Fast, Easy and Quiet HP scanning technology meets breakthrough design in the HP Scanjet 4600. This ultra-thin scanner features a see-thru window of tough polycarbonate that resists scratching. Preview scans in as little as six seconds. Scanner can be used in a variety of positions, making it easy to capture hard-to-scan items. Documents and photos larger than letter size are easily scanned in sections using one-touch buttons, then quickly and easily reassembled with included Arcsoft Panorama Maker software. An excellent laptop companion. The HP 4600 scans at 2400 dpi optical resolution with 48-bit color for sharp, clear photos. Includes HP Photo and Imaging software with HP Memories Disc Creator and HP Instant Share. Use HP Memories Disc Creator to build personalized digital photo slideshows on CD and HP Instant Share to share photos with loved ones via e-mail without slow downloads or large photo attachments. Supports an optional transparent materials adapter to scan 35 mm slides and negatives.
The ScanJet 4600 from HP is a see-through flatbed scanner that allows you to view documents and materials as they are being scanned. The see-through window lets you make precise scans, showing you the exact scanning area, while the included HP photo and imaging software helps you to get the most out of your scans. With larger items, simply scan multiple sections of the original and reassemble with the included software.
With 2,400 dpi optical resolution and 48-bit color, scans are accurate, crisp, and true-to-life, while the maximum document size of 8.5 by 11.7 inches lets you easily scan up to letter size documents and accepts a wide variety of media types including paper (plain, inkjet, photo), envelopes, labels, cards, banner paper, and more. The 4600 easily scans to multiple file formats, including BMP, TIFF, GIF, PDF, HTML, JPEG, FPX, TIFF compressed, PCX, RTF, TXT, and PNG, while the OCR (optical character recognition) software lets you scan documents to text.
Preview scan times are as little as 6 seconds, with 4-by-6-inch color photos taking as little as 27 seconds. Four front panel buttons (power save, scan, copy, launch HP Instant Share) provide convenient automation of commonly used functions, and HP's memories disc creator helps you easily create slide shows from your scans. The 4600 connects via a USB port (USB 2.0 compatible) and is compatible with both PC and Mac platforms.
What's in the Box
ScanJet 4600 see-thru flatbed scanner, combined USB and power cable assembly, horizontal holder, power adapter and A/C power cord (where applicable), quick-start setup poster, user's manual, CD-ROMs with software for Microsoft Windows and Macintosh: HP Photo & Imaging software with HP memories disc creator software and HP instant share, HP copying software, suite of electronic help tools, Adobe Acrobat Reader, ArcSoft Panorama Maker, I.R.I.S. Readiris Pro 8.0 (for Microsoft Windows only), I.R.I.S. Readiris
1 Worst scanner I've tried; only good for flat pages.
It's worth the price - that is, it's worth about an eighth the value of a regular HP Scanner. The only advantage I've found to this cheap model is when you lay it flat on a table without the lid, it's somewhat less awkward to scan pages of bound books. Since it's laying relatively flat, it's easier to keep the book positioned straight. With my older, bigger HP scanner, the book would move out of straight too easily, you'd have to anchor it or weigh it down. The Scanjet 4600 is not perfect for this either, just 50% less awkward. In every other way it's a lower quality scanner than the old ones. You can't scan small objects at high resolution; for instance, on my old scanner I could lay a piece of jewelry or a coin on the scanner, set to 600 dpi, and the result looked like a close-up photograph with perfect focus. I tried that with several things on this Scanjet 4600, and it can not handle it, so it divides the image into strips that aren't even aligned, with the edges out of focus, so the resulting image is useless. Also, it generates a far more severe scanner pattern than any scanner I've used. You need pretty good software to clean that up (I use a very old program called PhotoMagic which has a "Remove Pattern" effect; you probably can't get that any more). I'm very disappointed because it sure looks cool, just doesn't do the quality job you need for hobbies and goofing around, let alone any sort of serious professional work. What ever possessed HP to market such a piece of junk when they have old products that work 8 times better? Could they have manufactured a huge surplus of them before they knew anything was wrong? Or just decided to start selling junk?
2 Best scanner I have used
This is the best scanner I have used so far. Though I have only used it for scanning in book pages (with pictures) and documents and not photographs. It is very easy to use and the software worked fine on my XP SP2. I like the see through feature, you can see the area that is being scanned. Also it is much easier to handle than other scanners so you'll scan much faster. I just place the scanner over the book pages I need to scan and not the other way round. Overall I was very pleased.
3 Attractive junk
Half of the photos I scanned came out with one or two random horizontal lines. Other times, the bottom 25% of an image would come out black.
4 I love this scanner
I don't understand the bad reviews.. I won this from HP. I simply love it. It is much more user friendly than my old epsonperfection 1650.. And it works great with XP. I have had no problem cpoying anything. If it is too big then you remove the bottom and copy it on top of the scanner. The software takes some getting used to. This is the only area I would like improved. It functions well though. I just would like it to be a little more user friendly.
I would highly recommend this scanner..
5 hot looks, mixed performance
Doesn't that pretty much sum up the problem with every piece of technology today? OUr products looks good (or better) but the behavior designed into them is aggravating. CRAPPY SOFTWARE KILLS PRODUCTS!
This thing takes too long to warm up. It takes too long for the lamp to return to it's starting position, it takes too long after you see the preview image on your monitor to give you back control. I have piles of stuff waiting to be scanned and I cannot wait for this device to catch up with me.
6 It's ok...
This scanner is ok...but there are some problems, it's not compatible with hp image zone... so you have to unstall hp image zone and install their less advance version that is included in the CD. Also if you scan in high resolution about 1200DPI it's going to be very slow and most photo editing program can't handle that much. Well, scan book is great. You will have to use Readiris 8 that's included in the cd, but I have Readiris Pro 9 that came with my HP LaserJet 3015. I'm only 11 years old and I already know how to set up a wireless network, installing PCI card or what ever card, upgrading the processes, install new device.
