| Scanners Reviews : Flatbed |
 | Canon LiDE100 Color Image Scanner (2923B002)
Decent quality, but only for FLAT NON-reflective surface -- 2010-08-30
Scan quality on this machine is not bad, but ONLY if the object you are scanning is totally flat and non-reflective. Objects that are even 1/5th of an inch off the surface will appear rather blurry, and anything reflective will leave streaks in the scan due to the CIS scan head. Otherwise, scanning speed was quick at 300 dpi, but 600 was another story.
Only buy this scanner if all you scan are totally flat objects with no recess (like documents or photos), otherwise get a CCD scanner with cold cathode light source or else you'll be disappointed.
Great for the price -- 2010-08-23
I'm sure it could be faster and have more bells and whistles, but I was looking for a basic cheap scanner that would scan things, and that's what I got.
Windows 7 installation was pretty straightforward. Note that I had to actually follow the directions it came with, and install the driver from the CD, and not use the driver Windows found for me.
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 | Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Mobile Scanner (PA03603-B005)
A Great product -- 2010-08-31
I have used the S510 at my office and have found that this scanner was perfect for home use. Its size and ease of connection were a plus in allowing it to be stored when not in use. Workes great with Mac and PC platforms.
WARNING Slow Shipper -- 2010-08-30
I normally receive orders quickly from Amazon. So far the printer has been on order for 10 days and has not even shipped. Note product is: In Stock and Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
You may want to try Newegg or someone else on this one!
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 | Canon CanoScan 9000F Color Image Scanner
Outstanding film/slide scanner -- 2010-08-19
The Canon CanoScan 9000F is an outstanding film/slide scanner. It also accomplishes excellent images of old photographs and old newspaper items.
I opened the shipping box, unpacked the hardware, then read the simple instructions. I installed the driver software, plugged the CanoScan into my iMac. Plugged in the power to the CanoScan, installed the slide frame and four slides, closed the door and turned on the CanoScan.
The iMac asked if it should scan.
That's it.
Spent the remaining afternoon scanning slides and then popping the superb jpeg images into the iPhoto application.
I was a really happy camper!
Magic CanoScan -- 2010-08-17
The CanoScan 9000F is an excellent product I have been looking for for many years. I have been trying to digitize a large collection of personal and work related slides, negatives and B&W and color photos. In the past six years I have quit the project several times because the scanners I used were not up to the task. Some of the slide/negative scanning gadgets (not inexpensive) I used simply did not deliver acceptable result. With the 9000F I am finding it a joy to get the work done. The output in my opinion is just incredible and is delivered by a scanner affordable in price for an average nonprofessional.
The 9000F is easy to install and operate (I use Windows XP system). The output is of excellent quality, thus I can focus my energy on cleaning the inputs from dust and other debris rather then being preoccupied with keeping the scanner operating. The 9000F reliably recognizes the input being scanned. Digitizing 35 mm slides and negatives with the 9000F brings the scenes to life in a way I have not seen before, except those provided by professional labs. The scanner is also very good in recognizing multiple photos being scanned at the same time. I am very happy with the product and without hesitation recommend the 9000F to anyone with large collection of slides, negatives and photos wanting/needing digital rendition of high quality. Assuming the product is durable as well (I have been using the 9000F for about three weeks very intensively, digitizing about 3000 targets so far), I will have only praise for the CanoScan 9000F.
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 | Canon CanoScan LiDE210 Color Image Scanner (4508B002)
Good scanner, so-so software -- 2010-08-29
I own CanoScan LiDe200. This newer 210 model is essentially the same, but now with Windows 7 driver. Good scanner for personal use. Good image quality. I am not a picture-quality expert, so no complaints in that area. Also, the features that I like are the Z-Lid and the USB connection (no additional power plug required). However, the software is so-so for both models. Confusing to navigate between screens, in my opinion. The software that comes with the 210 model offers no improvement over the older version, at least from what I can see. Also, the 210 model comes in black, which I don't like (but others may dig).
