I have just about had it with my feed scanner (Multipass C5000). It sounded like such a good idea 5 yrs ago when I bought it..now I think the scanner is trash! I haven't scanned any older photos (afraid of the feed tray) and the newer ones I have scanned have lines from the rollers I believe. I am looking for a good inexpensive scanner ($100) range that I can use to scan microfilmed documents and photos that I can attach to my genealogy software for each individual (JPGs). I looked around and there are SO MANY scanners in the $100 range. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on what to look for. Thanks. Raquel

Some scanners "look" sturdy compared to others. Some have lift-off lids so oversize items like maps/documents/books can be scanned in sections. Some have parallel connection, USB or both. Look for the area that can be scanned (perhaps 11 inches) not just the length of the glass. Software supplied with scanners is highly variable and recommended retail products may cost more than the scanner itself. I've always used Paint Shop Pro for editing images even when various scanners required specific software to get the original scanned image on screen. Started scanning documents with a page scanner purchased in mid 1996 before the price of flatbeds became reasonable. Ask someone in your area who uses a scanner for family history projects -- one name brand scanner seems to require the program CD in the drive when it is used but other models from the same company do not. Store staff are not likely to know about scanners except which ones are returned to the store. The order of loading software and connecting equipment has changed with newer USB models compared to the kind that required SCSI cards installed inside computers. I use a lightweight parallel port scanner for demonstrations at computer group meetings. Elizabeth ----- Original Message ----- I am looking for a good inexpensive scanner ($100) range that I can use to scan microfilmed documents and photos that I can attach to my genealogy software for each individual (JPGs). I looked around and there are SO MANY scanners in the $100 range. I was wondering if anyone could give me some tips on what to look for. - Raquel