Scion Reviews

I seem to be in the minority of scanner users who actually scan documents and not photographs. By scanning documents, I have slowly been turning my paper into digital images. Depending on scan quality, and image file format, the contents of a filing cabinet can be safely held on a CD-R.

With those goals in mind, I searched for a dependable scanner. Higher-end models had document feeders, but given my experiences with previous scanners...I decided that they were not rugged enough to elicit that kind of cash. I ended up with a middle of the road model - the ScanMaker 4800.

I started scanning and shredding. After a few weeks of playing with the software and the scanner, I can say it is on par with (or better than) the other scanners I have had. To stress test, I was downloading a file from the internet, ripping a CD, playing an MP3, while scanning a document. The scanner would stop and stutter when the PC went to disk, but it never lost its place, and recovered nicely.

Pros: Easy to install, comes with Adobe PhotoDeluxe, and it installs the Adobe PDF software. After installing the adobe software, you suddenly have a "PDF Printer", and you can now generate .pdf files from Word or Excel by "printing" to their driver.

Cons: The OCR software that is included is a nag-ware (crippled) version. It doesn't exactly work that great, and it constantly begs you to buy the "Professional" edition to get better scanning features. I find that annoying. Luckily, I don't do OCR that much.

A 35mm film scanner attachment is included, but I have no reason to attempt to scan old film (I don't have any).

Pretty versatile scanner, it looks cool too Silver lid with cool grooves and the button panel is cool plastic with silver pin-stripes which surround the five buttons to make your scanning tasks convenient: scan, photocopy, email, OCR and Web photo sharing. It does reflective (regular things like photos, typed or handwritten pages, etc.) and both positive and negative film with the Lightlid attachment.
The pros are that the software it comes with are pretty good, especially the interface of the Twain program Microtek Scanwizard which you can keep in either simple, easy mode or advanced mode or switch between the two interfaces as you like. The ABYY Fine Reader Sprint is pretty decent OCR Software at recognizing text; you can try and then purchase the full version of ABYY Fine Reader if you need that. If you are a digital camera aficionado or want to be, Adobe Photodeluxe does a decent job at editing your photos and Ulead Photo Explorer SE does a pretty good job at keeping you organized and the real version of Photo Explorer isn't that expensive if you need more options. Along with the online photo sharing and fairly decent scanning speeds, you get alot for your buck.
The cons are the name: ScanMaker 4800, you think it's a better or stepped up version of the 4700 but it's not, it's more of a stepped up version of the 3800. The 4700 is built much more sturdily and it has some better software that comes with it but you do pay for those "extras". The results from the film scanning with the Lightlid attachement are far from stellar, photos are better to scan.I also wish they made the Lightlid (the film-scanning add-on) with a little bit longer cord. Another con I think is that there is no off button (I unplug it to turn it off) or sleep button(low powered idle mode). Plus the scanner won't go into sleep mode unless you run Microtek ScanWizard each time you turn your computer on(this won't be a big problem if you always leave your computer on you just have to run ScanWizard once).
If you need a low-priced, lightweight scanner which is good at scanning photos with good 48-bit color depth and great DPI then this is the one for your home or small office.

I was thoroughly impressed with this scanner upon taking it out of the box. Although it is bulky compared to the popular Canon flatbeds (670U, 676U) this model was surprisingly economical with desktop space. The exterior shell is nice and has a metallic shine to it. Simple five button layout. All in all, not a bad looking machine.

As with all other USB products I own, the installation was EXTREMELY easy, and the concise manual is written in plain English. Just as important, the Windows 2000 TWAIN drivers are very stable. Running ScanWizard 5 and importing to Photoshop 6 is very painless and simple.

Scans are pretty fast with 96-300 DPI resolution, but once I reach 600, it becomes a tortoise-like drag. I do a lot of scanning of magazine pages in full-color, and I wasn't impressed with the clarity until I reached 1200 DPI (although the maximum interpolation DPI goes as high as 9600). However, because my preferences for professional quality photos are high, most consumers shouldn't worry, especially if you're only using this scanner for web graphics and family photos. Black and whites and web graphics were very fast to scan, and I was impressed with the results. I'm sure most people won't need to go beyond 300 DPI anyway, because that's the best resolution for printing.

I stick with Adobe Photoshop 6, but the included software (Adobe PhotoDeluxe) is a trimmed-down version of essentially the same stuff. The ABYY fine reader program is pretty good with OCR but the Ulead Photo Explorer SE is the best program included, making organization of my scans very painless. Furthermore, to clarify another review, the 35mm Light Lid IS included for scanning film, although I haven't tried it myself yet.

