HP ScanJet 3300C color scanner makes installation and scanning a breeze. Just plug the cable into the Universal Serial Bus port and follow the step-by-step instructions. And then scan or copy at the touch of a button with scanning technology from the market leader. Everything you need for image scanning, text recognition and copying is right there in the box. ScanJet 3300C offers Hewlett-Packard quality and convenience at a low-end price.
The HP ScanJet 3300Cse is a flatbed one-pass color and monochrome scanner. It features USB port installation, 36-bit color depth, and 600 dpi optical and 9,600 dpi enhanced resolution. Everything you need for photo scanning, text recognition, and color copying is right in the box. It also offers the flexibility to save, print, or send your scan to your favorite application for editing, storing, and e-mailing. Two front panel buttons, one for scanning and one for copying, make this unit fast and simple to use.
With the HP ScanJet 3300Cse, you have direct connectivity to popular applications and can scan directly into an application simply by pressing the scan button; the scanner automatically selects the correct file format. If you have a color printer, you can produce color copies--no more trips to the copy center. This scanner includes intuitive, straightforward scanning software that guides you through four simple steps. You don't need to know anything about color depth or resolution to get great-looking results. The unit is backed by a 90-day warranty on parts and labor.
What's in the Box
HP ScanJet 3300C, setup poster, USB cable, power cable, CD-ROM; software includes HP PrecisionScan LT, Adobe PhotoDeluxe 3.0 image editor, HP Color Copy Utility, HP Creative Ideas Guide, and Professor Franklin's Instant Photo Effects
1 Review for the magazine photo scanners, DON'T BUY!
If you are one of those types of people who like to scan stuff out of a magazine, I wouldn't buy this product at all. When I always tried to scan photos from magazines I'd always get this weird light effect across the whole image. The best I can describe it is, you know how if your cable is bad and you see an annoying black bar that keeps going across the screen. Well this was what happened to my magazine scans. I'd get a transparent yellowish bar (pinkish too) that went across the whole photo and editing didn't even help to get rid of it. Honestly my suggestion is if you scan photos for the web from magazine clippings, don't buy this scanner. The images come out terrible, plus the speed is very slow. This product isn't even worth the lowest rating you can give a product on Amazon.
2 WORST SCANNER IN THE MARKET TODAY
HP Deskjets and Laserjets are at the top of its class, but the HP Scanjet series are probably the worst of its class. Why?
I bought an HP Scanjet 3300c,and the following are its weaknesses:
FIRST, its so bulky and big and its not compact
SECOND, its not portable it will get broken when you bring it on the road or to travel
THIRD, its a very very slow scanner, with a very long waiting time for it to warm up
FOURTH, it has no power on button, so ull never know if its actually working or not until its too late
FIFTH, it has the worst programs its so simple that u actually have no use for it except if you get an Adobe or any photo editing software, it does not cater to creative consumers like us
SIXTH, it has the worst software drivers, the 3300c is made in the time of Win98, when i made a switch to WinME and WinXp I never got to use it again effectively and normally, it would work one time, and in the next, the scanner can't be found by the computer and cannot be detected
SEVENTH, it has the worst software support upgrade, the drivers and softwares especially the HP Precision Scan LT just got no support, if it doesnt work youll be helpless.
EIGTH, it has the worst custommer support ever, the technicians cant even fix the scanner, the scanner involves lots of guess work to use, ull use it 10% of the time you own it, 90% of the time just fixing it.
NINTH, low quality for all those who bought this scanner, almost everyone got furiously mad and dismayed, they thought that HP Scanners are good quality, just dont bet on it,you find it quite hard to operate or maybe broken have it replaced immediqately, HP Scanners are unserviceable, you can only have it replaced, that is if youve not yet passed the one year warranty period
TENTH, overall HP Scanners are expensive, bulky, low tech, with very complicated software, andd its downside the hardware itself.
Please phase out this model, it would ruin your HP Scanner line, your other scanners are also not good suffering the same fate, beware of buying this scanner, its a waste of your precious time, and money.
HP Scanjet Series, a waterloo for HP, its like going back to vintage scanners of old.
3 FAILs TO WORK WITH WINDOWS XP
Beware of this scanner, HP is either unwilling or unable to get this scanner to work properly with Win XP. Even after downloading the software that is supposed to get it to function on XP it is still a complete failure.
