What A Difference A Scan Makes

[T206Collector]

With a little help from my Canon MP990 scanner, and Google's free Picasa software, I was able to turn this card, which I bought on ebay last week...



...into this card, which I just got in the mail this afternoon...



I wonder how much of a discount I got because of the quality of the scan.

Anybody else have a similar story?

[chaddurbin]

a nominal one, maybe? bottom right corner looks a lil weak.

[Touch'EmAll]

I recently bought a new scanner. After looking here at prior posts, it seemed the most important aspect of a scanner is to get a "CCD" type.

Sure enough, I hooked it up and Wow! The quality of scans if much more clear and true vibrant color.

I too was wondering if all these years a non-CCD scanner was costing me on ebay.

[insidethewrapper]

Looks nice. What did you use as settings ? How does the google software work?

Need help from a senior with little computer knowledge. Thanks.

[phikappapsi]

If the card was raw, I'd say a lot...but honestly, I think once you get into the mid grade stuff, you're basically looking at SMR +/- a little bit, depending on competition from other bidders

[E93]

Looks better, but I prefer not to enhance the saturation. One can tell by how black the holder is that the color is enhanced in some way.
JimB

[T206Collector]

Originally Posted by insidethewrapper

Looks nice. What did you use as settings ? How does the google software work?

Need help from a senior with little computer knowledge. Thanks.

I use the default scanner settings. Then I crop, and adjust the highlighting and shadowing, through Picasa. Pretty simple.

I was being rhetorical about the difference in value, but I do think a great scan can make a difference in attracting peripheral bidders.

[Matthew H]

Originally Posted by E93

Looks better, but I prefer not to enhance the saturation. One can tell by how black the holder is that the color is enhanced in some way.
JimB

+1

The worst situation is getting an Old Judge in the mail with a weaker photo than shown in the scan. I've tried to train my eyes to see enhanced contrast in a scan but it can be hard to tell in a photo. These days, if I don't know the seller, I'll just ask them if they've enhanced it.

Edit: Another good way to tell if color or contrast has been enhanced is by looking at the flip color, if it's graded.