Hello everybody! Was just wondering what people use for scanning PSA cards for ebay/collection threads? Been using a phone camera for a while and glare/lighting are always such a hassle so I figured I should bite the bullet and buy a nice scanner! Any recommendations? Epson V550 seems the most promising so far…
I use the Epson V37, it has worked out fantastically for me. I think the money you spend on a scanner is almost always worth it.
The most important thing is to make sure your scanner has a CCD lens instead of a CIS. As I outline in this thread, only CCD lens scanners will scan PSA cards with a high quality. As most newer models have a CIS lens, you should do research and only buy ones you’re sure have CCD lenses.
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I ended up buying a refurbished Epson v550 for $120 after a bit of research on some sports forms! You had me worried with the lens info but it looks like it has a CCD lens, thanks for the help! 
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Nice to, this explains why al my scans on psa cases turn out blurry!
Scan a card and post it here, would like to see the quality. I scanned a few of my cards w/ a printer that I have and did okay… but I will have to bite the bullet one day.
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this thread helped me alot, since I was looking for a method to picture cards easier, I went for a used Epson V37 that @fourthstartcg recommends, I can only say that I am very happy.
This is the first picture I made, without changing settings or anything. I just downloaded the software and scanned these cards.
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Welp embedding my images isn’t going so well so I’ll just leave a link, anyways the Epson V550 takes absolutely stunning scans, would highly recommend! Also has some decent software so I can scan 5 PSA cards at a time and have them automatically cropped!
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Those scans look vibrant, snazzy and crystal clear. The shine really pops too. Those are some good out-of-the-box settings.
For those of you investing in scanners, which are an artifact of the past, consider simply diffusing your lightsource so you won’t have to deal with glare. Gels are very cheap and if you don’t want to bother ordering one to go with your light, you could always use a common household item like wax paper/cookiesheet paper.
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I actually have a lightbox that I made a while ago, it works well for diffusing light but I find a scanner to be a lot more efficient and it gets better images imo. Why are scanners a relic of the past compared to a camera + lightbox setup?
Most scanners operate at 300dpi, heavy duty industry scanners are usually double that. Meanwhile the average camera shoots 2k,4k, 6k or better, RAW. As far as efficiency goes, it all depends on your setup. If you’d prefer to scan, scan. If you want a pager, use a pager. Some people still use fax machines, others still have cigarette lighters built into their cars. There are a lot of technologies becoming obsolete and there are a lot of people still trying to cling onto them. My dad still swears by cd’s and dvds. My point wasn’t to knock the relic so much as give you a cheaper option. Take or leave the advice, I was just trying to help. You started the thread saying you struggled with glare and lighting. If you know how to use your lightbox or diffusion properly, glare and light should be a non-issue.
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Oh yeah, well my lightbox is just a big jank plastic bin + sheets + lamps setup so it works well when there’s no harsh light outside of it, but I get glare if I try to use it in my room during the day haha, but I appreciate the suggestion don’t get me wrong! And as for scanners maxing out at 600dpi that’s just not true, the $120 Epson V550 I bought can scan up to 6400dpi, so that’s a fairly respectable resolution at a solid price compared to camera imo. I don’t think scanners are anymore obsolete than cameras, they both serve different purposes quite well. Both technologies can work just fine for getting card pics, but at least in my experience a scanner is more compact, cheaper, requires less setup, and is more efficient than taking individual photos, but that could definitely be debated!
www.ebay.com/i/112527115221?chn=ps
Stuff like this is absurdly cheap and requires no time to set up. Yeah I don’t really want to debate which is easier either. Both are easy. I’m glad the scanner is working out for you. Maybe some of these other options will appeal to someone else.
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Got myself an Epson V370 after reading this thread and haveing a hard time making pictures with no light (stupid winter).
Must say I love it! It automaticly cuts out the card so I don’t have to rework every scan/picture.
Was a nice and relaxing job scanning 100 PSA cases .
Rainbow Dragonite as an example:
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After you upload it to the web it doesn’t matter. Never understood why people want 5 million dpi scanners only to upload to the web.
But what do I know, I’m only a Photographer. Not a “scanner expert”
The only scanners I care about are drum scanners…
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@willyboy I went ahead and bought the $6 lightbox I previously linked to see how it’d look for those seeking a cheaper option to buying a scanner. Here are a couple of test shots I took with it. I think they came out pretty well and I had no issues with glare even though I used the cheapest of equipment: a cell phone and a $6 lightboxrig:
Shoutout to @smpratte , @aetsen and @masonkampe for those beautiful cards.
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I also tested it with the white background (it comes with a white and a black background. For the white background I used a card that wasn’t graded and just leaned it against the background. I pumped the exposure via my cellphone photo “edit” option to remove the shadow and here was the result:
The lighting was 100% just from the cheap little $6 box. I tried it in the dark as well as with a warm room light on. Outside lighting did not affect the images whatsoever and editing the pictures was not necessary, but took less than 20 seconds via the iphone photo editing options. For white background I pumped the “exposure” and for the black background I pumped the “Black Point”
I think these pictures with the black background look absolutely amazing!
Great work.
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Thanks! If anyone ends up going this cheaper route instead of “biting the bullet” for a new scanner *cough @teamrocketop … I got your back if you have any questions on snapping them off on a cell phone to look like this.
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Epson V370 all de wai
#Casualplug
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