Lost 3 hours fighting with an old blueprint scanner at a shop in Detroit

I spent $40 on a used wide-format scanner from a liquidation place thinking I scored a deal. Thing kept jamming on every roll of vellum I threw at it, and the software wouldn't even recognize the drivers on my laptop. After messing with it for 3 hours I just gave up and took it to the dump. Has anyone else had bad luck with those older Contex models?

3 comments

3 Comments

matthewkim1mo ago

$40 for a scanner that needs a Windows XP laptop and a $5 eBay driver CD to even turn on. Sounds about right. You basically bought a paperweight with a light bar. I swear those Contex machines run on black magic and spite. They work fine for a year then the belts just nope out on you, like they know you finally got comfortable. At least you saved yourself the therapy bills by taking it straight to the dump.

anthonymurray2mo ago

oh man, I feel your pain on those Contex scanners. I actually had the same issue with a Contex Chameleon I picked up from a surplus sale a few years back. What finally worked for me (after way too many rage-quit sessions) was finding an old Windows XP laptop and installing the drivers from a CD I found on eBay for like 5 bucks. Those scanners really hate newer operating systems (like, they just flat out refuse to talk to them). Once I got the right driver matching the exact firmware version on the machine, it actually ran smooth for about a year until the belts finally gave out. Also, make sure you're using the right vellum weight - some of the older models can't handle anything thicker than 20lb without jamming. It's a headache but once you get that one specific setting right, they're surprisingly decent machines.

jamesf262mo ago

bro that XP trick is gold, I ended up doing the same thing with an old Thinkpad just to keep my Contex running. its wild how those things are basically useless on anything past Windows 7 but rock solid once you get the right driver combo.