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Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Buying Guide: Scantastic!
Contents
- Scantastic!
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Performance: HP ScanJet 5400c;
Value: Canon CanoScan N1240U - BenQ S2W 5300U
- Canon CanoScan D1250U2F, CanoScan N1240U
- HP ScanJet 5400c
- Microtek ScanMaker 4800, 4900
- Mustek BearPaw 2400TA Plus, ScanExpress A3 USB
- Umax Astra 4000U, 4400
- Visioneer OneTouch 8920 USB, 9000 USB
- Performance Tests: Scan-Dos and Can't-Dos
- Do Dollars Make Sense?
- Shedding Light on Film Scanners
- OCR Technology Today
- Summary of Features: Scanners
Someday you will take only digital photographs. Someday documents will exist only in electronic formats. Today is not that day. Scanners still matter, and their usefulness is far from over, with better resolutions and speeds, new software that cleans up and even improves old photos, and OCR software that really works (finally). For the time being, no self-respecting desktop is complete without a scanner next to the color ink jet printer.
But let the buyer beware. There's a big difference between a good scanner and a bad one, a difference that's not easy to tell by looking at the resolution or bit-depth numbers manufacturers slap on the box. Here we cut through the often misleading information and tell you what you need to know when making a purchase.