What is difference in "flatbed" vs "sheetfed"?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Bill & Debbie
  • Start date Start date
Is flatbed a subset of sheetfed?

Thanks in advance for your help.
Bill
Click to expand...

Well, yes and no :)

There are sheetfed scanners that scan in such a way, line by line, that
there is no actual "flatbed" involved.

Or you can get a flatbed that has a "sheetfeeder", but these are usually
referred to as ADF's (Automatic Document Feeders).

Although some people refer to these as "sheetfed" attachments.

But I guess strictly speaking, a sheetfed scanner is NOT a flatbed, but
you definitely need to pin down the terminology with the vendor or person
before buying !

Mac
 
Some scanners (film or flatbed) come with an auto-feed attachement for
queuing up the next slide or photo, that's what a "sheetfed" is referring
to -- similar to a photocopier that can do a run of 20 pages at once. The
term Flatbed is a generic type that refers to a type of scanner where the
documents can lay flat on a piece of glass then you close a lid on top.
Early flatbeds could only scan photos most of the better flatbed scanners
can scan photos or negative these days. If you have a lot of the same type
of media to scan consider getting one which can a whole bunch of pictures at
once i.e. the sheetfed type or auto-loader type.
 
Some scanners (film or flatbed) come with an auto-feed attachement for
queuing up the next slide or photo, that's what a "sheetfed" is referring
to -- similar to a photocopier that can do a run of 20 pages at once. The
term Flatbed is a generic type that refers to a type of scanner where the
documents can lay flat on a piece of glass then you close a lid on top.
Early flatbeds could only scan photos most of the better flatbed scanners
can scan photos or negative these days. If you have a lot of the same type
of media to scan consider getting one which can a whole bunch of pictures at
once i.e. the sheetfed type or auto-loader type.
Click to expand...

See, you proved my "terminology" statement from previous post :)

Note that there ARE lots of sheetfed scanners that have no flatbed
component. They scan line by line as the paper passes through the sensor
area. Some are very small, portable, some are high speed for pro doc
managment.

A couple Googled at random:

http://www.everythingusb.com/news/index/1698.htm
http://www.bestbuy.com/products/Ccat01022.jsp

Here's a nice one, only $20K !
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Fujitsu_M4099D_Sheetfed_Scanner/CA04315-
B002/p/47732

Mac
========================================
 
Is flatbed a subset of sheetfed?
Click to expand...


A sheetfeed scanner uses feed rollers to feed a sheet of paper through
the stationary sensing unit, much like any fax machine moves the paper
to scan it. This type is more for documents than photos. Basically
the paper moves through the scanner.

A flatbed has a full-page-size glass bed, and you lay the paper or photo
on it, and the sensor carriage moves under the glass, while the photo
remains stationary on the glass bed. Basically the paper doesnt move.

There are less obvious differences. The flatbed is great for photos,
which probably dont feed well, and there are no feed rollers to damage
it. You lay the photo down, and it doesnt move. You can do a preview
to see the image of the bed, and crop it as you wish, and then do a
final scan of just that marked area. The advantage is that the photo
doesnt move between preview and final scan, or even a second try scan.
The preview is an additional step of course, but it is a quality
advantage... the scanner can make measurments of whatever it finds on
the bed in the preview, and it or you can make compensating adjustments
accordingly for the best final scan. In contrast, the sheetfeed only
gets the one pass, it must plan for the average situation instead of the
specific situation.

Some flatbeds have an optional ADF attachment (auto document feeder)
that when used, normally parks the sensor carriage stationary under the
ADF, and it then becomes a sheedfeeder, so to speak.

One advantage of the sheetfeeder is that the page length is a function
of the software, 14 inch legal pages are easy, whereas on the flatbed,
you must have the 14 inch bed length to do more than 11 inches.
 
I learn something new every day.

Mac McDougald said:
See, you proved my "terminology" statement from previous post :)

Note that there ARE lots of sheetfed scanners that have no flatbed
component. They scan line by line as the paper passes through the sensor
area. Some are very small, portable, some are high speed for pro doc
managment.

A couple Googled at random:

http://www.everythingusb.com/news/index/1698.htm
http://www.bestbuy.com/products/Ccat01022.jsp

Here's a nice one, only $20K !
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Fujitsu_M4099D_Sheetfed_Scanner/CA04315-
B002/p/47732

Mac
========================================
Click to expand...
 
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