HP ScanJet 4670 See-Thru Vertical Scanner
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At first glance, the ultrathin HP Scanjet 4670 doesn't look like a scanner, because it cleverly saves space by standing in an easel. This cool design has teamed up with HP's high-quality scanning technology to create a truly revolutionary scanner.

Just when you thought scanning couldn't get any faster, crisper, or sleeker, along comes the new HP Scanjet 4670. This small but mighty scanner will revolutionize the way you think about scanning. Sized to fit in a drawer, briefcase, or even vertically on a bookshelf, yet versatile and durable enough to scan oversized and three-dimensional items, it’s the perfect fit for a home office, family room, or college dorm.

Everyone can find a use for this handy machine. Be more productive by converting memos, blurry faxes, and other text documents into editable text using optical character recognition (OCR) software (no more retyping!). Scan photos and documents and instantly e-mail them to family and friends without a PC. Make a photo inventory of heirlooms or other valuables. Or scan negatives and slides using a transparency adapter to create an archive of your photos.

So how do you actually scan?
For single pages, simply follow these steps:
  1. Pull the top edge of the scanner, rotating the scanner forward in the holder. The scanner can rest against the front edge of the holder.
  2. Position the item face up in the lower left corner of the holder, with the top of the item facing left. Use the media placement tabs on the holder to position the item.
  3. Return the scanner to its original position on the holder. You can see the item face up through the scanner glass.
  4. Press the Scan button.
For books and other thick materials, simply place the scanner flat.

Give mobility a whole new meaning
Now that you telecommute, your family room is more than a family room; it’s your office. Space is a valuable commodity, so the slim HP 4670 scanner is an ideal fit in both form and function. Being able to scan oversized items has been a lifesaver for those drawings you frequently e-mail to the office for approval; especially because it’s as simple as placing your scanner on the easel, scanning the drawing in sections, and letting the ArcSoft Panorama Maker software automatically and seamlessly "stitch" it together. One click of the Instant Share button and you mail the entire list of recipients at once.

When the workday ends, you place your scanner back on the bookshelf, where it’s safe and out of sight. Best of all, if you absolutely must finish those presentation transparencies on a Saturday, the HP 4670 is as mobile as you are. Just grab your scanner, transparent materials adapter, and laptop, and head to your favorite quiet spot. Whether you're sitting on the floor or in an office, the unique Scanjet technologies (high-end color separation; accurate, flattened scanning bed; and lots of other automatic color-balancing, restoration, and enhancement features) give you professional, polished results … no matter where you are.

Get the whole picture
One of the most fun and unique things you can do with your HP 4670 is create gorgeous panoramic photos (even 360° panoramas). Simply scan your image in sections and the Automatic Stitching feature in ArcSoft Panorama Maker software (included) will automatically reassemble oversized images for printing. You can combine horizontal, vertical, or tiled sets of images.

Save space
The HP 4670 is so slim it fits on a bookshelf or in a briefcase. You can store it vertically, like a book, so it’s perfect for a college dorm or a combined family room/office area. But don't let the ultra-thin design fool you: It’s made to move around and take with you. We even drop-tested the scanner from three feet! So if a sibling riot erupts, triggering an accidental fall from the table, the HP 4670 will survive unscathed.

The windowpane is tough polycarbonate plastic and tempered glass to resist chipping, scratching, and breaking. (That’s the same stuff used in many safety hardhats, motorcycle helmets, and riot shields.) The frame is secured with 12 screws (twice as many as most other scanners), and trimmed in rubber to absorb shocks. The carriage has a special mechanical design that protects the sensors and their wire bonds.

More features:

Included Software
The HP 4670 comes equipped with cool photo software already in place:

What's in the Box
HP ScanJet 4670, transparent materials adapter, combined USB and power cable assembly, vertical holder, quick-start setup poster, user's guide, manual, CD-ROMs with software for Windows and Macintosh
1 Started off fine 6 months ago but now the software crashes
It worked perfectly for some time. Hence two stars on average during the time I have owned it. Today I'd probably rate it zero. Note later comment at the end.

Currently of the two HP software programs one currently refuses to recognise the scanner. The other recognises the scanner, scans, crashes, the full windows XP message to Microsoft but the scan is available after the crash. That's OK but it adds to the time taken to scan.

Little relevant assistance appears to be available from the HP site.

It has the latest drivers from HP etc. I do have a suspicion about the number and type of connections in the cable between the scanner and the computer, fewer better connections might resolve some of the problems.

So when it worked, it was great, the negative scan wasn't quite detailed enough but scanning diagrams worked fine.

Unfortunately given the number of problems with this scanner has had from a number of people, not only just out of the box but after a period of time you might want to treat it more as a disposable scanner rather than go through the hassles of returning it under warranty etc.

If you are looking for a reliable scanner I really recommend you look elsewhere.

