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(More customer reviews)I was recently given the task of selecting a flatbed scanner for public use in an academic setting. We didn't need anything fancy - just a good flatbed scanner with which patrons can scan photos and text documents. The main criteria I focused on were reliability, cost, OCR capabilities, and easy of use. Since I will be supporting any patrons with questions or problems using this scanner, I wanted a unit that would be as simple as possible to use. The designated PC has sufficient but not an extraordinary amount of memory, so I didn't want to go for extremely high resolution capabilities, either.
After looking long and hard at a variety of choices from leading producers, I chose the HP Scanjet 4070 Photosmart Scanner. Truth be told, it really wasn't that hard of a decision in the end. The HP Scanjet 4070 seemed to have everything I was looking for as well as some additional capabilities we don't really need but which could possibly be of use in the future. This sassy little convertible features a Photo Door which allows for the rapid scanning of 4 x 6 photos as well as the scanning of 35 mm slides and negatives. More importantly, it seemed to offer some of the most impressive OCR capabilities among the flatbed scanner candidates I was evaluating. Happily, the unit has lived up to its promises so far, doing a wonderful job of scanning text into an editable format with its Integrated I.R.I.S. Readiris OCR software - errors have been few and far between in this regard. No OCR software is perfect, but this does seem to do one whale of a job.
The optical resolution of this scanner is 2400 dpi, and the color is 48-bit; these settings meet our needs quite well. Our scanner's intended purpose does not involve high resolution scanning and advanced photo editing. The HP Image Zone software provides more than enough photo editing capabilities for us, such as the ability to remove red-eye problems automatically and easily breathe visual life into old, faded photographs. Unless you're doing some serious graphics design, Image Zone should have everything you need. The HP Scanjet 4070 also comes with ArcSoft Collage Creator software. We don't have any real need for this particular program, but it's a nice extra and can be fun to play with.
This scanner is pretty darn simple to use, I'm happy to say. The HP Director software provides an easy-to-use interface to all scanning options, and the front button panel on the scanner itself allows for basically one-touch access to the most common functions. The only way this scanner could be simpler to use would be for those buttons to actually spell out Scan Photo, Scan Document, etc. As it is, though, the icons on the front button panel are essentially self-explanatory. I can't really comment on the scanning quality of slides and negatives, since that is a capability we have no use for at this time, but the HP Scanjet 4070 does a wonderful job scanning photos and, as I have mentioned, a very impressive job of scanning documents into editable text.
Finally, this scanner could hardly be simpler to set up and install. USB makes everything easy. Install the software, hook up everything on the scanner, then plug the scanner into an available USB port on your PC, and you're ready to rock and roll. I personally had no trouble installing the included software, and I tested everything on my own Dell PC with Windows XP Pro before setting the scanner up at its permanent home connected to a HP PC running Windows 2000.
If you're looking for a flatbed scanner to do basic scanning of photos and text, I think you would be wise to include this particular model in your list of candidates.
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HP's Scanjet 4070 Photosmart Scanner provides an easy way to quickly convert stacks of traditional photos, 35 mm slides, or negatives into digital files for printing, e-mailing, and storing. Scans at 2400-dpi optical resolution and 48-bit color.Use HP Image Zone software to automatically remove red-eye, restore faded photos, and brighten dark photo areas. Plus, organize photos, create enlargements, album pages, and moreEasily scan a stack of photos to share as album pages, e-mail, and prints.One-touch automatic photo-correction restores colors and shades to make digital copies of old photos more true to originals.Task speed - Less than 25 sec -4 x 6-in color photo into Microsoft Word; less than 35 sec -OCR a full page of text into Microsoft Word; less than 22 sec -e-mail photoMaximum scan size is 8.5 x 11.7 inHi-Speed USB (compatible with USB 2.0 specifications)System requirements, minimum,USB-compatible PC with Microsoft Windows 98, 98 SE, Me, 2000, XP (Professional and Home Editions) Unit Dimensions (w x d x h) 11.73 x 18.58 x 3.54 in / Weight -7.2 lbHP USA Warranty -90 day limited hardware warranty
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