4 The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly
This scanner worked fine for me at first. No problems installing the unit to my Windows98 machine using USB connection. Then, after about eight months, I downloaded updated drivers and other software from HP's web site. That was the beginning of the ugly part. After installing the new software, I kept getting an error message saying that the program "cannot find the scanner." I'm embarrassed to say how many hours I spent trying (unsuccessfully) to get the program to "find" the scanner. Finally, I called HP tech support. That was the good part. A very knowledgeable and friendly HP techncian named "Helen" stayed on the line with me for a full two hours (no joke!) trying to solve the problem. The bad part was that, alas, she also was unsuccessful. She concluded that the scanner must be defective. I plan to try installing the scanner on another computer. If that doesn't work, I'll buy another scanner from Amazon.
5 need software
i need software becuase this product locks up in windows me it just doesn't seem too work it worked fine in windows 98 thats all
thank you
donald
6 It does what I need it to do.
Under windows 98 it was easy to set up. I had a few problems when I upgraded to Windows XP but I downloaded new drivers from the HP web site and the scanner works ok now. I have not used it very much in the 1 year I have owned it but when I did use it I was very satisfied with the output.....
For light use it seems to do everything one would need and the 1 touch buttons for printing and scanning are handy.....
7 Know your needs - love your scanner
First...You will need to tweak the output with photo imaging software-no matter what.
Reviewers on Amazon need to be classified into the "I bought this for my wife and kids..." and "I bought this for my photo art class thesis portfolio...." I am somewhere in between. I expect high quality without taking out a second mortgage to fund my hobby. I am also a computer consultant so I am qualified to address technical issues.
With that said, here are my thoughts:
Installation- (Win98, manually-added USB root hub) a BREEZE. No problems. No required downloaded patches. Can't speak to issues on other's machines.
Quality - Great quality, can be foggy and soft at times even at highest dpi setting. But Quality vs. Original Price (which I paid) is excellent. The price listed here makes me cry-a steal. Know your needs, love your machine. If you expect photo-lab results, pay more. If you want a 5x7 print you can frame (on appropriate photo quality paper, not the cheap stuff), this will do the trick.
Output - Using Adobe PhotoDeluxe 3.1 provided, I found best results after increasing Contrast settings to higher levels for richer color. Another reviewer claims Adobe PhotoShop provides less foggy output. I will definately try that suggestion. While I am a HUGE fan of Adobe products, I found that even a simplistic program like ArcSoft PhotoPrinter (provided with Epson 740) will produce crisper output than Adobe PhotoDeluxe given same photo and settings.
File format - file format is CRUCIAL to high quality output when editing. If you acquire file using JPG format and intend to edit before output, IMMEDIATELY convert to BMP first, do your revisions and then save back to JPG. BMP retains quality (and pixels) during multiple revisions (unless you intentionally decrease resolution). My recommendation...always keep a BMP original on hand to make copies from. EACH time you resave a JPG you lose pixels. Lost pixels=decreased output quality. EACH time you resize a JPG you lose pixels, etc. Bottom line, work in BMP format until your satisfied with end result and ready to save in finished JPG format.
At the price I originally paid, I rate this a 4, otherwise at the price listed above, I would have rated it a 5.
8 OK Scanner
This HP Scanner is OK, but it doesn't work well when you scan in small objects. So the trick is to put something behind it to make the scanner think that it is a larger object so it will come out well. The software that comes with it is great. The hookup is easy, but it has no off button.
9 A Fine Scanner.
I have been slow to get a scanner. I just never had any need for one. So, since my wife is a 35mm camera buff and isn't sold on digital photography yet, it was time to get a scanner. Not needing bells and whistles, I took a chance on the low cost HP 3300Cse. It is worth every penny if you want reliable, easy to use scanning.
The scanner itself was easy to hook up. Basically, plug it in and you a ready to go. However, with Windows XP, there was some issues. First, this scanner, on the box, says Windows 98 only. Well, Windows XP recognizes the scanner and installs the proper, signed drivers. However, to use the HP scanning software, you must download a 54 meg file for the latest software and install UNSIGNED drivers. This isn't a biggie for most people, but I found that the built in scanning software in Windows XP works just fine, if you are worried about signed and unsigned drivers. Either way, both software packages do the job.
Scanning quality was surprising, considering the very low cost of this scanner. The images are crisp and can be scanned in varying depths. Add a photo imaging software package and you are in business. The speed is a little slow but not too bad.
You can't go wrong with this scanner if you are on a budget and want a simple, easy to use scanner. Highly recommended.
10 Very Good Scanner (if you download the new software from HP)
I am very satisfied with this scanner, it was easy to install, the trick was that before installing it, I downloaded the latest software and drivers from HP web site,(I even haven't opened the original CD with the software yet), so when I connected the scanner for the first time to one of my pc's the installation was very simple, easy and trouble-free, I have tested the scanner with a machine with windows 98 installed and another machine with windows 2000 pro (just for curiosity) =), in both cases I found no problems neither with the software nor the drivers.
