Apple Reviews

The Microtek Scanmaker X6 is a pretty sharp looking unit and the installation of the unit and its software were straightforward. It will scan in documents and pictures up to 8.5 x 11 inches quickly and with extremely high resolution. Once the picture is taken, the included software will allow you to manipulate the colors, add effects etc. just like a computer graphics expert (well, kinda). The only real problem I had with it stemmed from it being my first scanner. The unit comes with very few instructions. A simple pamphlet on how to scan in nice photos would have been extremely useful. I was able to quickly discern how to adjust the resolution and scaling so that the pictures I was scanning didn't turn out to be several hundred MB large, but I am not sure everyone will realize how to do that. Even now, I am not sure whether it is better to scan in a picture with high resolution and then scale it down with the software or scan it in with a lower resololution and scale it down less. . .see the kind of confusion I am talking about? On the upside, I have been able to augment my website with tons of pictures and scan in some important documents. The software will even allow you to use your scanner as either a fax machine or a photocopier (provided you have a modem and printer, respectively). Generally speaking, I recommend the unit to people who at least have some clue about how to use computers well. The real amateurs will probably never figure it out.

I recently purchased this scanner despite being aware of the bad reviews at Amazon because so many other independent comparative reviews gave it top recommendations.

I found both the hardware and software very easy to install on my Dell laptop using Windows 98, and overall the scanner is well built with a tough aluminium case.

I could not fault the scanning quality, which produced a very clear, sharp image. However, I was a little disappointed in the fax software which, as far as I can tell, can only fax one scan in one call and seems to have to take two passes of each page. Also the word recognition omnipage bundle made too many mistakes (although it has to be said that if you are going to do a lot of OCR then you are probably advised to buy a specialist package such as Omnipage Pro V.9 rather than rely on bundled software that comes with any scanner).

Apart from these software limitations, the actual scanner is second to none. I think that Microtek have recently updated the installation software so that many of the problems encountered by other reviewers are now ironed out.

One annoying thing that I did notice was a faint ticking sound coming from the transformer when the scanner is switched off but still plugged in at the mains. Although this is, according to Microtek, perfectly normal, it can be annoying if you have sensitive hearing and work in a very quiet environment. Most people would never notice it.

In summary: the scanner output quality and build deserves 5 stars, whereas the bundled software, although easy to use, deserves 4 stars. Overall I will give it 4 stars because of the ticking sound which forces me to switch it on and off at the wall socket.

I got my scanner from Dell along with my computer. Itinstalled easily and has worked fine. I have had absolutely noexperience with scanners. Mine makes great scans in all modes but I normally use it in the scan to file mode. I have had no reason to try to reach the help lines or any thing like that. I like it.

I ordered the Scan Maker with high hopes due to the outstanding ratings that I reviewed on many sites. I am not a techie, and was impressed by those reviews. However, once I received the scanner and called for help in setting it up, my hopes declined dramatically. You have 3 options for support. 90 days free basic support, $15 per incident for "advanced troubleshooting", and email support. There is also what is called "General Consulting" support @ $30 per call up to 30 minutes, and $1 per minute after that.

None of the calls are to 800 numbers.

The support you get is non-existent. The operators ask what is the problem, then they immediately send you a pre-written email. Which in my case, wasn't what I needed. After calling again (at my cost during the 90 days free help) I got another person who sent me a different email. That did help, but it didn't answer all my questions.

The Auto Document Feeder is weird. The primary "part" needed to guide the paper and cover the glass during the auto-feed is a little plastic piece that is not easy to put in place.

Don't even get me started on the manual and what it says about how the feeder is supposed to work.

Maybe you need to be a techie to operate the user-friendly, easy to operate scanner.

Needless to say, I'll be trying HP next.

Impossible is the word to describe trying to get in touch with Microtek customer service. Not only is the product extremely unreliable, but customer service and technical support would rather you not call them if you have problems. I have owned two Microtek scanners, both products not supported by the manufacturer

I'm been shooting film for quite some time and decided to give digital a try. I consider myself to be a professional and wanted a professional scanner, but not something that would put me out. After reading a bunch of reviews I came up with the 8700 Pro. Came with Silverfast which I have heard great things about and this software that lets you blow up a 35mm slide to near poster size without pixelation occuring. Scanner also comes with calibration software that allowed me to plug in my ICM profile into the software for the correct color on everything. Next step is to obtain a great printer.

Microtek's ScanMaker 6700 debuted splashily on our ...-color ScanMaker 5700, a longtime small-office chart mainstay. In addition to its higher 48-bit color depth and 2400-dpi optical resolution, the 6700 boasts the same sizzling performance, FireWire and USB 1.1 connections, and strong image quality as its older sibling.