Later comment. I noted that an admin account could still scan so that meant the scanner was probably still working on the hardware side. Windows did give an error message at the operating system level. Then working with HP tech support the problem was resolved by reinstalling the software. The problem appeared to be on the USB side. The reinstall involved using regedit to remove traces of the old software. In my view this should not be necessary and is not something I would ask a lay person to do. So for now its back working.
2 Didn't even work for an hour
I bought the HP Scanjet 4670 based on research on Amazon.com and Consumer Reports where the item came highly recommended as a best buy.

After over an hour installing everything, it took several "clicks" to open any of the 5 desktop icons automatically loaded - none of which make it clear which is for the scanner and which is for the entire scanner/editing program.

The scanner scanned one and a half documents successfully and one photo. Slides scan dark and grainy and require lots of photo touchup to bring up to speed and is hardly worth the effort.

In the middle of the second scan, the light jammed 1/2 way across the scanner and wouldn't budge. There is no power button so the scanner cannot be turned off and on again to reset. Restarting the computer several times and detaching the USB and power cables made no difference.

A call to HP customer support said the problem with the desktop icons not opening was improperly installed software. The problem with the slide adaptor was probably hardware and they would replace. The problem with the scanner itself was unidentifiable until the software was uninstalled and re-installed. The call lasted over 25 minutes because I had to "register" the product with them, even tho I told them it was probably going back.

After another hour uninstalling and re-installing, the software could not be recognized and would not install properly. It has also caused a serious slow down in several other programs I am running and a few quirks I never had before.

Not worth the time and energy and certainly not worth the money. Will be returning tomrrow.

FYI - I am not a beginner when it comes to computers - I wrote my own HTML website, install and uninstall hardware and software all the time and often troubleshoot for friends and family. This should not have been an all day project. Additionally, I am running Windows XP as my operating system on a Dell Celeron.

I have been a fan of HP products for years but this scanner has seriously marred their record.
3 TERRIBLE BANDING PROBLEMS
i've bought and returned 5 of this scanner (both 4600 and 4670). all with the same problem with the banding no matter what i scan and it's not just on the image but the whole scan area. i'm on a mac powerbook g4 with all the trimmings and latest os.

hp support is useless and all they can do is replace. but after a few of this nonsense, i made them refund everything. but since i love the design so much i thought if i just start over and maybe i'll get lucky. no such luck. i just opened mine and it's the same problem so i'm packing it right up and getting something else.
4 Great design, terrible execution - avoid at all costs
If I could give this zero stars, I would.

I bought a 4670 in December, and immediately noticed the banding/striping problem. Unfortunately, I hadn't yet seen reviews mentioning it, so I assumed it was just my scanner. (Do a Google search for "scanjet 4670 stripes" and you'll find the reviews I missed.)

I contacted HP, and to make a VERY long story short, SEVEN scanners later I have yet to get one that doesn't have this problem. After the seventh one, HP gave up on replacing it, and is buying back the scanner from me. (They also offered to upgrade me to another model, but I have had enough of HP.)

If you aren't sure whether or not your 4670 has this problem, here's a very simple test: get a piece of aluminum foil, and place it dull-side-up on a flat surface. Be sure it is as smooth as possible. Place your scanner on it, and make a color scan. (This also works with dark gray paper or cardboard, but the problem shows up most vivdly on the foil.)

If your scanner has this problem - get a refund. If you can't get a refund from where you bought it, then go after HP until they offer to buy yours back. Even if it takes a couple of months and a half-dozen replacements, don't let HP off the hook with this lemon!

It's a real shame that this scanner is completely useless, because the concept of the design is brilliant. But don't be fooled by looks - until HP publicly acknowledges the problem and fixes it, you must assume that all 4670s are duds. Even after all of my time on the phone with tech support, they never admitted that this is a design flaw that affects all 4670s, but rather dismissed it as an isolated issue. HP should initiate a product recall, fix the problem, or give customers a refund.
5 I took a chance despite bad reviews
In spite of the negative publicity with the "banding" issues other consumers have experienced, I really wanted to try this unit for a number of reasons, including the small footprint and the unique versatility of the scanner. I'm running a Macintosh Powerbook with the latest system OS 10.3.7. I can't speak to it's use under Windows XP/2000/ME, but under a Mac this scanner works flawlessly. I couldn't be happier, and I'm glad I took the chance. Overall scan time isn't blazingly fast - on par with previous Acer and Canon scanners I've used in the past. Quality of scans, ease of use, and ingenuity in design make up for the slow warm-up and scan times in my opinion, however.
6 Banding makes scanner WORTHLESS
I tried everything. Upgrading software, drivers, RAM, PCI cards. I gave this thing more than a chance to perform. But every single scan has horrible bands through it. Large alternating light and dark stripes. This scanner is utterly worthless. If you actually care about the quality of your scans, do not buy it for any reason.
7 More Bands Than A Rock Concert...
What can I say? - apart from adding my own voice to the overwhelming chorus of complaint about this scanner?

