Testing Canoscan 9000F

Anyone have any tips or tricks for this scanner. I've been messing with it for a few hours, and am a little overwhelmed.


300 dpi using photobucket 640x480



600 dpi using photobucket 640x480

600 dpi photobucket 1024x768


600 dpi toploader vs. no top loader photobucket 640x480


600 dpi photobucket 1024*760










Uploaded from my website, no photobucket

300 dpi



600 dpi

600 dpi toploader


300 dpi


600 dpi

For my 9000F I use VueScan software which is quite nice. I scan at 300 dpi and use auto save from Scan. Light grain reduction, Sharpen, and 100% JPEG output. File size is usually 1 MB and look great.

D-Lite said:

For my 9000F I use VueScan software which is quite nice. I scan at 300 dpi and use auto save from Scan. Light grain reduction, Sharpen, and 100% JPEG output. File size is usually 1 MB and look great.

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I'll definitely check it out. I'm still playing with auto settings on the software it came with. Here are some more examples.

Hitting autoscan on the machine



With fade correction


with backlight correction


with both

i think most scanners are good. the real issue is finding the few that scan slabs nicely.

Example from my Canoscan 9000F

jbhofmann said:

Example from my Canoscan 9000F

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Great looking scan. What settings are you using?

moxacaine said:

i think most scanners are good. the real issue is finding the few that scan slabs nicely.

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CCD element

IUjapander said:

Great looking scan. What settings are you using?

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Default 300DPI-Top open

Damn. Guess the cat's out of the bag about the scanner!


I use the default settings, mostly because I am 100% scanner ignorant. 95% of the time, it turns out exactly how I want it anyway, but can anyone point me in the right direction for how to do the backlight correction, fade correction, brightness/contrast adjusting, etc.? I have photoshop that I use for extreme cases, but I don't want to have to go through the process of opening the program, opening the file and editing it there every time I want to scan a base chrome auto (base almost always scan way too dark)

All The Hype said:

Damn. Guess the cat's out of the bag about the scanner!


I use the default settings, mostly because I am 100% scanner ignorant. 95% of the time, it turns out exactly how I want it anyway, but can anyone point me in the right direction for how to do the backlight correction, fade correction, brightness/contrast adjusting, etc.? I have photoshop that I use for extreme cases, but I don't want to have to go through the process of opening the program, opening the file and editing it there every time I want to scan a base chrome auto (base almost always scan way too dark)

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It should have come with a program called IJ Scan Utility. Then once that is open the option on the right is ScanGear.

That open into the settings

moxacaine said:

i think most scanners are good. the real issue is finding the few that scan slabs nicely.

Click to expand...

Don't have a lot of graded stuff but here is one from each of the three.

All of these are 600dpi, Unsharp mask ON, Backlight Correction LOW.

I've had this scanner for close to a year, and to be honest, I never even gave the built in software a glance until now. I've been using Instant Photo Scanner in an XP Mode window because I've been more concerned with quantity than quality, but I thought I would give it a shot. I typically scan at 600dpi and resize down to 1000 pixels on the longest size. The 600dpi seems to get me the smoothest image and does a lot to cut down on weird moire patterns on cheaply produced cards.

Here is a 1999 Topps Chrome, first with Instant Photo Scanner. I don't really know how to compare the settings as it doesn't have as many options as the stock software:



And this is the same card using the Canon MP Navigator EX software that shipped with it, with Backlight Correction and Fading Correction both set to low with the Unsharp Mask on:



I'm not sure there's much more that can be done to scan such a mirror surface as this set has, especially around the border.

I'd never really tried out the slide scanning attachment, so here are three slides I picked up on eBay recently (the Winfield is pretty old, so some age spots are apparent). The scanner defaulted to 1200dpi for these and I set the Fading Correction to High.

Slightly off topic: Is there a tougher card to scan than the 93 SP Jeter?

jbhofmann said:

Slightly off topic: Is there a tougher card to scan than the 93 SP Jeter?

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Pretty much any card I have with a foil surface is a XXXXX.

jbhofmann said:

Slightly off topic: Is there a tougher card to scan than the 93 SP Jeter?

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No. There is no card made that is as difficult to scan as the 93 SP Foils. No matter what you do, they always look 100X worse when scanned.

@lasershow15

jbrown said:

No. There is no card made that is as difficult to scan as the 93 SP Foils. No matter what you do, they always look 100X worse when scanned.

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Haha I was like damn! These things look awful scanned.

All The Hype said:

Damn. Guess the cat's out of the bag about the scanner!


I use the default settings, mostly because I am 100% scanner ignorant. 95% of the time, it turns out exactly how I want it anyway, but can anyone point me in the right direction for how to do the backlight correction, fade correction, brightness/contrast adjusting, etc.? I have photoshop that I use for extreme cases, but I don't want to have to go through the process of opening the program, opening the file and editing it there every time I want to scan a base chrome auto (base almost always scan way too dark)

Click to expand...

After all of that testing, I've found that the default setting (with AUTOMASK: ON) is the best setting. Using any of the other filters makes the card stand out too much from the rest of my other scans. For slabs, on some of them you do have to play around a little with the settings.

Next problem/question.

How do I get the autocrop to work? It is really hit or miss right now with a single card whether or not it automatically crops it. If I have more than one card, it does no cropping whatsoever. Has to be some way to save some time. Anyone care to chime in?

IUjapander said:

How do I get the autocrop to work? It is really hit or miss right now with a single card whether or not it automatically crops it. If I have more than one card, it does no cropping whatsoever. Has to be some way to save some time. Anyone care to chime in?

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My solution is just to use different software for the most part. Also, if you're scanning a bunch of similar bordered cards, pick a background that contracts well and you'll get better edge detection. Lid open for white borders, lid closed for dark borders. Sometimes just picking a color that none of the cards have (like bright green or purple), and put a piece of that colored paper over the cards works well.

I really wish I could fine some scanner software that just let you run a preview, then choose the background color and have it detect the cards against that. I suggested that to the guy who makes RansenScan, but he didn't seem to understand what I was asking for. Basically if you want better results, you almost have to abandon the stock software and buy something commercial.

I cant get my 8800f to auto crop either. I wish I knew how. Nothing works.