Hi everyone. I have an old HP Scanjet 4300C which is not meeting all my scanning needs, so I am thinking of upgrading and would like a recommendation or two from this group :-)

Needs:
1. Scan my old college notes etc - mostly one time effort of a few thousand pages. Although not desirable, I don't mind doing them 50 at a time.

2. Use as a day to day scanner for clippings, magazine articles, maybe photos as well. Don't need to scan in negatives or anything that sophisticated. Speed is good - my current scanner seems slow even when I have to do 4 or 5 color scans back to back.

Would I be better off renting a $2000 scanner for a month for the first job or is there a scanner in the $300 price range that can also serve as a day to day scanner. I saw some comments about the HP 7450 and Microtek 5950 as possibilities in the latter scenario.

Thanks. Paul

I'm very happy with the HP 7450. You should think about getting a
copy of Acrobat Writer since it is the best way to save documents.
I've had the scanner for over two years. It's very easy to use, very
reliable, a bit noise but most ADF are.

It will hold 50 sheets at a time. If you are scanning two sided
sheets don't worry because Acrobat will ask you if you are. Once you
are done with scanning all of side ones (up to50 sheets a time) it
tells you to turn them over and start scanning the second side (up to
50 sheets at a time). When complete it will automatically correlate
them.

This scanner will scan up to 2400 x 2400 true dpi. It comes with a
film adapter (most scanners do these days). It connects to the PC or
Mac via USB 1 or SCSI. I have used both and find that SCSI is a bit
faster but USB is so easy to connect.

There is no on/off switch. This thing stays on all the time but it
does go into sleep mode. Waking it up is automatic and it usually
only takes 30 seconds. I'm not sure how long an idle it takes before
it goes back to sleep but I've really never found it to be a problem.
Some people are very impatient.

The software bundle is very good. You get the HP scan software,
network software, OCR software. Photoshop Light software, and several
other tools. This scanner can also work with Vuescan.

Bonus with this scanner is that it has a large glass plate. You can
lay a legal sheet down and scan.

I've said a lot here. I think this a good scanner at a good price
(ebay). My office uses it daily.

Ask me any questions.


"Sometimes" <paulastya.gupta@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<0h19b.339501$cF.102486@rwcrnsc53>...

Paul:

I would look at the New Epson 3170. It has an optional Automatic Doc
Feeder. If your notes are in good shape this would help you get them
in. If they are wrinkled, creased, or odd sizes, I'd still recomend
the scanner, but forget the ADF.

Good Luck
Ira Solomon

On Sun, 14 Sep 2003 17:09:16 GMT, "Sometimes"
<paulastya.gupta@comcast.net> wrote:

"Sometimes" <paulastya.gupta@comcast.net> wrote in message news:0h19b.339501$cF.102486@rwcrnsc53...

Would I be better off renting a $2000 scanner for a month for the first job or is there a scanner in the $300 price range that can also serve as a day to day scanner. I saw some comments about the HP 7450 and Microtek 5950 as possibilities in the latter scenario.

-----

Where does one rent a $2000 scanner? I have a bunch
of 35mm slides I'd like to digitize but after that I'll have
little need for a scanner. A rental would serve me well.

Dennis Vogel

Hi everyone, thanks a lot for your replies. Over the weekend I tried to
find the Epson 3170 and the Microtek 5950, two scanners that were
recommended. Staples only had the Microtek 5950 with the auto document
feeder so I ended up buying it.

In a nutshell, I wasn't too satisfied with the speed - I can't see myself
waiting around to scan paper docs en masse using this scanner.

I am now considering the Fujitsu Scansnap (FUJITSU SCANSNAP FI-4110EOX2
SHTFEDSCAN 15PPM USB). It seems to have the things I missed in the
Microtek: duplex scanning and speed. Before I buy I would love to get
comments from a current user. It comes with Acrobat writer which is nice,
but it doesn't seem to have any OCR built in.

Thanks. Will post updates to this group.

-- Paul


"Ira Solomon" <isolomon@solomonltd.com> wrote in message
news:gcjbmvc192qlegb5gpefifem1qj0roacoq@4ax.com...
recommendation or two from this group :-)
time.
sophisticated. Speed is good - my current scanner seems slow even when I
have to do 4 or 5 color scans back to back.
day to day scanner. I saw some comments about the HP 7450 and Microtek 5950
as possibilities in the latter scenario.

Try www.atlex.com for the Epson scanner. They offer better prices than in
the stores.


"Sometimes" <paulastya.gupta@comcast.net> wrote in message
news:LD9eb.376663$2x.116280@rwcrnsc52.ops.asp.att. net...

On Tue, 30 Sep 2003 06:44:59 GMT, "Sometimes"
<paulastya.gupta@comcast.net> wrote:

Speed is really good, misfeeds can be a problem.
It detects misfeeds by sudden changes/mismatches in paper size.

Scanning both sides at one time is real handy.
Reassembling batches of scans(pdf's) into a single large pdf is a
painless procedure.

I have found, that best results, (low # of misfeeds), occur when I
hand separate the pages from old books and manuals while feeding the
scanner.

I hand separate 20 to 25 pages, placing each one in feeding
hopper/mechanism. Then I start the scanner (push button). While it
feeds, I hand separate and add more to the hopper/feed mechanism. At
periodic intervals I empty the collection tray. I can scan 300 pages
in about 10 minutes with an average about one misfeed.

Biggest benefit.
Keeping the cover page and throwing out the remainder of the scanned
manual :-)

You can get a free plug in that will do 50 pages at a time. (Adobe
web site).

I haven't tried OCR yet. Still scanning in 150dpi mode. right now
I'm just trying to get replace/archive my library of old paper
manuals, etc.