I didn't intend to buy it, I went shopping for a 'normal' scanner - but I'm a styley sort of guy, and when I saw this techno-icon winking at me from the shelves of PC World I just *had* to take it home with me.

So I did - and after just a few fraught hours with my new style companion I just had to take it right back to PC World again!

The banding problem is absolutely everything that everyone says it is - large light & dark stripes plastered across every single image that wasn't bright white. I tried it on line art, on black & white photo's, on subdued colour photo's, even on a black video cassette box - and every scan was turned into a passable imitation of a well manicured lawn by this infernal machine.

I downloaded drivers, plugged and unplugged the machine while holding various combination of buttons (as per HP wesite instructions) but all to no avail - nothing, but nothing, could persuade that scanner to produce an image without stripes.

So, after reading about the scale of the problem, I realised that I was about to start flogging a dead horse by contacting HP support - and not wanting to waste any further time or money in pursuit of the seemingly impossible (anmely, a properly working 4670) I bundled my stylish friend back into the box and whisked him back to the store to await purchase by someone with more patience than me.

For some reason I've never been terribly keen on HP products - and this brush with the 4670 has only served to further convince me that my prejudice against the brand is a justifiable one.

Incidentally, I purchased a Cannon 35 (for half the cost of the HP) and, while it doesn't flatter my style sense, it does turn out excellent scans with no software glitches - and no fascinating image banding to liven up the pictures.

Blast you Cannon! - you've left me nothing to complain about!....
8 Dreadful: Crashed on both PC & Mac
I run a small imaging workgroup. This scanner seemed worth a try for scanning odd formats: textiles & orginial art.

This is about the 20th scanner that I have installed over the years--the only one that would not function on either platform.

Clever design: too bad that the hardware is so buggy.


9 WORST EVER - A ZERO RATING
Scanjet 4670 - Don't listen to anyone who says this scanner is worth using at all. What is the purpose of having a scanner that scans alternating light and dark bands through the image. HP has sent me three so far and I will be speaking with a Manager after they get back to me in 3 to 5 business days. I have been in Design for over twelve years and never have like HP much but when I wanted to get an inexpensive scanner I thought it would be OK? WRONG! Never will I buy anything HP again. Maybe I just expect my images to be absent of stripping, silly me!

I guess if you want to scan in a blank piece of white paper or very pale images you might like this scanner?
10 Good and HP upgrades 4600 -> 4670
As noted in several other reviews, the 4600 is prone to vertical banding in scans throughout (others have complained of this effect). I ran in to this problem with my 4600. I contacted HP support and they replaced my 4600 with a 4670 for free, and extended the warranty a full year! So far, the 4670 is super and free of the defects found in the 4600.
11 For the money, this scanner is kewl
After reading some of the other reviews I had decided I did not want this scanner. I had been looking at it and trying to decide if I should get it for over a year. Then I began reading negative reports from other Amazon customers and that made me even more reluctant to buy it.

Still, In spite of the bad reports I decided to buy this scanner and I am happy I did. I got mine in just 4 days and I really like it a great deal. For the money, I am totally pleased.

It is not a $399.00 scanner but that is precisely why I bought it, I did not want an $399.00 scanner!
12 Horrible- don't buy this scanner!
Although it looks cool...the quality of my color photos are horrible. They have the vertical bands on dark areas (that others have been complaining about) as well as tons of "dust" spots...no matter how much I clean it with a lint-free cloth. I never had these problems on my older cheap scanner (non HP). I contacted HP support and they were nice but unable to fix my problem. The best answer they could give is that the bands may be caused from "interference" from other electronics. I find it interesting that so many people are having the same problem. I also have trouble getting the photos straight since they tend to move after they are put in the scanner...and since the scanner is smooth there is no guard to rest the picture next to if you take it out of the holder. The software is not very good...does not offer multi-scanning...so it takes forever to scan a lot of pics!

13 $200 picture frame?
Hardware is crap. Software is worse. Depending on original, output is fair to worthless with stripes and bands. No more business with HP.
14 Just what I needed
I have to confess, all the bad reviews here made me debate buying this for a while, but an artist recommended it for what I needed (oversize scanning), and I am completely happy with the results. I've always had problems piecing together scanned sections of my large artwork, and the design of this scanner not only makes it easy to scan, but I don't have the problems with differing color/contrast balances between scans I've had with other scanners in the past. I can scan, merge, and save large images in a snap! Plus it's very quiet and takes up a lot less space on my desktop than my old, traditional flatbed scanner. I didn't have any problems setting up the software on my iBook. The colors look very good, and printouts off the scans look quite close to the original without excessive fussing around.

