How to scan my large paintings?

Question of the day: How can I get high-dpi scans of my large artwork on wood?

I am spending ALL DAY trying to figure this out! There's not much info about this online, and I'm about to stab Google in the O for being so useless!

Charmaine Olivia does it just exactly the way I wish to do it. Here:



I asked her on her comments about what type of scanner she has. I hope she'll answer because this is about to drive me 'round the bend. And you might ask some questions below, and here are my answers to them:

1. Why don't you just get it scanned at Kinko's? A) Since I'll be doing lots of paintings, $25-$50/scan is going to start adding up. And even their scanners have a limit of 36". Plus, I'd rather not trust everything to someone who might now know the best methods for doing this. I want to invest in a scanner and do it myself!

2. Why don't you send it off to a professional shipping service? A) I am afraid to ship my artworks because they are mixed-media collages and very delicate. Plus, the rising costs are another issue.

3. Why don't you just photograph it? A) No matter how crisp the photo, it's never as good as a high-dpi scan. I want to be able to make 1:1 reproductions.

4. Why don't you scan in sections with your current scanner? A) My paintings are on wood, so I can't "bend" them to fit into the square-shaped guide that most scanners have. It has to sit on top, which throws it out of focus on my current scanner. And yes, I have tried removing the "lip" to no avail.

All this to say I'll be going to Best Buy to see if they have any truly flat scanners without that all-annoying lip! I surely would appreciate it if anyone had info for me on this most elusive topic. Cheerio.