The image quality is very good, and unless you are a graphic designer, I can tell you that this scanner will fullfill all your scanning needs
11 cd needed
I bought a HP ScanJet 3300C last year and we had computer problems resulting in the loss of our hard drive. We had a new hard drive installed, but we lost all info in the system. We can not find our CD to reload the scanner, could you please send me a new one so we can stsrt using the scanner again. We really like this scanner it fits our needs and we would like to start using it again. Your assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank You Gary rucker
12 BAD NEWS
I HAVE OWNED TWO HEWLETT PACKARD SCANNERS. THE Hp4 SCANJET AND THE SCANJET 3300C. THEY HAVE NEVER WORKED TO MY SATISFACTION. I COULD GET A COUPLE OF SCANS AND THEN THE MESSAGE THAT IT WAS NOT COMMUNICATING WITH THE COMPUTER. I HAVE DOWNLOADED DRIVERS FROM THE HP WEBSITE AND THAT HAS NOT HELPED. I AM IN THE MARKET FOR A SCANNER BUT WOULDN'T GET ANOTHER HP.
13 Value for your $$-Good product-Great scanner! :)
I've had my HP scanner now for well over a year and it's working as great as ever. I found it simple to set up & have found it to be of very good quality. I'm sorry to hear some others out there have had problems...perhaps a few bad ones in the bunch? I too have 98SE but found no need to d/l patches nor any problems with lightbulbs burning out days after my purchase etc etc...so not much else to share except I see the price has dropped to an even more unbelieveable deal than I got it at last year. My suggestion...you just can't beat the price...for a quality scanner...I've yet to have a problem with mine!
Sincerely,
Lizzie :o)
14 Not the best HP
This scanner is a great starter scanner. It was my first scanner. The only problem I had was it grinding and clicking. It's only a year or two old. The first year it worked great. Don't bother trying to call HP - there number is a '900' number. ....
15 Bad scanning quality
I got this scanner for $... after rebate at BestBuy, but I haven't sent in the rebate yet. The scanning quality looks good on the screen ONLY IF the picture is big, but I tried to scan a CD cover and there are lines all across it. That happened the first time I bought it also (probably a higher model). I used Photoshop to import the images. The PhotoDeluxe that comes with the scanner .... It makes the images look REALLY bad. I don't know why there are so many yellow marks all over it.
I'm thinking of returning this scanner. I'll give it a week before I make my final decision. I rather spend more on a better quality one.
EPSON is REALLY good, but it scans VERY slowly.
16 Stay away from this scanner
This scanner is a piece of junk. It worked ok for about 2 weeks. After that, I started getting 2117 errors and the scanner software would frequently hang. The HP web sight is replete with problems attributed to this scanner. Mostly, they suggest unplugging the power cord (no on/off switch) after you shut down the computer and starting all over again. That works somethimes but it is a slow process. If you have had to go through it several times, the routine gets pretty tiresome. After owning this for 3 months, I'm about to junk it.
17 Beware - Has Windows Me Issues !!!
The box says that it is now Windows Me compatable but the driver disk cd that was included was printed in 1999. Hmmm... I downloaded a patch from HP's site that was supposed to take care of the "me" problems...it did'nt. The scans that I have managed to get were of decent quality but every fourth or fifth one would for no apparent reason lock up my system requiring a hard boot. We'll blame this one on Windows Me, but never the less, tomorrow I'll be returning this scanner for a later model.
18 Great scanner for the home user!
This is a great scanner. If you are a home user, or light professional user, this is a very good scanner.
It is perfect for home and office projects and scans color at the touch of a button. It can also be set up as a copy machine with the use of yoru printer (which is a really cool feature!)
The 600 dpi optical resolution, 9,600 dpi enhanced is nice and more than adequate for most home users. The USB interface is really fast to set up and is a snap.
Stop looking and get this one by the leader.
19 Poor quality
I scanned same color photograph using ScanJet 3300c and old ScanJet 4c. ScanJet 3300c produced image with poor color and clarity. Its histogram is 20% more narrow. The image looked foggy and dim.