For our performance tests, we used the 6700's FireWire interface and the add-in card and cable that come with the scanner. In terms of overall performance, the 6700 was slightly better than the Epson Perfection 2450, another 2400-dpi scanner we tested using FireWire. While the Epson ran faster on low-resolution scans (such as a 300-dpi black-and-white document), the Microtek was twice as fast on our 1200-dpi color photo. The 6700 also ranked highest overall in our August 2002 roundup for image quality. For example, in our print test of a 4-by-5-inch color photo scanned at 100 dpi and 24-bit color depth, it earned the top score thanks to the best combination of sharpness, brightness, and color reproduction (in skin tones as well as other shades).

The 6700 is designed for shared use over a local area network, and comes with LAN-specific software (Microtek LAN Wizard) that enables image sharing, job status reporting, and sending messages to other users on the network. In addition, like the 5700, the 6700 can scan transparencies as large as 5 by 7 inches with its built-in adapter.

WHAT'S NOT: The 6700 lacks an 8.5-by-14-inch glass and doesn't come with an automatic document feeder, so (as with other scanners that have letter-size scanning beds) you'll need to get an automatic document feeder to scan legal-size documents. You can buy a 50-page ADF from Microtek ... After the first year, live technical support is on a pay-per-call basis. The 6700 doesn't support the newer, faster USB 2.0 interface; Microtek says it is working on new models that do use USB 2.0.

WHAT ELSE: Like the 5700, the 6700 has a lid that includes a built-in lightbox for previewing slides and small pieces of film--a feature that no other scanner manufacturer offers. The 6700 sports five quick-start buttons for scanning, copying, e-mail, OCR, and scanning to the Web; the last transfers your scanned images to the IMira.com photo-sharing Web site.

The 6700 comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements for image editing, Ulead Photo Explorer 6 for image management, ABBYY FineReader Sprint 4 for optical character recognition, and Trellix Web 2.5 for Web page design. Microtek's efficient scanning driver (ScanWizard 5) provides separate modes for beginners and advanced users; the included step-by-step tutorial makes learning how to batch-scan multiple images and perform other image-editing tasks quick and easy. You can easily scan and save 48-bit color images (if you want to store as much raw color information as possible in your original scans), just by using the scanner driver. In fact, it's the only driver we've looked at recently that makes saving 48-bit color this simple. Also, you can save scanned documents in Adobe's Portable Document Format, which many businesses prefer for posting documents online.

UPSHOT: The Microtek ScanMaker 6700 is an attractively priced scanner for offices--networked and otherwise--that need fast, high-quality scans from photos, film, and paper documents.

Microtek ScanMaker 6700

USB 1.1 and FireWire, 2400 by 4800 dpi, 11.5 by 19.7 by 4.5 inches (width by depth by height), 8.1 pounds, 8.5-by-11.7-inch scanning area, built-in transparency adapter, optional automatic document feeder. One-year warranty; free technical support for one year (10 hours on weekdays, call is not toll-free); thereafter, fee-based support is available ....

I too purchased a 3600. It was inexpensive when I bought it so I should have known better... The inside of the lid is black. That translates into photo copies using a LOT of laser toner. Also, the power switch is a small toggle on the back. Turning it on and off is a hassle. Leaving it on will burn out the bulb in short order. (Which is exactley what happened with mine.)
Turns out the bulb is some sort of special Microtek only bulb. Even if you are a technician, you can't get the bulb. If the printer is out of warranty, getting the thing repaired will cost more than the original price. My suggestion?
Spend a little more on a different brand with a common bulb and buy the extended warranty.

I basically bought the Microtek scanmaker 3600 b/c it was slim, looked good and was fairly inexpensive campared to others. I enjoyed it while it was scanning (of course I don't know a lot about computers,etc.) However, It only worked for just a few months before the bulb burnt out. Imagine that! I also got the red low glow (???). Like others, I found it hard to get to the on/off switch. And of course as said before, the only way to get it fixed was to mail the scanner back to them at my cost. Well forget that. I bought a new scanner and it definitely was not a Microtek. Microtek is not worth the time, trouble and added stress. Thanks for reading. ironjaw

The scanner worked fine for the first month. Then I accidentally left the power on for a week, and the bulb burned out. Not completely, but the light is no longer bright white, but rather a dim neon red and all scans are so dim and noisy as to be unusable. I guess the bulb can't be replaced. What do you expect for [the price], I guess.