24 bit color vs 48 bit color

I have a Scanjet IICX that I like a lot.

It uses 24 bit color and the newer scanners use 48 bit color. I was
curious as to what the difference is?
Am I missing colors because of this? Are the pictures more grainy? I
understand dpi and the differences there but not this.

Thanks,

Tom.

"Thomas Scheiderich" <> wrote in message
news:...
> I have a Scanjet IICX that I like a lot.
>
> It uses 24 bit color and the newer scanners use 48 bit color. I was
> curious as to what the difference is?
> Am I missing colors because of this? Are the pictures more grainy? I
> understand dpi and the differences there but not this.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom.
>

DPI and colour depth where scanners are concerned are largely nonsense. I
seriously doubt the human eye can discern the difference between 24 and 32
bit colour, let alone 48 bit. As for dpi, many figures are manipulated to
make the product more attractive. The dpi is often interpolated rather than
true, and the scanner is capable of much lower actual resolutions than it
claims.

The way to choose a scanner IMO is to pick one which gets the best reviews
for its picture quality. Don't be sucked in by manufacturers claims, they
could claim a million dpi and 128 bit colour but that would be no reflection
on the actual picture quality. Let your own eyes be the judge, or if you
can't see sample scans, trust respected reviewers.

Dave

Thomas Scheiderich <> wrote in message news:<>...
> I have a Scanjet IICX that I like a lot.
>
> It uses 24 bit color and the newer scanners use 48 bit color. I was
> curious as to what the difference is?
> Am I missing colors because of this? Are the pictures more grainy? I
> understand dpi and the differences there but not this.
>
> Thanks,
>
> Tom.

Tom...24-bit color uses nearly 17 million colors. Since we can only
differentiate about 1 million colors...save your money and memory.

HTH
b_d

Marek,

Tho not exactly wishful thinking, replacing a IIcx with a 6100c is a bit of a
crapshoot in software. After all, you are dealing with two companies which have
a reputation for flaky and unreliable software: Microsoft and HP. HP scanner
software can be a major struggle to get up and running.

In other words, if you try replacing a IIcx with a 6100c, be ecstatic if it
works, and don't be surprised if it does not... Ben Myers

On Tue, 22 Jul 2003 06:50:37 GMT, Marek Williams <> wrote:

>On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 10:43:06 -0700, Thomas Scheiderich
><> dijo:
>
>>I have a Scanjet IICX that I like a lot.
>
>I don't have the answer to your question. Instead, I have another
>related question.
>
>I have a IIcx also. I use Deskscan II version 2.9 and the copy utility
>on my Windows 2000 Professional computer, It works fine, but the
>scanner is getting kind of old and images are now a bit hazy around
>the edges. I am thinking of getting a newer scanner. I saw a 6100C on
>eBay for a song the other day.
>
>What would happen if I got the 6100C, powered down the computer,
>swapped scanners, and restarted? Would everything work as before? Both
>are SCSI. I know Deskscan II scans the SCSI chain for scanners and
>would probably just recognize the 6100C and everything would work the
>same as before. Or is this wishful thinking?
>
>--
>Bogus e-mail address, but I read this newsgroup regularly, so reply here.

"Marek Williams" <> wrote in message
news:...
> On Mon, 21 Jul 2003 10:43:06 -0700, Thomas Scheiderich
> <> dijo:
>
> >I have a Scanjet IICX that I like a lot.
>
> I don't have the answer to your question. Instead, I have another
> related question.
>
> I have a IIcx also. I use Deskscan II version 2.9 and the copy utility
> on my Windows 2000 Professional computer, It works fine, but the
> scanner is getting kind of old and images are now a bit hazy around
> the edges. I am thinking of getting a newer scanner. I saw a 6100C on
> eBay for a song the other day.
>
> What would happen if I got the 6100C, powered down the computer,
> swapped scanners, and restarted? Would everything work as before? Both
> are SCSI. I know Deskscan II scans the SCSI chain for scanners and
> would probably just recognize the 6100C and everything would work the
> same as before. Or is this wishful thinking?
>
> --

If you are worried about losing all your custom scan settings, these are
kept in a file in your deskscan folder called (IIRC) deskscan.ini.

You may be able to save this and overwrite the new one when you reinstall
your deskscan drivers, though it may contain configs which don't work with
the 6100C. At least back up the new ini file so you can put it back if it
goes wrong.

I own the 6100C, (with the deskscan 2.9 software) and it's a great scanner,
if rather large! However, it's getting rather old now, unless this one
you're after is very cheap indeed I'd look for something newer.

Dave