is this something that had been working and suddenly stopped? is this a new install and you are trying to get it up and working? xp or vista? I know when I got my HP all in one the cd they sent with it was not working with the model, they had to send me out a new, different cd, as soon as I got that it worked like a charm.

Well absolutely no one should be online without adequate protection these days, too many scoundrels out there by far. The 2 most popular seem to be Superantispyware and Malwarebytes. Be careful installing and stay with the free version, Malwarebytes is free but does not appear to say so as you install. I run one or the other perhaps weekly, more if I feel I have visited doubtful places. That is a very smart move taking your scanner when visiting rellies, at least that way they feel safe in that the photos remain in there possession. Also you get the chance to discuss each and perhaps make notes because no one thought to write on the backs of the photos. On the printing issue have you considered having them done for you? This can be done online at a large number of places including your local supermarket and/or pharmacy. You then collect them the next day or whatever the rules are at any given location. This to me is cheaper than using your own ink and I think their ink quality is somewhat better than we get for our printers. I found scanning slides very trying but that was a few years ago and the equipment was not as good as we have now. You say the scanner is expensive and no doubt it is. But when I started the local computer joint charged $10 for the first scan and $8 for any others done at the same time. It made sense to buy a scanner and save a bundle, you have to decide how many scans you need to do then decide on which route. Photo editing for tears, bends and scratches is very interesting but time consuming and a steep learning curve at the outset. I enjoy that stuff, in fact I just removed a no longer son in law from the middle of a family group for a lady.

How was the original photo taken? Was it a digital or roll film camera? Being no expert but trying to rationalise I suspect it was originally a digital photo taken on a camera that was set at it's very lowest settings. I took the photo and blew it up 300% and 500% and the young ladies faces became badly pixelated. The circles on the light coloured walls are the spread of the flash, they do not seem to show on the darker elements of the photo. As I said, this is guess work. I feel the photo had been printed from digital and sent to you, you in turn tried scanning it. Each time these things happen a photo degrades. Plus it was probably scanned as a jpg, try scanning again but save as a bitmap (bmp) as these are a better quality than jpg. The improvement will only be modest at best if any.

My printer does not give me a black line for any other print jobs. When I use the Copy selection or the Print selection in the scanner's main menu, that is when I get the black line. This time I used the Save selection, and printed from there, using the MP Navigator EX box, and it printed without the line. I still don't know why the other two selections don't work right, but at least now, I can print a 'clean' copy. Thanks.