Abaton's (now Everex Systems) 8-bit upgrade for the Apple Scanner -- a logic board swap -- may create more problems than it solves. An upgraded scanner does not work with the AppleScan or HyperScan software.
If you only use gray scale images, Digital Darkroom or Image Studio are probably more appropriate pieces of software. The upgrade does not affect them.
However, for more general scanning (line art, halftone, and HyperCard images), the Apple software (AppleScan and HyperScan) is the usual choice. This software does NOT work with the upgrade.