It's an Epson Perfection 4860. It's not the fastest and not top of the line but it does a pretty good job with my negatives. Since there are so many of you going in on it, I would definitely go higher up than I did for mine, but I think you can get a nice one for around $600 and of course you can go up to $1000. I guess it just depends on how much you think he'll get into it. I wish my mother in law had kept all of her negatives! She scrapbooked all her old pictures and tossed the negs! My SIL and I had a fit when we found out! I think that's a GREAT gift for a grampa!

As far as scanning, you need to scan WAY above 600dpi. More like 2000 or 3000, depending on how high quality you want your prints. Especially since, once everyone sees all the old pictures, they may want enlargements of family photos, the old house, etc. You just never know. I got those numbers from online photography forums. I scan at 2800dpi and save them as TIFFs.

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perkidawn
Happy 2008! My goals for the year:
*Count my points (WW)
*Do 5 layouts a week
*Plan menus for dinners and stick with them

Being a Mom is the greatest calling God has given me.
Stop by my Blog!