While I haven't had this scanner long enough to evaluate how well it will stand up with time, so far I am quite pleased with my purchase and would recommend it at least to anyone who has similar scanning needs to me.
15 The Beautiful Loser.
Say hello to my newest dust collector. Although there are numerous problems with this scanner, I will focus on the copy utility as I have not seen this issue mentioned. I always get a grainy copy, no matter what. I have been given the runaround by at least 6 different tech. support personnel and have learned that I'm stuck with this junk heap because HP does not support its software.

Supposed downloads, software reinstalls, etc. have failed to address this ?simple? problem. My problem is caused by the interaction of the copy utility and the printer driver in which raw scanner images are passed by the copy utility directly to the printer driver. Apparently my printer driver cannot handle what it is receiving from the copy utility, thus the grainy image. I quote from Viney at HP Total Care, "There is no real solution". Great. Thanks.

I must admit, HP Support tries to help. Their online chat is handy and email replies to queries forthcoming. It's not their fault HP dropped tha ball on this one.

I guess I'm left with trying to find an updated printer driver that works on, ironically, my HP Laserjet. Alternatively, 3rd party software or buying a new printer are options to coddle my new scanner into functionality.

I wish that I had been one of the lucky few who bought a 4670 that functions great right out of the box!

Cheers
16 Don't buy this scanner
Well, $200 down the drain, that'll teach me to be an early adopter.

I'm a professional computer graphic artist and have been for a dozen years. This is the 4th scanner I've owned, and it is BY FAR the worst. Yes, everything you read about the vertical bars is true. It is extremely difficult for me to scan in anything that isn't on a pure white background without getting the bars.

Don't bother calling HP support either. They're nice enough, but as a previous reviewer commented, they'll just string you along. "Did you clean your scanner?" "Did you reset the machine?" Give me a break!!! Are these guys listening to me? Do they think that I've got perfectly even spaced stripes of dust on my machine?

And yes, the scanning software is utter crap. How can it be that the photoshop twain plugin I used 10 (TEN) years ago is infinitely superior to this? When using photoshop, you cannot scan multiple images all at once. It quits as soon as you finish scanning, forcing you to "File/Import" again and again. Thanks a lot, HP. Who'd of thought that someone might want to scan more than one thing at a time? Granted, a macro can take care of it, but since you cannot access sub-selections within the scan menu, it isn't an elegant solution.

Please please please, do not buy this scanner. It is a beautiful, stunning machine to look at. Your clients will complement you with "wow, what a cool flatscreen!" When it comes to scanning, however, it falls flat. You are far, far better off getting a $50 cheapo scanner.
17 HP 4670, A Great Machine that takes up very little space
I purchased this machine due to the fact that it takes up so much less room than a flatbed. I hoped it would be as good of quality as the flatbeds that HP produces. Boy was I wrong, It is even better. I am able to not only scan documents and pictures, I can do slides, negatives and even 3D objects by placing them on the scanner. The speed is amazing and the software that comes with the scanner was easy to use and easy to install. Definetly a great buy and well worth the price. Keep up the good work HP, I have never been disapointed by anything you make.
18 Scanner has major design faults
This scanner has a lot of potential, but fails to deliver.

I like the slim design and it scans reasonably fast; at least compared to what I have been use to. Also the see-thru design is a plus. At first I thought it rather gimmicky, but found out in scanning large maps and such it was a boon to getting a minimal but slight overlap between adjacent scans. Also this scanner does not mind being inverted, in fact it does not care which orientation it is in. Some desk top scanners do not like being inverted, if fact they jam!

Now the down side, on certain colors it scans alternating bands of light and dark exposure across the width of the image. Fourteen to be exact. It turns up on grey colors, ivory, off-whites; it is very distinctive on silver-gray. On full color pictures or typed documents it does not manifest. Playing with the exposure setting does not help if the banding is strong. Also if the image is not tight against the platen, this alternating light/dark pattern also occurs. According to HP advance tech support this is due to optimization for scanning colors in such a space saving scanner bar design.
The scanner has very poor depth of field. Other desktop scanners start to loose focus and the image darkens if the object being scanned gets further than a 1/4" from the platen. (Though you get some really bad parallax errors before that point!) With this scanner the image goes dark and the bands appear if the space is a mere 1/16". HP advance tech support has a document describing this issue but it pertains to scanning 3D objects. However for practical purposes it is a fault when you try to scan anything near the gutter of a book. If scanning maps or an atlas you need to under-pad the document so that it can conform and press tight against the platen. Any gaps between the document and platen will appear dark, the scanning lamp is underpowered.

You may have trouble getting the HP Director software to run with some computers from a very popular company, dude. Though it did work on other XP and Win98 machines I tried, so the fault seems to be certain installations/configurations of XP and not HP scanning software supplied with the scanner. I never did get it to launch on my computer and ended up having to scan via my image editing software using the TWAIN interface. Which was HP tech supports workaround. Once you get into the HP scanning application (via Director or TWAIN) the HP Scan interface looks like something designed for a UNIX workstation or Windows 3.11. Nowhere near as polished as other, even older HP scanning applications I have seen, downright primitive.

