A Great Scanner For A Great Price
Pros:
Very cheap, comes with useful add-ons, easy to use
Cons:
Power-saving sometimes falters, buttons do not work sometimes
The Bottom Line:
An excellent buy; will give you everything you need; extremely easy to install and use; add-on accessories are useful; does what is says it does and at a low price.
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
The Microtek ScanMaker 4800 is a very good scanner to buy if you are looking for a budget-priced to medium-priced scanner. It has many favorable aspects.
The interface is USB, and that makes it very simple to install. The driver software used to scan is very easy to use and gives you many options, such as color and contrast settings, before sending the actual scan to your graphics program. Pictures that I have scanned have come out quite well and are fit for everyday use.
Another plus on the scanner is its five buttons on the front. Options are: Scan and send to directory/program, Copy to printer, Attach to email, OCR, and send to web. The configuration utility provides you many options, such as scanning at a certain DPI, labeling each file numerically, such as File001.jpg, File002.jpg, provides several file formats (JPG, TIFF, and others), and dump all the files into a directory. The copy feature scans and dumps the file straight to the printer. I have not yet used the other functions. In addition, the scanner can do a pre-scan and automatically define the boundaries of the scan.
In addition, a negative scanner is included. Although not the best quality, it is good for everyday use. It provides the ability to scan negatives and positives. Based on my experience, it has performed well. People looking to print out actual photos should buy a higher quality film scanner, as this one is limited in its resolution.
What bugs about the scanner is that its power-saving option is not consistent. I must unplug the power cord everyday, since its power saving option is to turn off the lamp and leave the button lights on, which consume electricity. In addition, sometimes it does not even turn off the lamp, and after leaving it on for 15 minutes or so, the temperature above the lamp is almost burning to the touch.
I have also encountered a problem with the buttons - the Copy button refuses to find a printer, even though I have printers installed. So far it has been unresolved and unfortunately I must live with it.
To sum it up, this scanner gives you a lot for your money. However, if you can spare 50 dollars, the 4900 might be a better choice.
