I had to replace a much beloved scanner when it 
died with (what I now know to be) the machine 
from hell. (It's a Umax Astra 4500 before anyone 
asks)
Basically the problem is this: when I scan at 
72dpi (or any dpi and then try to resize) the 
quality is terrible. So much so, that I refuse to 
put my cel gallery online until I get it sorted. 
The lines go really jagged and look... well crap. 
And thumbnails? Well they come out worse than 
worse. 

How does everyone get such clear scans?
The colours come out fine even though it won't 
let me scan at 48bit colour (I get this PStarter 
error message), which seems to be the main source 
of other people's scanning nightmares but I just 
can't seem to achieve satisfactory quality. Would 
scanning at 48bit colour (if it would let me do 
it) make any difference?

It's probably me doing something wrong, but I 
just can't seem to find any solutions, even on 
the scanner website's help. If anyone can suggest 
anything I could try I'd be more than grateful! :)