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Productivity or optical resolution - what do you want from a scanner? The Creo EverSmart Select and Jazz+ are put to the test By Laurel Brunner
As part of the ongoing Pixel Perfect scanner testing programme, we recently tested the Creo EverSmart Select scanner and the Creo Jazz+. Since Drupa, the EverSmart Select is really the only truly high-end flatbed scanner released and the Jazz+ is unique in its blend of quality and low price.
The results, published here for the first time, confirm that developers are still pushing technology limits and that with every new generation of ccds, lenses, CPUs and software, improvements can still be had. The EverSmart Select has the same design as the EverSmart Supreme, but without the Max DR and ccd cooling technologies, important contributors to superior quality. However at #22,000, the Select is rather more affordable than the #30,000 Supreme.
Stitching algorithms
The EverSmart Select has five lens positions working in cooperation with stitching algorithms. Control software selects the lens position that best achieves optimum results for a given set of scan parameters. Optical resolution for the Select is 5,600 ppi and top interpolated resolution is 11,460 ppi. Enlargement ranges from 20% to 4,660%, for any type of original.
The Select's optical system is based on a trilinear 8,000 element anti-blooming ccd array. A high-intensity 32W fluorescent lamp light source tailored to the ccd array's spectral response provides illumination to capture a colour depth of 48 bits or 16 bits per colour. The scanning area is 305x432mm and the Select will scan originals of all types including transparencies up to 5mm thick and with no thickness limit on reflectives. Density maximum is 4.3 with a density range of 4.0. The Select, in common with Creo's other premium scanners, is sold with Oxygen scanner control and colour management software.
Unlike the entry level Jazz, which is built for Creo by Microtek in the Far East, the A3+ Jazz+ is manufactured in Israel. The two scanners have different technical specifications, lenses and signal processing electronics.
The Jazz+ captures 2,540 ppi rather than 2,000 ppi and has a greater enlargement range. Both capture 14 bits per channel to a dMax of 3.7D, but we suspect that the optical system in the...