# Why isn't the bed of my flatbed scanner flat? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [September 15, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419 "2011-09-15T18:22:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/1 "2011-09-15T18:22:32Z")
Ok, it is, technically _flat._ What it isn’t, though, is _level_, meaning that I’m having to resort to taping down old photographs in order to scan them. Stupid scanner. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/2 "2011-09-15T19:01:25Z")
Not sure I understand. If the scanner is not level, you might try putting coasters or pieces of cardboard under the feet to level it out. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 15, 2011, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/3 "2011-09-15T19:50:28Z")
Well, tape was more handy. The thing is, this scanner (3-in-1 printer, actually) is actually designed with a sloped scanning bed, which I think is immensely stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/4 "2011-09-16T04:32:17Z")
Never heard of that. A 3x3 Post-It is probably the best way to hold the photo in place. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/5 "2011-09-16T15:51:16Z")
I couldn’t find any post-its, though I did think of that. A small bit of tape did the trick, but the whole process was tedious as I had about 100 photos to scan! I guess I shouldn’t complain too much - I got this printer for just under $16 about 7 years ago. It was a $100 deal with a $100 mail-in rebate, so basically I got it for the cost of the sales taxes and postage. I still think it’s a very poorly designed printer, though I admit it works pretty well otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 4:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/6 "2011-09-16T16:28:21Z")
A 7 year old printer that you virtually got for free? Sorry, my sympathy evaporated after my million dollar printer died yesterday. it cost a lot more and lasted far less. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [September 16, 2011, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/7 "2011-09-16T19:59:52Z")
Like most things, the people who design these are idiots. My scanner drives me crazy as well. The lid goes exactly to the edge of the machine. I scan a lot of things that overhang the edge, so they tend to shift as I close the lid. I want to press them down as I close the lid but I can’t. I have to lift my finger and that’s when it shifts. So scan, see it’s skewed, try again, and so on. If there were just a half inch on the edge of the machine that the lid didn’t cover, I could do it. After all, the lid only really needs to cover the glass, not the whole freakin’ top. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2011, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-isnt-the-bed-of-my-flatbed-scanner-flat/596419/8 "2011-09-23T17:10:20Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > Like most things, the people who design these are idiots. > > My scanner drives me crazy as well. The lid goes exactly to the edge of the machine. I scan a lot of things that overhang the edge, so they tend to shift as I close the lid. I want to press them down as I close the lid but I can’t. I have to lift my finger and that’s when it shifts. So scan, see it’s skewed, try again, and so on. If there were just a half inch on the edge of the machine that the lid didn’t cover, I could do it. After all, the lid only really needs to cover the glass, not the whole freakin’ top. This is why, in college, I took to scanning things with the lid up.