2'x 3' large format scanner

I am looking to purchase a 2' x 3' large format scanner if they even exist so that I can scan my old

architectural drawings. If anyone knows of one and what it might cost I would be most happy to hear

about it. Thank you in advance - Everest Lapp

Never seen one quite that big but a couple of options are scanning it in pieces and stitching in Photoshop or carefully shooting it with a digi camera and piecing it together same way.

 

Also check reprographic services in your area. They might be able to help.

I think if you are dealing with subject matter that large you are better off wit ha 10mp or higher resolution camera than a scanner.

Go to a LOCAL reprographic/blueprinter/bigbond shop that already scans and does large bond/xerox type prints. Digital scanners for this type of work are old; here we got a 400dpi 36" wide model in 1992. Even some office depot and kinkos do this too. A typical shop scans at 400dpi; a clean drawing is typically about 200 to 500k in file size for a 24x36" scan at 400dpi; with a lossless Group 4 tiff; or pdf. If the drawing is dirty with alot of ghosting and crud the file might be up to 3 megs. If its an ancient blueprint with white lines and a blue background then folks scan and invert them so a print doesnt use a huge amount of toner for copies. The scanner yields a much larger image than any camera can shoot; even the one in 1992 did this. A 30x42" E size print is 12000 by 16800 pixels; thats 24 megapixel; a contact print with no optics at all. The cost to scan is bascially labor; unrolling prints; fixing torn corners; burning cd's/emailing/ftping. This might be anywhere from 1 dollar to 100 per sheet; for a slam dunk no rush job to a dead sea scrolls job.<BR><BR> Bringing the originals to a shop will get you the best price. Folks always say the prints are excellent; then you get this moldy mess with chunks missing, added bird crap; dog/rat chewed on; better yet prints still wet from Katrina that require rubber gloves, masks, pieces are pulled off dried then assembled like the dead sea scrolls. <BR><BR>There are also color scanners with a 36" wide scan bar; ours is 200 thru 600 dpi. These are typically used for colored renderings, old rock/movie posters, and on rare cases pesky plans that require a color scan. <BR><BR>

At a trade show about a decade ago I saw a giant flatbed that would scan a 7.5 minute topo quad map; its was about 150k; not chicken feed. A digital camer can alos be used to shoot drawings; this is done mostly by pros for dead sea scroll type creations; ie frail stuff that wont go thru a roller fed scanner. Its also done by folks on jobsites away from a repro shop during an emergency.

The high speed B&W scan head on my newest printer cost 14k. Probably a simple digital 36" xerox type printer scanner thats a slow 3D's per minute will be about 5 to 9 grand. Ebay has used 36" scanners sometimes for a couple grand. Here I am on our 8th one since 1992. Used ones often dont have much support in the field. Thus a 6 year scanner for a grand might last 1 year or 6 more; then the borad that died might be 5 grand and only one guy has them.

They are certainly out there:

 

Being manufacturered:

http://www.contex.com/english/scanners/scanners/overview_scanners.aspx

 

Sold used:

http://www.kbp.com/sales/xerox/xerox.html

 

And new:

http://www.wholesalescanners.com/lgformat_scanners.html

Joshua; only the "COPYmate G18 iJET" in your first link is a giant flatbed; its 18x24".<BR><BR> All the rest have the original fed thru a slot where the original moves across a scan bar. <BR><BR>In the first case which is a flatbed the original never moves; the scan bar does. <BR><BR>The second case is the common as dirt case in which the scan bar doesnt move and the original does. These have been around almost 2 decades now. Early ones had blocks of scan bars from fax machines; each scan bar was about 8 inches wide; our unit in 1992 had 4 1/2 scan bars for the 36" width.<BR><BR>The flatbed in your link is smaller than the one that was 150k over a decade ago.<BR><BR>Typically one would have to have alot of engineering drawings to scan and some cheap labor to beat a repro/print houses scan rates. In the upper end market one can scan say 6 to 12 D size drawings a minute if the originals are decent. Typically pro scanners are used at a 400dpi setting. Slick marketing chaps will push you a faster scanner but then they often spec them in inches per second for a 200 dpi setting; which doubles the numbers! At a 200 dpi setting the original is moved twice as fast across the scan bar as a 400dpi setting.