Providers Support: Scanner Info & Settings

Technical Support Hours:
8:30am to 6:00pm EST
Monday through Friday
1-800-782-5150, option 3

Click here to get a copy of NEA's scanner order form.    Adobe acrobat required

Please note that there is important information concerning supported scanners, scanner settings in general, scanning tips, and notes about specific scanners beneath the tables of scanner information.

NEA recommends the following scanner settings: (print friendly version)

Supported Scanners

Epson 1600
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 8.5" X 11.7" Reflective area: 8.5" X 14" Connection: USB or FireWire 64MB RAM USB: 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME, Vista (32-bit)	Document Type: Transparency Film Type: Positive Film 24-Bit Color 96 dpi	Document Type: Reflective 24-Bit Color 72 dpi
Epson 1680
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 8.5" X 11.7" Reflective area: 8.5" X 14" Connection: USB or FireWire 64MB RAM USB: 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME, XP, Vista (32-bit), Vista (64-bit)	Document Type: Transparency Film Type: Positive Film 24-Bit Color 96 dpi	Document Type: Reflective 24-Bit Color 72 dpi
Epson 4990
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 8" X 10" Reflective area: 9" X 12" Connection: USB or FireWire 128MB Ram 256 Recommended 98, 2000 Pro, ME, XP, Vista (32-bit), Vista (64-bit)	Document Type: Transparency Film Type: Positive Film 24-Bit Color 96 dpi	Document Type: Reflective 24-Bit Color 72 dpi
Microtek i800
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 8" X 10" Reflective area: 8.5" X 12" Connection: USB 64MB RAM USB: 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME, XP, Vista (32-bit)	Scan Material: Positive Film RGB Colors 100 ppi Scaling: 100%	Scan Material: Reflective RGB Colors 72 ppi Scaling: 100%
Microtek i900
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 8" X 10" Reflective area: 8.5" X 14" Connection: USB or FireWire 64MB RAM USB: 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME, Vista (32-bit)	Scan Material: Positive Film RGB Colors 100 ppi Scaling: 100%	Scan Material: Reflective RGB Colors 72 ppi Scaling: 100%
Microtek 9800XL
Scanner Details	Film(X-Rays)	Paper(non X-Rays)
Transparency area: 12" X 16" Reflective area: 12" X 17" Connection: USB, FireWire or SCSI 64MB RAM USB: 98SE, 2000 Pro, ME, XP, Vista (32-bit) SCSI: NT4.0 only	Scan Material: Positive Film RGB Colors 100 ppi Scaling: 100%	Scan Material: Reflective RGB Colors 72 ppi Scaling: 100%

Scanners that NEA had recommended in the past which are no longer supported by the scanner manufacturer:

Non-Supported Scanners

Which Scanners are "Supported":

The FastAttachTM software uses a Twain interface, which means that FastAttachTM works with virtually any scanner. However, in order to scan film (X-Rays), the scanner must have a transparency adaptor. A transparency adaptor is basically a "built in light-box" which shines light through your radiographs allowing the scanner to get a good quality picture. When looking at purchasing a scanner, one of the most important things to find out is the SIZE of the transparency area. Many scanners state that they can scan "slides and negatives" or "film-strips" -- this is typically an area less than an inch wide and perhaps four inches long -- it will vary per scanner.

When NEA refers to a "Supported Scanner" we mean that the technicians at NEA are knowledgeable about a particular scanner. If you purchase a scanner from NEA, our technicians will be familiar with how that scanner works and how to help you with the scanner. There may, however, be cases where NEA does not know about the particular computer that you are using with the scanner and NEA may therefore refer you to a computer technician or the scanner manufacturer for additional help. The scanners listed above as Recommended Scanners are supported.

A scanner that is "Unsupported" means typically that NEA does not know about anything specific to that scanner. The scanner may work with the NEA software, but NEA technicians won't know what to tell you to click on inside the scanner software to make it scan. A scanner might also be "Unsupported" for the following reasons:

• The scanner is no longer supported by the scanner manufacturer.
• The transparency area of the scanner is not large enough to scan even a single bitewing or pa film.
• The scanner is known to have some defect such as picture quality, difficult to use, speed, or other defect.

Scanner Settings In General:

If your scanner supports a "Professional", "Expert", "Advanced", or "Manual" mode, you will want to use this mode. "Full Automatic Mode" and other automatic settings may not give you a good quality picture.

When scanning an X-RAY, make sure you scan using a Transmissive, Transparent, Positive Film, UTA Transmissive, Pos Film, or Transparency mode in your scanner settings. NEA recommends a DPI or RES/Resolution setting between 96-150 for X-Rays.

When scanning paper such as a Perio-Chart or EOB, make sure you use a Reflective or Flatbed mode in your scanner settings. NEA recommends a DPI or RES/Resolution setting between 72-75 for paper.

Some tips on scanning:

Make sure that the Transparency Area of your scanner meets your needs - note that the Transparency Area is typically much smaller that the "scan area".

Make sure that your scanner will run on your particular computer and operating system - note that Windows 98 which was upgraded from Windows 95 does not support USB scanners, that Windows 2000 Server does not support scanners, that Terminal Services (both Windows Terminal Services and Citrix) does not support scanners. Also note that although the FastAttachTM software may work on Laptops, viewpads, and other hardware, it is only supported on Desktop computers.

Note that SCSI and some Firewire scanners will require a technician for installation, and newer Microtek scanners require that you have the manufactures disk for NEA to be able to support the scanner.

Note that NEA can't support a scanner if the manufacturer no longer supports the scanner.

And, always make sure that you always use the right settings when scanning!