As for the cons, the most disturbing thing is that there is no power button! The only way to turn it off is to unplug it, although there is a power-saving mode. Secondly, size does matter and I do envy the Canon owners who get a much sleeker model that is literally three times thinner. Another thing to note is that support is only available for 30 days. After that, you have to pay for the call. Fortunately, I haven't had to question anything yet, and that's always a good thing.

In summary, I say the buck stops here for scanner buyers. Do your research to confirm you need 48-bit color (most people don't, and actually the human eye can't perceive beyond 32-bit), and have the desktop space. The software, extra features and installation are a steal..., and there aren't any extra hassles to deal with either.

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.

This is a great scanner. Unfortunately my computer crashed over the summer and I was upable to find the installation disk. When I called the company to see about getting another disk, they suggested that I buy the Microtek 3740 instead. They were absolutely no help.

I originally bought this because I had gotten a new computer and my old scanner wouldn't work with the new operating system. It turns out that I should have bought this scanner first. It was about half the price and worked 1000 times better. The scanner program that is comes with is very easy to use and the set-up and installation for the scanner uses pictures and words to show you step by step what to do. This is a great scanner and I'm so glad that I bought it.

The progressive scan is software configured ( through the remote) and only works through the component video output section of the player. It will not run through the s-video output. If you wish to use it as a regular player through the s-video then it's ok but you may wish to pay the extra bucks for one that outputs to a variety of outputs.

DON'T BUY IT! I bought a KOSS DVD player and it broke in 6 months. I was told I was out of luck because the warranty is only 90 days. They do not do repairs. My only option is to buy a new one and wasn't even offered a discounted price for it. I have seen several complaints like mine about KOSS on the web. They make JUNK and they make it to last just to get past the warranty period and then it breaks. Oh, by the way I loved it until it broke.

The title of the review says it all.

Do NOT get this scanner. Get the Minolta Dimage Scan Elite for a little more with Digital Ice. I did quite a bit of research before deciding on this scanner, so I'll sum up for you what took me many hours. I also considered a couple of the lower end Minolta Dimage scanners, as well as the Nikon Coolscan and the HP Photosmart S20.

Essentially, they all promise to scan 35mm film, and with an adapter, it can also do APS. However, promises are just that - empty for most of these scanners.

This one is OK if you dont mind some bad scans b/c of no Digital Ice. If you spend another $100 you can get the Scan Elite which has the Digital Ice. A MUST have.

This scanner was a great disappointment. It never worked for one moment fresh out of the box! As you can't return it to the store you are reduced to immediately spending more money on a long distance phone call to get a replacement. Not a new one that is. Just someone else's rebuilt problem. The buttons didn't work on the replacement! Help was only another long distance call away, and we all know how long it can take to be the 'next person in line'. Finally, the third unit arrived. Yet another rebuilt piece of garbage with dirt and cloudy streaks on the inside of the glass! Makes for nice looking scanned images!
So, $x spent + phone calls + 2 replacements = 1 useless unit. Never will I waste money on any HP item again! *-5 Stars* is more like it!

This has to be one of the worst products that HP has produced. I bought this in tandem with the Photosmart 1315. BIG MISTAKE! Not only are both products off the market, but HP offers no assistance what-so-ever. If you pay them $... they will assist you. What a rip-off! I'll never purchase a HP product again.

Here are various comments I have about this scanner, which I've owned for over two years.

- not-too-bad results for color photos, especially for web use.

- the film/slide-adapter contraption that it comes with is practically useless. The reflector inside is hazy, and since it is made of cheap plastic, it broke when I tried to use it. The lighting on the resulting images is waay off and the over all quality is pretty bad.

- ScanJet software that it comes with isn't too friendly, but it's ok after you get used to it.

- scanning anything over 300dpi is much slower than expected

- this machine is LOUD!

Well just last night, the scanner literally burnt up and died on me when I connected it to another computer. I'm not sure what exactly happened, but when I ran a test scan, the light burnt out and the slider choked as it tried to scan..leaving a pretty nasty burnt odor in the room for a while...

For the casual home user, this is a great scanner. For scanning photograhs to e-mail and for importing images for greeting cards, brochures, and so on, this scanner is just fine. Scanning time is fairly quick. The software allows you to manipulate images to try and improve a photo or cut and paste one photo with another to create an entirely new image. For text, I would not recommend this scanner. Even top-line scanners have trouble with text, so don't expect great character recognition from this low-end model. Again, for the casual home user, you can't do much better than the 5300Cse; it does what most people want a scanner to do and it does it well.

I got this scanner two weeks ago & it has been great. It took 20 minutes to install the scanner software & hook up the scanner. Very good quality, & mediocre character recognition. Scans in photo quality so it looks just like the original picture. The 4 buttons on the front make for easy access to all scanner options. It can also scan directly to the web, printer, fax, or photo program. Overall a very good scanner with very good features

This is a great quality scanner for scanning anything from photos to documents. I highly reccommend it!