If you are using Windows 7 and are choosing between 200 or 210, I would suggest just getting the newer model, even though you have to pay a few bucks more. Canon has the Windows 7 driver for the 200 model available on its website, but I still cannot get it to work on my Windows 7 computer. The 210 model obviously did not have that issue.
Amazingly small, low power, good results, and LED based! -- 2010-08-24
I'm not an expert when it comes to judging image quality-so while I'm giving the LiDE210 a great score, I'm not 100% sure if it's image results are as good, worse, or better than comparable relatively high end consumer scanners. I can say the results look good, and so far look the same (to me) as a high end HP model from a few years ago that I use at work.
I was shocked by how small the scanner's box is-in fact I thought maybe I'd accidentally ordered something that would only scan photos. Amazed again when I pulled the scanner out of the box...although it accepts full size papers (and it looks like legal sized too, although I haven't tested any yet) it's easily less than half the size of my HP from work. While it still takes up a decent amount of space on a desk (since it has to be big enough for the scanner bed to accept full size papers), it still somehow feels like it fits in better than older scanners.
Also amazing...it doesn't use a power supply. It pulls all its power over the USB bus from the computer it's connected to...it apparently only draws 2.5 watts while in use, which to me is amazing. Not having a power brick helps make the unit feel smaller too (and means it isn't using power when the computer is off).
The small size and low power use are presumably the result of using LEDs (apparently tri-color) instead of florescent tubes like older scanners use. Another benefit-no mercury or UV radiation.
I was also pleased to discover that even on XP, I was able to use it out of the box without installing the included software. Windows Update found the driver for it, and it was working with Windows' built-in software within a few seconds. (Though I think it's probably better to install the included software to get access to all it's features.)
It's small, seems to give good results, and hardly uses any power...so far seems like a great choice!
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 | Epson Perfection V30 Color Scanner
Epson Scanner -- 2010-08-22
Works fine. Works with Windows 7 and Paperport 7. I have this working with Windows 7 32 bit though. I don't think this will Paperport 7 will work with W7 64 bit. W7 64 bit is a waste of time and rediculous if you are only running 3 gig of memory and all your programs are 32 bit.
EXCELLENT SCANNER FOR THE MONEY -- 2010-08-11
Received scanner from Amazon in perfect condition. Set up was easy on my Macbook and everything worked as advertised. Auto feature is great. Would recommend this scanner for home use.
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 | Fujitsu fi-6130 Duplex Scanner (PA03540-B055)
Robust reliable scanner, easy set up. Ideal for home and office. -- 2010-08-18
Fujitsu Fi6130 Document Scanner with Automatic Document Feeder.
I don't normally review products but rather rely heavily on the reviews posted on Amazon, perhaps it is time to give something back.
I purchased this scanner not by choice. I was happy with my previous Fujitsu 4120 which I purchased about five years ago. It had served reliably. I upgraded to a Mac running Windows 7. Unfortunately there was no 64 bit driver available for the old scanner, a little peeved, I made the purchase.
It was well worth it. A very significant upgrade with substantial improvements in paper handling, reliability and OCR speed.
I didn't automatically purchase a fujitsu, but rather did my research, considering Kodak, Canon, Visioneer, Epson and Panasonic scanners. I looked at the cheaper fujitsu options but know that having a Twain compatible driver a descent processing chip within machine would be worth the extra money. I had hoped to purchase something mac compatible but the reviews suggested the few mac compatible scanners available performed fairly slowly and not up to par with the available windows options.
I chose the fujitsu because of both twain and ISIS driver availability, making scanning an easy option from multiple programs, the automatic document feeder making document processing a breeze, the duplex capability and the included software, both Kofax VRS and Adobe Acrobat Standard 9.0
The unit arrived well packaged in excellent condition. Out of the box, it is solid, small with a very small desktop footprint. Despite its small size, it weighs 15 lbs and is very stable. The design blends without being intrusive. The buttons on the front panel are self explanatory. The automatic document feeder and exit chute collapse into the unit making storage a little tidier.
