TruScan Surveyor

The VIDAR TruScan Surveyor has an optical resolution of 400dpi and a maximum interpolated resolution of 1600dpi.

VIDAR
4.5 stars out of 5

Easyscan has all of the features that you might need when scanning color and black-and-white images, including sizing and predefined filters to alter the image before saving or printing.

The VIDAR TruScan Surveyor ($31,950) has an optical resolution of 400dpi and a maximum interpolated resolution of 1600dpi. Aimed primarily at GIS and mapping applications, the Surveyor boasts the highest accuracy of all the scanners we reviewed—±0.05% between any two points in documents up to E-size. In addition to dimensional accuracy, the Surveyor scans 36 bits and captures accurate colors. The Surveyor's four-wheel drive system protects originals while scanning.

The Surveyor is easy to assemble—it took me less than 30 minutes to get it up and running. The Surveyor was the only scanner reviewed with an integrated stand, which gave it the smallest over-all footprint of any of the reviewed scanners.

VIDAR provided SCP's Copy Systems Family 4.5 software with the scanner. Installation took a few minutes because the components must be installed individually. The EasyScan software seemed a little sluggish to start, but once running, it scanned our test scan, a D-size 24-bit image, in 1 minute, 58 seconds at 400dpi. The initial preview scan took only 13 seconds. EasyScan supports a variety of image file formats, though fewer than the other software tools reviewed.

SCP's CopyEssentials, also provided by VIDAR, is a straight-forward scan-to-print application that requires very little configuration. You choose the scanner, printer, and other data such as size and print medium, then click the Copy button.

Lockheed-Martin's Autographics, provided by VIDAR, extracts features from raster images. It classifies each pixel in the image into a category, such as road, railway, and river. The VIDAR Surveyor delivers the results that you need and is ideal for applications where accuracy is essential.