The third party panoramic software bundled is junk. I tried several photographs and then successively simpler images (line art, scanned typed documents) for it to stitch together and it never even came close to getting the images aligned. Even with the use of the manual 'assistance markers' it failed every time. Completely hopeless. I had hoped to make use of the OCR software but had so much trouble with the other issues I never got around to loading and trying it.

HP tech support will string you along if you have these exposure issues. Unfortunately I bought my 4670 when they first came out and there were no reviews yet posted. HP will try to tell you a self-powered USB hub is required. Don't believe it, if you have 200mA available at the USB port you have plenty and most new machines far exceed that; for example mine had 500mA (by the way HP was unable to tell me what the minimum USB port power requirement was for the scanner.) However I worked with HP outsourced tech support and tried all the different things they suggested like latest drivers and reloading the software and sent them test scans to examine. They replaced the scanner once, and were going to do so again, when I started to notice others were complaining of the same light/dark band issue. Finally they admitted it was in the design of the scanner and replacing it was not going to solve the problem. They did offer to buy it back, but since I what been so patient working with them the scanner was now considered used and I only got a partial refund. HP hardware used to be rock-solid, but this experience makes me wonder if they have not changed.

This scanner is priced as a premium unit. I did not find it delivered acceptable results. The support with this unit was friendly and patient, and usually one got through in a reasonably quick time. But it was not very knowledgeable about the product and offered inaccurate advice. Also the policy of only offering a partial refund after diligently working with their tech support on an issue that turned out to be an inherent fault in the design of the scanner I felt to be non-conducive to creating satisfied customers. They tell me it is policy, and hope I will consider buying HP products in future. I will consider long and hard before buying another HP scanner that is for sure!

D.Kephart
PA, USA
19 GREAT Scanner
I run a Mac Powerbook G4 1.5 GH using OS 10.3 (Panther). Scans are beautiful and fast. HP has new software version for Panther. Software is basic, but does its basic functions well. Scans can be brought into PhotoShop/Elements 2 for polishing. OCR is again basic but OK for ocasional use - and can be upgraded if needed (I did and the upgraded program is very good). Suggest scanner (and most other current hardware peripherals) works best with fast processor, reasonable new OS, current HP software appropriate to OS version, and USB 2.0.
20 Terrible
This is the worst scanner I have ever used. I've been a graphic designer for 15 years, and this this perhaps the worst product I've ever used on the job.

1. The scanning software it comes with is sub standard and hard to use.
2. The scanner is slow!
3. The scans are poor
4. The upright format is a bad design.

Don't buy this scanner.


21 Great human interface, awful scanner
The mission: archive old family photos before my lil' daughter tears them up.
The obstacle: very little desk space
The solution: not this.

First, the USB interface is far sub-par. Check HP's troubleshooting on their web site; their solutions to communication problems range from "use a powered USB hub" to "never use a USB hub." Very helpful. As I'm writing right now I'm hearing the USB interface bob up and down as it tries to connect with the scanner. Not working. Plus not only can you not use a hub (I tried a D-Link USB2.0 4 port), you can't connect even to the same USB bus. So unless you've got a spare USB header free from your motherboard, you probably can't connect at all (Amendment: After several hours I discovered the problem - for me, the scanner had to be on a powered hub but my Logitech USB mouse could not coexist on the same hub. Now things appear to be working since the scanner is on the hub all by itself and the mouse has been plugged directly into the workstation. Still a bad USB implementation, tho).

Image quality is so-so. Not the greatest... flesh tones are too warm. I used Photoshop, WinXP's Scanner Wizard and HP's prepackaged software - the best results being the TWAIN driver in Photoshop.

Speaking of which, the bundled software was harsh to use. For some reason it decided I wanted to scan my text documents as embedded objects in RTF's. Wha? The HP software was not good at all. The actual TWAIN Photo & Imaging Directory scanning interface was fine however - just the actually document management software was clunky.

Beautiful looking and a real space saver, but if it doesn't work well then it's just an expensive window.