Set up is easy, plug it in, install drivers on the include CD rom. ( I updated to 64 bit drivers after a very short time, available on the fujitsu website.) Connect with USB cable. Done.
I installed Kofax for document management and the included Acrobat 9.0 standard. I was scanning within a few minutes.
Man, was I impressed.
Even in 32 bit mode, this machine is fast. Documents literally spit out of the feeder. With a 64 bit driver, the feed rate is even faster. That is scanning is duplex mode. The paper path is straight, improving the feed. A small tip to make the process smoother, remove the exit feed shute and place a bin where the documents exit. The documents accumulate neatly after scanning rather than populate an ever increasing pile on the floor.
The automatic document feeder works very smoothly, I have just processed over 650 pages without any misfeeds. The capacity is excellent, around 50 sheets. The ultrasonic feed detection for misfeeds seems valuable. To date I have had very few misfeeds and the few that I have had have related to operator error, twisted sheets of paper, inadvertently inserted rather than any fault of the machine. They were rapidly detected by the document feeder before scanning screeched to a halt. The document feeder is a big functional improvement on my previous fujitsu scanner.
Having Twain and ISIS compatible drivers is a big deal, I have been scanning from within photoshop. I considered some of the cheaper options without Twain drivers and am very glad that I paid the extra money for a twain compatible device. It allows a lot more compatiblity regarding the program you scan from. You are not reliant on only occasionally updated manufacturer written software to run the device.
Typically I run the device using VM ware in Windows 7. It processes documents including OCR in the background, while I continue to work away on the mac.
Overall I am very impressed. I don't have any criticisms, cheaper is always good, but the extra money for Twain drivers and a reliable document feeder was well worth it.
Way better than expected -- 2010-08-16
I am honestly very surprised at how great this scanner is. I have never bought a scanner before & at $870, I thought it was a little expensive. But, OMG, what a great scanner!!! the small scanner fits on my desk, no jams, very-very fast, great quality... Nobody told me about the Kofax software, but WOW is that amazing. I looked it up and it is like a $1,500 software included for free. Greatness! We love it.
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 | Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Document Imaging Scanner
Tedious workflow but good document scan results. -- 2010-08-22
This is a pretty good, fast document scanner, but not suitable for photographs. The software installation is disorganized, and software itself is somewhat clunky, but you can get good document images with a little work.
Normally, I do not install any of the software that comes with peripherals except the driver. I tried this strategy with the GT-S50. I installed only the Twain driver, then launched my previously-installed version of Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard for the scanning and OCR. While this works, it turned out the be unsatisfactory. Acrobat is not able to detect the width and height of the scanned documents, and so my scanned images had lots space on the sides and bottom. I was not able to live with that limitation.
So I installed some of the other software that came on one of the CDs with the hope that it would do a better job where Acrobat was deficient. I selected Epson Scan and ABBYY Fine Reader, and skipped PaperPort, which I hate from previous experience. This is the new stuff I ended up with on my start menu under All Programs after the installation:
ABBYY FineReader 6.0 Sprint
-ABBYY FineReader 6.0 Sprint
--User's Guide
EPSON
-EPSON Scan
--EPSON Scan Settings
--EPSON Scan
-GT-S50_S80 User's Guide
--GT-S50_S80 User's Guide
--Uninstall GT-S50_S80 User's Guide
EPSON Scan
-WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Online Support
-WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Scanner Driver Update
Epson Software
-Read Me
--Copy Utility
-Copy Utility
-Event Manager
ISIS Scanner Drivers
-EPSON
--GT-S80 and GT-S50 Users Guide
-ISIS Network Server
-ISIS Network User Guide
-ISIS on Citrix Setup Guide
What a mess. This is shockingly bad. I had to clean this up manually.