20 Good for a light weight
I found the hp 3300 optics excellent, I expected to have trouble with reflection because it does not have zero reflection coating but the scans I took included 4"x6" glossy photo prints which turned out crisp and accurate. I have no complaints with the bundled software, the adobe photo deluxe 3.1 runs good and has all the important functions needed to enhance the picture, contrast, brightness, color saturation and hue filters, plus an abundant selection of file extensions for the web. The problems I did have where that the construction seemed too light for my liking, the top lid was rounded so nothing stayed on, and the biggest fault was it only runs on win98, which caused me to return it since I might change my operating system in the future. If I was sure I would stay with 98 I would have kept it because I was impressed with the picture quality and I trust HP as a solid brand name.
21 HELP
This is a request for "HELP".I want to purchase a HP e-scanner that is compatible with my webtv plus receiver.What models are available (model no,s) and cost, can I order on line?? from who?? What info is available for webtv plus receiver use??? pmigloo@webtv.net
22 BEWARE
This Scanner does not work with Windows Me. We had to download a patch and that still did not work. We had USB port troubles. We then spent 50 minutes on the phone (not toll free--am dreading getting the bill) with technical support who had us do everything but tear apart our computer and rebuild it to get this scanner working. I'm worried now that our whole system may be messed up because of all the steps he had us go through. It is actually working now and our scanned images are pretty good, especially copying old black and white photos. But after reading other's reviews (which I wish I had read before I bought this) I'm worried it won't last long. My advice would be to RUN AWAY! FAR FAR AWAY!!
23 Plug it in and start scanning
This scanner is affordable and extremely easy to use. I had it set up and scanning within minutes of taking it out of the box. Good resolution and good color. Perfect scanner for the non-tech person. Only reason it did not get 5 stars is because of the 90-day warranty. However, for $16.00, I got a 2year extended warranty.
24 Less Than Zero Stars --- DO NOT BUY
I purchased this scanner on a Tuesday. I returned it on Wednesday. I could be more specific, but the blood vessel on the side of my head has finally receded to a somewhat normal state. Do yourself a favor, buy something else...anything.
25 Good for Win 9x and infrequent use
Bought this and the underside of the glass had styrofoam packing stuck to it - since its not user serviceable there is no way to clean underside of the glass. Easy USB setup if you are running Win 9x, but to use with Win 2000/NT you cannot download the new software, but have to call a non-800 # and order it seperately (and be put on hold for ages). All in all I was discouraged and returned it.
26 Perfect for my needs
When I bought this scanner, it was a newer model and not nearly as low-priced as 100 dollars. Still, for my needs, I feel as though I got my money's worth. If you're like me and scan a few pics a week, don't mind moderate-speed, and don't mind the scanner controls being in the software rather than on the scanner itself (there are only 2 buttons: copy, and print), you'll feel the same way. I have NO complaints with picture quality, despite previous reviews. I scan color prints and brochure photos (will not work with slides).
If you're going to spend a hundred dollars on a scanner, you have to understand that to get the precise picture quality you desire, you will have to "tweak" it here and there with a photo editor. The software that comes with it will do the trick, but I would recommend JASC Paint Shop Pro as a moderateley-priced, excellent-quality accompanying graphic editor. Either way, LEARN the graphic software you use to get good quality scans.
#1 Important thing to remember? Will ONLY work with with Windows 98 and a USB port connection! There is NO parallel or serial port connector, and it WILL NOT work with Windows 95. Figure out your needs, and decide whether this will do the trick.
27 Not worth buying period!
I too found this scanner to be EXTREMELY slow and the OCR can'tread the POOR scanned in image!(One can't adjust the darkness OR lightness when scanning anything in! ) Yes it has USB and many times when I unplug it to plug my digital camera in ...upload some pic's ..plug the HP (USB) cord in and my NEW computer can't find it ..have to reinstall the software! Forget support ..it [costs] PER MINUTE, not per HOUR as others have stated for support on [this] scanner. There is not ONE single piece of paper that is packed with the unit ..like an instruction manual ...packing slip...only the CD rom which states 90 days for PARTS and LABOR! Some confidence in the quality!
This scanner is a NO brainer ..no wonder HP was giving them away recently when one purchased PRINTER. Here goes my stock! :-(
28 The Best Scanner HP 3300CSE
Hi,
I bought one new HP scanner, to scan my family photos to post on to my personal website. I can say it is really a good product from HP, previously I bought another scanner from Acer but I was not satisfied so I returned with in one week. I connected this Scanner to my computer and installed softwares with in 10 minutes, it took less than 30 sec. to scan one 8 X 10 photo, the quality of that image is really superb. It is just like the original photo. I would recommed this scanner to all. Don't waste money to buy costly scanners, you will love it.