7 Bands in scans
Scans of various drawings and paintings done with the HP Scanjet 4600 exhibit alternating light and dark bands parallel to the direction of the scan. The bands vary in intensity depending on the color or value of the area being scanned. This problem showed up on two samples of the scanner. HP has been of no real help in solving this problem and I have returned both samples. The design is ideal for scanning large items but, unfortunately, the bands make the product useless.
8 Great Scanner
I have just purchased this scanner with trepidation, given the bad reviews it's received here. Yet, it has been highly rated by other consumer reporting websites. After being burned by Visioneer's technical support (2+ hours wait period, then asked to call back the following day), I decided to give HP ScanJet 4600 a chance. Falling prices have made this unit much more affordable.
I had no issues with installation using WinXP, SP2. I found that it scans text, illustrations, and newspaper print (post-edited with bundled stitching software) very well. I use third party software for image-editing and OCR. Therefore, I cannot comment on the performance of included software other than the stitching software, which was very easy to use for obtaining a quality image. This machine is also portable enough to take to libraries to scan materials such as newspapers and books (where the book binding isn't prohibitive). For me, this is a big plus. It's lightweight and much thinner than other bulky scanners, which would be a burden to carry. It scans items face up or face down and is detachable from it's horizontal base. This is a bonus for scanning items like maps or oversized books. In addition, it takes up little space when stored vertically.
I have scanned few photos, as this was not my primary purpose for purchasing a scanner. I found that the scanning surface must be cleaned with lens towels prior to glossy photo scanning to remove all dust particles, which will show up in images. If archiving photos were my primary scanner purpose, I would recommend selecting a different scanner, because post-scan editing is required to return some images to more natural hues.
I will say that while scanning one book, I did see black and white banding at the crease, which is analogous to how loss of focus occurs when photocopying books near the crease. I found that the binding must be pressed such that the book was flush against the scanning surface. If one plans to scan many books where the binding holds the book tightly closed, then you may have problems with this product.
All in all, this product works very well for my purposes as well as appealing aesthetically.
9 Very fast, problems if documents not flat
I have owned several scanners, including some solid Agfa scanners and wanted to use this scanner to scan some old books without harming them, so the fact that I could place the scanner over the book was the deciding factor.
I was surprised at how fast the scanner works for OCR, compared to my Agfa scanners, but then I havent compared it to many other recent scanners.
It worked well for my purposes. I use Omnipage 14 which is superior to Read Iris 8 (supplied), at first impression. Still Read Iris did reasonably well on an old book with yellow pages, but failed miserably on my income tax notification. Omnipage did a *lot* better.
There was banding when the scanner is not perfectly flat on the subject and I noticed that the depth of field is very limited, especially at high resolution, but this is unavoidable with this kind of technology. Scanners with a lens like the Agfa avoid this kind of problem, but you can't put them to the same use. They are bulky.
All in all I am satisfied.
10 Buyer beware of this white elephant!
HP fails to tell you that this scanner DOES NOT scan documents, until you spend a few hours with tech support trying to figure out what the blankety-blank is WRONG with this thing. If you're only scanning a photo, fine, but anything with even one word of text, FORGET THIS THING!!!
11 Unknown device for my computer
This scanner does'nt work on an ASUS P4P800 motherboard. It is not recognized by Windows XP SP1. On other systems it works.
It is smart but only for the look, not for working.
It seems to be the same problem with HP 4700. I'm disapointed. don't stay in confidence with the nice look and the HP brand. This is not a good HP product, read the reviews on commerce sites.
12 Great design, BUT... also, questionable marketing
Granted, this is a great scanner and an inventive design. For me, however, the design screams to be used in a mobile fashion. After all, the unit is touted as a great scanner for large or unwieldy items (as opposed to a strictly desktop scanner, for instance). In my case, I was looking to use it for copying from books for use in research. If you have tried copying from a book on a flatbed scanner, even one with an expandable lid, you'll know the difficulty involved. With the 4600, one can effectively crop the book in realtime, eliminating the guesswork. BUT, imagine my surprise to learn that the scanner comes with a wall wart AC transformer! The addition of a power adapter significantly undercuts the 4600's utility as a mobile scanner (e.g.--books in a library). As an owner of a usb-powered Canon flatbed scanner, it didn't even occur to me that the 4600 would be different. Note that the marketing materials leave the impression that the 4600 is usb-powered. It touts a "combination usb/AC cable", a phrase that is certainly open to interpretation. In this case, it isn't even true: at some point, the "combination cable" _must_ split into a piece leading to the pc and a piece leading to the AC adapter. What is the advantage in this??? Also, the marketing materials cryptically list among the contents this line: AC adapter (where applicable). What does this even mean? A big thumbs down to HP for crippling a potentially great scanner, and attempting to hide its true identity. It's great as a desktop scanner, but there are loads of competitors that are cheaper in that class.
13 EXCELLENT when scanning 3D documents
As an avid scrapbooker and scrapbook business owner, scanning images that are "lumpy and bumpy" is next to impossible and believe me, I've tried every possible scanner out there. One of HP's ScanJet's did the trick for a while but it took up a majority of my desk. NOW I have a scanner that allows me to scan all my "lumpy and bumpy" objects with ease. Having a tough time finding something to scan something larger than 8x10? That's alright! This scanner comes with stitching software that gives PERFECT, SEAMLESS stitching. Awesome, awesome scanner. The best part is that I can stand it upright and store it beside my monitor so that I have more room for .... well .... more junk on my desk! :)
