Scanning the Horizon

As more and more offices start to use digital radiography, there becomes an increasing need to be able to scan film images into the image management software. Many offices have no film processor and thus, cannot duplicate films.

The industry standard for many years has been the Epson 1680 Professional. The Professional model is the only one with the Transparency Adapter, which is necessary for scanning x-rays. Some offices have been getting the newer Epson 4990 lately. The concern with this scanner is that it only scans 8" X 10" transparencies, which is often too short for some pans and many FMX series in their mounts. The 1680 can scan up to 11.7" (their web site incorrectly says 10"). Other models that should work for dentistry include the Microtek 9800 XL and a few of the UMAX models.