In 10 minutes, you can set up and use this HP scanner
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The phrase 'easy to install' on a product box generally means I'll spend only half a day instead of all day and night setting up a new device.
The scanner's Universal Serial Bus cord made a trouble-free connection to my test PC, and by following the step-by-step software instructions I had everything up and running in 10 minutes. It's better to load the software before connecting the hardware; the software prompts when the time comes to plug in the USB. Short video clips on the installation CD-ROM also show what to plug in and where.So far, so good. But the ScanJet 5300C's 1,200-dot-per-inch optical resolution, plus software enhancement up to 9,600 dpi, seem a bit much for ordinary desktop PC imaging. Most people can't tell the difference between 600- and 1,200-dpi images, and the latter take longer to scan, occupy more disk space and ultimately slow performance.That said, the ScanJet 5300C makes images that are strikingly superior to those from $100 scanners. It picks up color in 32-bit chunks, as opposed to 30-, 24- or 16-bit chunks. That supposedly ensures better quality and shorter scanning time.The ScanJet 5300C was slower than I expected, however'it took an average of a minute and a half for a 5- by 7-inch photo at 600 dpi.The ScanJet 5300C can also e-mail, fax and copy at the touch of a convenient button.The scanner had some operational problems. At times I had to manually start it through the Microsoft Windows Start menu.Immediately after the software installation, I began to scan, e-mail, copy and fax a picture on the 8.5- by 11.7-inch scanning surface. Everything worked fine until I tried to process two images in succession.The scanner froze, and I had to cancel the scan. I went back to the Start menu and selected the scanner but got a message that no scanner was present.It should be possible to disconnect and reconnect the scanner via USB's plug-and-play connection without having to turn the computer off. When I disconnected the USB cable, however, the computer immediately shut down and restarted without saving anything to disk.The sudden reboot fixed the scanner recognition problem, but it made me uneasy.At $300, the ScanJet 5300C performs useful functions with decent quality. I don't question its ingenuity, only its reliability.I recommend it as a personal desktop scanner. Users who want steady, reliable performance for big jobs should look elsewhere.
By Carlos A. Soto
GCN Staff
The phrase 'easy to install' on a product box generally means I'll spend only half a day instead of all day and night setting up a new device.
Hewlett-Packard's ScanJet 5300C color scanner not only lives up to my definition of easy installation, it's also easy to use.
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ScanJet 5300C Multifunction scanner Hewlett-Packard Co.; Palo Alto, Calif.; tel. 847-342-2715 www.hp.com Price: $300 + Easy to install and use ' Sudden-death restarts Real-life requirements: Win9x or Win 2000, Pentium II or faster processor, 32M of RAM, USB or parallel connection, CD-ROM drive, 120M of free storage |
 | The HP ScanJet 5300C has four buttons to copy, fax or e-mail images from its 8.5'by 11.7'inch scanning bed. |
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