enough to exhibit at DRUPA '04: Screen did not have their drum scanner on exhibit. Fuji and Heidelberg no longer make theirs. Only ICG had a drum scanner out of 17 giant halls full of equipment at DRUPA 2004. We will see if there are any drum scanner survivors at Photokina '04.

Conclusion: if you want a drum scanner, Screen makes the traditional horizontal variety, of quality comparable to the best of old-fashioned Hell drum scanners. If you want a professional drum scanner but at half the price of a Screen, try the ICG drum scanner.

If you prefer a flatbed scanner, then we recommend the one we use ourselves on a daily basis, the Creo EverSmart Supreme.

If you would like additional information on high-quality flatbed scanners for prepress, for scanning slides, or for scanning artwork, we suggest you contact Parrot Digigraphic. They work with universities, libraries, museums, prepress shops, print shops, giclee ateliers, and photographers: contact e-mail imaging@parrotcolor.com, fax (978) 670-7744, Tel (978) 670-7766.

Last updated July 29, 2004.
Previously updated: June 1, 2004, Feb. 5, 2004, January 21, 2004, Aug. 12, 2002.