I'm currently still using my CanoScan F910114 from ~2006 (pictured). The light recently burned out, but it still works for scanning documents if I add some contrast and brightness after the fact. Not great for photographs, though.
If I'm not able to replace the light, I might be in the market for a new scanner. Are there any that you all recommend for durability and potential repairability?
Obviously no electronics are truly going to be BIFL, but I figure I can at least aim high and see what I can find.
Edit: Thank you all for your replies! I'm probably going to go for a used Epson Perfection v600 or v700. I've learned a lot about scanners following your leads.
unless it is part of multi machine from HP, in which case, if you happen to use incorrect ink cartridges, or you have had your unit too long, all features will stop working even though they are not dependent.
I have no love or brand loyalty, but the color laser printer i have from HP has been great. I've had it a little over three years, and when I bought it, printers were hard to find. So I couldn't get a Brother at the time.
Not an option for me, I'm afraid. If I were casually scanning a few documents here or there a phone app might be okay, but I have a lot of old photographs to scan. I really need the accuracy and quality of a proper flatbed scanner. :3
Ah, yes. I was in the same situation, and it would have been impractical for me to use my smartphone. I was lucky enough to have access to a high-end document scanner, which really made the process easy.
I wish I had something specific to offer you, but best of luck in your search!
Got one of those LIDE scanners back in the day in college. It was USB-powered so I could go to the university library with my laptop, and scan book excerpts to PDF instead of having to pay copying fees. OCR so it was searchable too. Was so dope. Still have it, bet it still works.
I wish I had one of these again. I used to use a combo printer/scanner back in the day. Good for scanning CDs for their cover art, ones that are harder to simply find good art for already on the internet (when ripping those CDs into digital files).