22 Nice looking CRUMMY scanner
Every photo we tried had speckles/dust all over them. I had no problems with the setup or banding (as others here did) but am returning the scanner because of pure quality issues
23 Nice to look at, poor scan quality
I have an HP Scanjet 4C that has been a workhorse for the past 4-5 years (It still works, but my new Macintosh doesn't support SCSI devices). So, in deciding on a purchase I chose HP again out of loyalty. Set-up on the 4670 was easy, the software acceptable (typical of HPs), and the scanner itself was beautiful. Unfortunately all images that I scanned were plagued with 1/2" tall bands of light and dark areas. I found no way to remedy this and was forced to return the scanner for a refund.
24 HP 4670 Scanner
I purchased this scanner for the flexability that the form factor offered, but I was frustrated by several aspects of the design, documentation and software. 1. The scanner has a long USB cable that pulls laterally from the USB prt on your PC. If you leave it connected for any length of time or accidenty pull on the cable the port is sure to be damaged. 2. the software is junk. It's hard to figure out, crashes and gives less than perfect results. To save a scan you have to click several times and rename the file completly (it does not remember the last file name and allow to you append a number to it, you have to reenter the name completly every time.) So doing lots of scans quickly becomes a chore. The dark areas of scans have scan lines through them. 3. There is no manual. Well, there is a manual, but it's worthless. Nothing explains how to use settings and how to change them. The Arcsoft panoramic software crashes when trying to save and takes a huge amount of time to stitch high res large files.
25 Useless
Looks nice, but took me 2 hours with HP tech service to find out that it didn't like my USB 2.0 connector on the motherboard. Apparently this is a common problem and they sent me a usb 2.0 hub to use.
Now that it's "working". It's unpredictable. Sometimes I'll scan multiple images without a hitch. Other days, I'm happy if I can scan 1-2 pages before crashing and having to reboot to continue scanning.
I expected better from HP. When are software and hardware manufacturers going to learn that end users want to use their products and not spend hours to set them up.
26 Better than Expected
This scanner I've found turned out to work much better than expected. I needed a replacement when I put my printer/scanner on a network interface and lost it's scanning abilities.

I gave this one a try, because of the small space it takes up. But, I was wary of the negative reviews it's been receiving.

I got it and installed it. I didn't have any problems with Windows XP. Properly installed with administrator rights, and not making the mistake of hooking up the printer before installing the software, I didn't have any problems with the computer not recognizing the scanner.

Admittedly I don't use the HP software, but my own 3rd party software. The software isn't really that good.

Scan quality is good. The first scan does take a long time, but subsequent scans are very fast in comparison.

The negative and slide scanner does turn out good scans, if you're using the default quality settings of 300dpi. It's better on higher settings, but takes forever to scan.

Overall, an excellent buy.

27 An extremely disappointing product; misleading advertisement
I would have given zero star in this rating - but the minimum is 1 star. Anyways! I bought this scanner without checking users review because I was so confidence with the quality of HP products - I've used some and was pleased with them. But this one product turned out to be a great disappointment! I really should have checked users review first; I regretted buying this scanner.

Vertical banding always appear whenever I scan something that are: not bright/white colored, not 100% flat against the scanner glass - even something like a page of a thin magazine. This is a fatal, unforgiveable flaw in a scanner - especially at this price. What good is a scanner when the only thing it can scan well is a single sheet of paper with white background - it can't even scan a page of a thin book or magazine well. Banding always appears.

And what a misleading advert they give on the brochure: that this scanner is capable of scanning "books on the bookshelf and paintings on the wall". I tried both, and the results were just black blurry things...

I contacted HP customer support, and their answer was that the thing to be scanned has to be totally flat against the scanner glass. This is ridiculous; how people are supposed to scan books on the bookshelf or a painting on the wall if those things have to be flat against the scanner glass.

So, if you're looking for a good quality scanner, better look for other products. This one looks cool, but doesn't deliver at all. Plus, it's more expensive than other products with similar specs.

28 a beautiful piece of junk
another reviewer said don't use this scanner for anything other than docs - mine won't even do docs consistently - more than one page is asking too much - even if the preview indicates it scanned the entire page, when you go back and check the pdf file, it is missing pieces of the page - and getting the image at all is hit or miss - I've had 8-10 scans in a row show up with nothing but a black screen - UNBELIEVABLE!!!
29 Seriously flawed
I loved the design of this scanner and needed to be able to scan both large items and negatives. Unfortunately, the scanner doesn't work properly. Negatives come out greenish yellow where there should be blue; light colored pictures come out with banding -- dark and light bands across the picture. Tech support seemed very aware of both problems and told me to return the scanner to the store where I bought it. Both phone and email support did not indicate that there was any fix for these problems. Too bad, as I really wanted this scanner. I hope HP fixes the problem; if they do, I'll buy it again.
30 Seriously Flawed
*Very* ugly "banding" lines. Ordered a replacement..same thing! Determined to be defective by objective party. (I use Mac 10.3.)
31 Nice - if you need something for your kids show-n-tell class
Let me just say this is the worst piece of technology I've played with in some time. I work in IT and purchased one of these because I love new technology and design ideas. I was replacing an older USB scanner, but one thing the 4670/4600 would not do, is DO NICE SCANS! Kind of amazing, eh? Try it for yourself. If you have this model, scan in a night-time or darker photo...a black piece of paper...anything that isn't bright (like a B&W document). Then, zoom in and look at the scan quality. You'll see bands of lighter/darker lines and if your item had lines or graphics, the same place you see these light/dark bands of light, you'll also see the lines don't match up 100%. It's distorted. I was scanning in cartoon art, and it looked like someone was drawing on a fault line during an earthquake. Someone else noted the light/dark bands in their review. I spoke with HP for close to an hour and got a replacement - same problem. Tried it on 3 systems, two different operating systems. After reading other reviews on this, I know I just didn't get 2 bad units. Serious flaw here folks. My older USB scanner never had this, and if you are planning on doing anything beyond scanning in documents, think twice on the 4600 series scanjets.
32 Great design. Unsatisfactory execution.
I am a long-time HP printer and scanner user, and I really liked the design of this scanner. Besides having a knock-out appearance, I loved that you could fold it up and put it on a shelf. However, this scanner did not meet my needs and I ended up returning it.

