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You need a scanner with a resolution of 600dpi (dots per inch).
Most scanners, even the cheap ones, are capable of this these
days, but make sure that you find out the actual resolution of
the scanning head and not what's called interpolated resolution
- that's when the scanner uses a mathematical formula to increase
the resolution of the scan, resulting in loss of quality. You
see scanners for L100 which advertise 2400dpi resolution, and
believe me, that's interpolated resolution!
You also want a scanner with a 24bit colour space or better, (this
refers to the number of colours that can be scanned). Many current
scanners have 36bit colour, which is more than adequate for scanning
paintings and photographs, so it's not really worth paying extra
for a higher figure than that.
If you can, check the speed at which the scanner scans; you'll
probably end up scanning multiple pages in sections, so it's worth
paying more for a faster machine.
The scanner software is also important; try and get a scanner
driver which will let you save settings between scans.
The first rule of monitors: the bigger then better!
There are two kinds of monitor, flat LCD and the bulkier old-type CRT (cathode-ray-tube). LCD monitors are screamingly hip right now, and the prices have come down, but for colour work I find they have one huge drawback; the image on screen gets lighter or darker depending on what angle you view it from. My advice: buy a 19 or 21-inch CRT for the price of a 15-inch LCD monitor, and be able to see what you're doing.
You need at least 128mb RAM to do any serious graphics work,
though you can start with less and install extra as you can afford
it. You can't have too much RAM.
Your hard disk should have a capacity of at least 10gb; apart
from the fact that saving large graphics files in multiple versions
fills disk space really quickly, Photoshop also dumps information
such as undos onto the hard disk, and can grind to a halt if the
disk fills up.
Mac users: any G3 or G4 desktop model will be fast enough in terms
of chip speed (I use the basic level G4). Avoid iMacs.
PC users: this is an area I don't know about. Feedback would be
welcome.
Useful for storage and exchange of files. The older, 100mb version is relatively cheap and very reliable. The new 250mb drives are a little more expensive, but they do take the old 100mb cartridges. There's now a 750mb version available, but at that capacity a CD writer would be a better investment.
CD writers are fast becoming an old and reliable technology. You can usually get them built-in with a new machine, or you can buy them as an external add-on. External drives are often faster. There are two types of disc: CD-R, which can be added to incrementally only until the disc is full, and CD-RW, which can be erased and used over. Maximum capacity: 700mb. Advantage: dirt-cheap discs, compatible with all computers so perfect for swapping data.
DVD writers are still fairly new technology. They don't write as reliably as CD writers, and there are several different kind of discs and various formats, not all of which are compatible with each other. Writing is also still quite slow. Advantage: a capacity of 4.7 Gigabytes per disc - but unless you regularly need to archive gigabytes at a time, it might be safer to stick to CD.
Mac users: most Macs come with integral CD burners (if not CD/DVD burners) and the ability to burn CDs via the finder. The CDs thus created will open on Mac or CD, and you can burn audio CDs too (video with DVD). However, the Finder will only let you put one session on a CD - so if you only put 1mb on a 700mb disc, the rest of the capacity is wasted. I recommend getting Adaptec Toast which lets you write multi-session CDs and CDs and DVDs in various formats. It also comes with loads of useful utilities.
PC users: the WinonCD utility (at least the Windows 98 version that I've used) seems very reliable. Otherwise, I've had an application called Nero recommended to me (quote, "you can fiddle while Nero burns"), though I haven't tried it myself.
The main supplier of graphic tablets is Wacom, who make two
ranges, Graphire and Intuos. Graphire is cheap and cheerful; Intuos
is nicer, but at three times the price, it should be. If you're
going to be working all day with your pad, and making money from
it, the Intuos is worth the extra cost.
Size wise, I use an A5 pad, which is perfectly adequate, even
for fine drawing.
Physically, most inkjets are similar, but Epson printer drivers
do a particularly good job of handling graphics. If you have the
money, pay the extra for an Epson Photo printer, which produces
luscious output, and uses fade-resistant inks to boot.
Printer models seem to be upgraded every year, so it's best to
wait for the model you want to be discontinued, as the price will
be reduced. I've never paid full price for an inkjet yet.
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