Scantips.com is perhaps the best place for you to start when trying to understand how to improve your scans. It is an excellent resource and is geared toward beginners and intermediate users. In response to Joann - check out http://scantips.com/simple.html. It may get a "little" into the technical side of things - and if you have a hard time with it - feel free to email me.DPI IS COMPLETELY IRRELEVANT FOR COMPUTER DISLAY. Montiors use pixels as a measurement - printers use dots as a measurement. It doesn't matter if you scan something at 10dpi or 500dpi. For those of you that use photoshop - what you have to understand is that when you change the dpi in the photoshop - you may also be adjusting the other settings. If you set your dimensions to a fixed number (but change dpi) your scan will look exactly the same.To show you - here are a few scans borrowed from st.com7dpi72dpi720dpiAll three have the same pixel dimensions but print different sizes.There are many many factors that affect one's ability to produce a quality image. I'm not going to go into all of them here - that's what scantips.com is for. The quality of your scanner will make a huge difference. Some use higher quality bulbs and optics and there is just no replacement for that. As many have suggested - Epson perfection is a great line and many, many professionals use their top end models. Cannon and HP also make some excellent products, although I have found that their lines are not as consistent in quality. Just do some research and you'll be fine. Anthony Nex is a professional photographer (if memory serves me right) and he uses a Canon 4400f - so all of those in the market for a new one might want to look at that. The Epson perfection 4480 (or 4490 - which ever is current) is always a solid buy and will run you about $100-$150 depending on where you buy it fromMonitor calibrators are great - however - they are expensive and an item that will not garner a good ROI for many here. Setting the B&W points is a great way to get a better quality scan. Speaking of which - your software is also VERY IMPORTANT!!! Many scanners come with built in software and that can be okay. If you are comfortable learning and using new software - I suggest looking into 3rd party photo editors. Photoshop CS is wonderful - but cost prohibitive to a number of people. Elements is a nice alternative (http://tinyurl.com/36rb9f) - that's a linke to new egg for $72.00 with free shipping. Older versions can always be had for less and are often good alternatives.Feel free to contact me at shoelessjoe@blacksoxfan.com or ted@cardpricer.com and i'll do my best to help you with your questions. Regards,Black Sox Fan- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -email meThe Black Sox Blog