29 HP ScanJet 3300Cse (Cse=can't scan everytime)
I purchased the HP 3300Cse last December of 1999 and am very disappointed with the scanner in general. Although, once you do get a successful scan and if you have a quality printer, I was pleased with the quality of my final printed photo. I also scanned an original art painting (7.5" X 10") when a couple that I had printed on inkjet canvas paper turned out so close to the original painting that a couple of people were completely fooled as to whether it was a print or the original painting. Now that is good but it's also very rare with this scanner. I also purchased the HP 4200 which is far better but still a disappointment. The biggest problem I have is scanning text that is later unreadable by any and all software that I own, which is considerable. I will never again purchase an HP printer or scanner and as far as HP customer service is concerned, you might as well forget what the term "service" even means as it's plain that the employees at Hewlett-Packard have forgotten or maybe they just never knew. Also, This scanner just "quits" for no apparent reason after about 4 scans if I use settings of 150% or higher. Sometimes it won't even scan an item if I try to blow it up over the 150% setting. It stops the printer from spooling properly in the process forcing me to close my program and restart Windows. What a hassle every third or fourth scan! Junk! That's what this scanner is! And the 4200 isn't a whole lot better.
30 Minus 1 = 0 stars! The disposable HP Scanner...
The lesson I've learned here is never buy an HP scanner with a 90 day warranty. Most of their "higher quality" scanners have at least a 1 year warranty, but this low end scanner comes with a 90 day. Apparently, that is just about the lifetime of the scanning bulb. Mine burned out two weeks out of warranty and their support told me "you might as well buy a new one for the cost of replacing a bulb". Nice!
They should build these with a cardboard casing and sell them on shelves at K-Mart as the "disposable Scanner".
It'll cost a little more (initially), but I recommend the Epson 1200 U. I'm very happy with it.
31 This is an HP Product?
I installed this scanner on an HP Pavillion 8836 with Windows 98 platform. The computer did not recognize the scanner. When I attempted to use the on-line trouble shooting 'tips' there was no solution for the fact that the PC didn't recognize the scanner. Having had other scanners and a bit of PC knowledge, I tested out every avenue I could think of, to find everything working correctly. Customer care at HP is not available at the hours published, and then at $2/hour - no in warranty support. The lack of even a simple manual was a definate minus. I bought this unit relying on HP's reputation (I use HP test equipment at work) and found that I was fooled. Needless to say this unit is being returned to the vendor (not Amazon), and I will use Amazons customer review feature to select its replacement (may be another Hp, but not this model).
32 Didn't work reliably with an HP Pavilion 6630 computer
I was let down by HP. The scanner was identified as an "Unknown USB Device" 17 out of 20 times I booted my computer. HP's web site noted this problem and suggested unplugging the scanner for 1 minute and rebooting the computer. After two days of that I returned the scanner.
I also learned from their web site the software which ships with the scanner is not compatible with HP LaserJet III or older printers (I would have found that out if I ever got to the point of printing).
My old Logitech PageScan Color USB scanner worked first time on this computer even with the Win95b drivers! (I used this scanner to verify the problem was not the USB on the Pavilion)
I an VERY disappointed with HP for selling this scanner with such problems (49 known problems noted on their support page) From other reviews I have read here and elsewhere, people are either pleased as punch with this scanner or have returned it and will never buy HP again. Maybe HP has a batch of "lemons" out there: it appears to be 50/50 from what I can determine.
33 easy scanner
I am new to all of this computer stuff. But i did purchase one, and i wanted to blow my pictures up on photo paper.And the HP scanjet 3300c with its easy to load software was quite simple even for a beginner.I had a picture blown up in just a few minutes.And the adobe photo fixer is great to touch up bad pictures.And the price on or off the net is the same. SO GO OUT AND GET YOURSELF ONE?
34 Great bang for the buck
This is the first scanner I have ever bought and I must say I'm impressed with the quality of the scans, the ease of use, and USB installation is a breeze. There were a few problems with the installation, however. You're going to need a patch from HP (get it on their web site) to solve one problem. You're also going to need a patch from microsoft to solve another USB issue (if you're running Windows 98SE like I am)... and finally, I needed help from the Adobe Web site to get their PhotoShop software running (which comes with the scanner and is pretty cool to play with). All of these patches can be had for free via the HP, microsoft, and Adobe web sites using the online support features.
Having to update drivers when you first get new hardware isn't all that unusual so don't let that scare you. $149 for this scanner is a great deal in my opinion.
35 scanjet 3300c
I am a first time user of scanners and found this scanner to be very simple to use. The quality is very good. I use this for everything from photos to bills that i copy to my cd-writer. It was a very good purchase.