I bought it for two applications: scanning documents and converting them to text with OCR, and scanning old family slides. This is NOT the scanner to buy for either application. The cheap OCR software included with the scanner is virtually useless. My typewritten documents came out hopelessly garbled - it would have taken more time to correct the mistakes that it would have to re-type them from scratch. If you plan to use this scanner for documents, plan to buy a better OCR program to go with it.

As for scanning slides, the first unit I bought had a loose connection from the scanner to the slide attachment, and I had to exchange it. The second unit worked, but the scan quality was just not what I was hoping for.

I returned the HP and bought an Epson 3170 instead. It comes with a far superior OCR program, and Photoshop Elements to boot. I'm not sure the slide scanning is much, if any better. Could be I'm just asking too much from a flatbed scanner...

33 Form following Function: beautifully
HP has a winning product with this scanner in my book. Not only is it beautiful to look at, takes up less valuable desktop real estate, but it produces beautiful scans- quickly. I needed a machine that could scan pages from books and old manuscripts without damaging them. This system fit the bill perfectly. I have additionally found a new delight in digging out old family negatives and 're-processing' them with this scanner. A great add-on, plugged it in, it was instantly recognised and performed perfectly.
I was baffled to read where other users had poor results from this scanner time wise so I decided to try it myself and see just what my own results would be. While for most of my color work I would only use 150 to 300dbi, I set the machine to 600dbi, Next I inserted a full page complex color graphic to be scanned. I set my stopwatch and pressed scan. My scan completed in just under 8 minutes, much less than the 20 to 30 minutes claimed by other reviewers. My only assumption is that these other reviewers were not using USB2 or there was some other internal glitch on their computers. Perhaps, it was just a PC thing. My system for running the test is a Macintosh G5 dual 2GHz with 2Gigs of RAM with true USB2 ports.
While the users manual could use some polish,I couldn't recommend it more highly. You need this machine!
34 Beautiful to look at but deeply flawed
I purchased this scanner for the simple reason that it looked beautiful and took up less space than the conventional flat bed scanner. This was a mistake. The software that drives the scanner is unnecessarily complex, clunky and difficult to use. Scanning slides often results in the HP Software locking up. What is a great idea has been spoiled by poor unfriendly software. Even the manual is difficult to follow - there isn't even a clear instruction of how to fix the slide adapter. A simple show and tell DVD might have helped. Perhaps, HP might expand their new relationship with Apple with iTunes to advice on how to write easy to use software. I cannot recommend this scanner until HP re-writes their scanning software.
35 Not what I had hoped
This scanner is a work of art to look at.
The software is also not too bad.
The slide and negative scanning attachment is really cool.

As for everything else, well..
Higher resolution scans are extremely slow. I tried a scan at 600 DPI using maximum bit depth settings for text and graphics, and it took almost *20 minutes*. On the other hand, scanning at 300 DPI with the standard bit depth settings, I got a scan in 1 minute. Not bad, but still, a bit slow for 300 DPI!

The quality even at 600 DPI was not what it should have been.

If you want the most stylish scanner ever created to date, and don't mind really REALLY slow scans in order to get decent quality, then I'd recommend you consider getting one for yourself. But if you scan lots of documents, and need decent speed-to-quality ratios from your scanner, stay away.

And maybe a future driver upgrade will fix some of these shortcomings.

36 HP4670 requires USB 2.0 hub on Dell 8300
When the HP4670 was connected to my Dell 8300, the Intel 82801 USB Universal Host Controller reported "Device Not Recognized" and "Unknown Device". The solution is to buy a USB 2.0 hub. The software install reported error 1904, hpgwiamd.dll failed to install; this error can be ignored.
Scanned photos look great. 35mm slides are cumbersome to swap in and out.
37 FAR to slow!
I waited 10 minutes for a scan of a bussines card in 600 dpi!!
300 dpi scans fine but anything higher takes to long, with a bigger scan you can wait more than 30 minutes where my Epson takes 4...
38 HP ScanJet 4670
We recently purchased the HP ScanJet 4670 and evaluated it in the following areas:

Software:
The software is excellent, although the scanner comes with multiple software so it is confusing to know which one to use for what purpose.

