Got a u max  Astra 2100U for $30 or so at Fry's [west coast retailer].  I
work hell out of it.  About 5 gigs worth of photos so far and it's done well
by me.

Mike

> From: Joe <mejoe@EMAIL.TOAST.NET>
> Reply-To: Joe <mejoe@EMAIL.TOAST.NET>
> Date: Sat, 3 Nov 2001 04:19:12 -0500
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Good Flatbed Scanner for about $100
>
> Yes, this is WAY "OT" but this is something of an emergency so please allow
> this intrusion.
> Because they lost most of it I find myself needing to fax almost my entire
> medical record to the Veteran's Administration. I got several estimates from
> "Kinko's" and other such places, the lowest of which was about $80. If I
> went the Kinko's route I would be out $80 but if I kicked in a few extra
> bucks and got a cheap flatbed scanner I could do my own faxing plus I would
> be covered in the all-too-likely event they lose it again (I already have
> the fax modem and other stuff).
> I did not think there would be all that much to buying a flatbed scanner
> but a trip to Best Buy, CompUSA and a few other stores showed me different.
> I need some objective advice. Several tries on the search engine yielded
> nothing but ads who's only advice was "buy me now!". It occurred to me that
> most of the folks on the Vanagon list were fairly level headed and
> practical. I also remembered several occasions where a number of list
> members talked about digitizing one thing or another for posting or
> emailing. This, plus the fact that it is Friday convinced me that this
> fishing expeditiion might be worth a shot. I figure the worst that could
> happen is someonw would have a good time chewing me out for no Vanagon
> content. So.....
>
> Can someone here recommend a good Flatbed Scanner for about $100? Any
> warnings of models to keep away from? Any help appreciated.
>