ABBYY FineReader 6.0 Sprint Plus does a nice job with the OCR, page size recognition, blank page removal, and export to PDF. It does not suffer form the page size limitation that I found with Acrobat. But the workflow is tedious. To scan a document, you launch FineReader, then press the "Scan&Read" button. Then you get a settings dialog from Epson Scan. There is no way to set this up with defaults so that you can skip this dialog entirely. You have to press "Scan" on this dialog before scanning will start. And after scanning has completed, you have to press "Close" on this dialog in order to return to FineReader. Two extra clicks per scan can add up very quickly to a huge annoyance.
After the scan is complete and you close the Epson Scan dialog, you have to press the Acrobat button on FineReader to export to PDF. This opens the document in Acrobat. The last step is "Save As" in Acrobat so that the PDF file with embedded OCR ends up where you want it. This is more steps than it should be.
I found the scanner to be unbelievably fast at up to 200 dpi. At 240 and above, it gets a little slower. The OCR processing is pretty fast on my machine, but it can't quite keep up with the scanner and is the bottleneck.
I put a stack photographs though the scanner, but found the results to be unsatisfactory because there were streaks on some of the images.
So while I'm keeping the unit for document scanning, it's not everything I had hoped it would be. It's fast, and I like the resulting PDFs of my documents, but the workflow is unnecessarily tedious. I will not be using the GT-S50 to scan photos.
Not worth it. -- 2010-08-20
Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 Document Imaging Scanner
The scanner is as fast as it boasts, but it also double feeds paper. I am disappointed because my motivation was to let it scan without having to oversee it.
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 | Brother DSMobile Scanner (DS-600)
Affordable Compact Scanner -- 2010-08-22
I use Vista and I did not have any installation issues. The set up on the scanner was very easy. Popped in the installation CD, installed each program in the order listed on the pop up window, restarted my computer as recommended, plugged in the scanner, calibrated, and I was done. I scanned my document and the quality was excellent. Scanned documents can be saved in more than one format. I use PDF format. This is a good product and the price is affordable.
Excellent -- 2010-08-21
The review of this product is part of my obligation to Amazon for accepting to be a member of the Vine program, a club of selected customers that provide opinions about "new and pre-released items." We enter this club by accepting free copies of products but we promise in return to submit an opinion.
Having an office at home has permitted me to author several books, articles and reviews. Owning a scanner is key to capturing photos or research as we travel.
So, when we saw this product as part of the Vine program offering, we decided to test it and see if we could resolve some of the issues we face as we try to collect data.
The Brother DS-Mobile 600 is easy to use and as expected scanning documents, photos and brochures is now a cinch! The scanner also allows you to save your work in Adobe Acrobat, JPG or TIFF file formats.
It works by connecting it to our laptop via the USB cable that comes with the scanner. Highly recommend this product!
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 | Canon CanoScan LiDE 700F Color Image Scanner (3297B002)
Great For Color Film Negatives -- 2010-08-18
I bought this scanner because I came across some old color film negatives I wanted to reproduce. The 700F comes with a negative adapter that makes scanning negatives quite easy. This scanner turned the negatives into good JPG pictures. I have owned a model 670 Cannon scanner for many years (that could not scan negatives) so learning to use this scanner was easy. Am very happy with this product.
Great price, good scans, software clunky -- 2010-08-09
Nice price, document scans and photo print scans are good, integrates well with Photoshop, and the lid design works for bulky stuff. I'm not using it, but the vertical mount option is interesting. USB-only power is great--one less wall wart. The scan bar return is kind of slow, and the plasticy return sound doesn't inspire confidence (it's worked well for me, however).
The software has been frustrating and I've moved back to my old scanning package. Canon's software effectively imposes a workflow on you and defaults to a subfolder/naming structure that has to be constantly overridden. If you can live with their workflow it looks like scanning is pretty fast and painless. Haven't tried the photo scanning software.
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