Microtek i900 vs. ArtixScan 1800f?

[cdaniel]

Does anyone have knowledge of how these two compare? I currently have the Microtek Scanmaker 8700 and I understand the i900 is is the newest equivalent to that. In various comparison sites I've accessed, the i900 has higher figures than the 1800f except in Dmax - the i900 is 4.2 Dmax and the 1800f is 4.8 Dmax.

In terms of price the 1800f is about twice the price and it weighs about twice as much, both have the same warranty. I'm trying to appreciate why I would pay twice as much for what at first glance seems to be about the same machine. Both have the drawer with the snap-in film templates and the legal size scanner bed.

Unfortunately, my 8700 is only about 3 years old and it is showing signs of being on it's way out. When I scan very dark images, I get vertical streaks down the image. I've talked to Microtek and they had me reinstall the driver in case my driver had corrupted. That changed nothing, so they said it was hardware. Granted, I am a pretty heavy user.

But, the 8700 didn't last any longer than the cheap $200 scanner I had before it. Yes, it produced much better results, but did not last longer. Perhaps the 1800f is considered more of a productivity workhorse?

My 8700 came with SilverFast scanning software, which I like much better than the ScanWizard that also comes with it. It does seem that the i900 does not include SilverFast and 1800f does, but that alone cannot explain the huge price difference. I already have SilverFast 5.1 - the 1800f comes with version 6 and I don't know if 6 is any better than 5.1.

Anyone have any data on this?