Speed:
Sometimes it takes up to one minute to warm up the scanner. On average the warm up time is 30 seconds which is relatively fast compared to others. Overall, we are happy with the scan speed.

Appearance:
Very stylish look that doesn't take up a lot of space.

Price:
It is pricey at $199. Compared to the HP 3970 Flatbed scanner which has very similiar features, we felt that this scanner was expensive.

39 Light and dark bands through the scans
If you carefully inspect a scan of a photograph, you will notice light and dark bands organized horizontally through your image. I tried two separate scanners, three computers with three different operating systems, and installed a USB 2.0 high-speed adapter, and still had a flawed image. HP tech support suggested several procedures, and nothing worked. I paid my own computer consultant to work on it, in case I'd missed something. I love the scanner, but I'm returning it. Clearly, the product has some electronic flaw. Don't waste your time.
40 Great Scanner and a work of art at that
This thing looks more like a picture frame than a scanner. It is truly out there as far as its design. It looks great and takes up very little space.
Installation and setup was a breeze. It installed and worked first time. No problems what so ever.
And as for quality, it does a great job. It depends on the quality of the photo. If a photo is grainy it seems to magnify the graininess a bit. But this is easy to fix with any decent photo editor. But if the photo quality is good the scanner does a great job. Colors are very good. Speed is about average for the scanners I've seen. I really have high hopes for the film scanning quality.
The price is high but I would still recommend this unit.
41 Nice design, not sure about the scanning quality
I bought this for several reasons - the physical design, which both looks nice and doesn't take up too much space on my already cluttered desk, the ability to do panoramic scans by moving the scanner over the medium rather than the other way round, and the general technical specs. I've had it less than a day so far, and have mixed feelings. I haven't owned a scanner before, other than a drop in scan cartridge for Canon printer, and so didn't really know what to expect, but the quality on scanning photos seems poor. I suspect this is mostly due to the settings. For example, if you change the default sharpness from "medium" to "none", the results are much better. Of course, you can fix up a lot of this stuff in software afterwards, but I'd prefer it if I didn't have to.
42 Good looks but no brains
I've had fantastic experience with hp printers and expected no less from this hp scanner. But my computer with the most current drivers, WinXP Pro, and 1 GB of RAM can only identify it as "unknown device." I have tried everything from the hp website and scoured the net for info. This is not an isolated incident because hp has quite a few documents purporting to help owners troubleshoot this very same problem. Tech support implied that blame lay with the Intel chipset ("we've been having problems with their latest...") and said that a USB bus they're sending would solve my problem. Just what I want, more wires. Well, it's been almost two weeks--no bus has yet arrived. I'm disappointed to say the least. Still, it looks pretty just sitting there doing nothing.
43 SLOW at high resolution
It is so slow when scanning at 600dpi or more and if you look very carefully you can find the color has a certain white and black patten because the scanner scanner the same place twice at higher resolution.
I won't suggest anyone to buy this one and the 2 stars is for the style.
44 Perfect Space Saver
After waiting months for this to come out, and needing a new scanner for a new Imac, I thought I would get this one. I almost bought an Epson for close to the same price. I have limited space next to the Imac and thought this would be perfect. (I would have had to purchase a small table to hold a flatbed.)

After reading some of the reviews here, I was almost scared to buy it. But, I thought I could always return it. I've had it over a week now and it is performing flawlessly while running with Panther. I think one of the low reviews might have an integrity issue under an older OS, but who knows. Thats why I ditched Windows after 14 years. I love the software package because it is all integrated within the Apple Dock. I've used every application with no problems. After the bulb warms up scans were fast for me, about 10 seconds.

Also, because it is see-through, don't think the scanning bulb would blind you. It's encapsulated in the glass frame. Hardly noticable. I was worried about that. A slide adapter is also included.

If you need to scan something big or tedious, like a book or poster, the top slides out to let you place the frame on anything you wish to scan. (Splicing software is included.) It only weighs about 2 pounds and has a long USB 2.0 cord to reach another table or the floor as shown in the manual. It is USB 2.0 only. There's also panoramic software included to make any size panoramic up to a 360. This scanner is very versatile.

It is like having a piece of art standing next to my Imac.

Over all, I am very satisfied.

45 Nice scanner, neat idea
I became fascinated with this scanner when I saw it in a local store -- the ability to take a scanning "plate" and put it over objects (a book or whatever) seemed like one of those ideas they should have done a long time ago. The design, which looks a little like a picture frame, is nice too -- you can use it to store favorite photos when it's not in use. Unlike a previous reviewer, I had no problems with the software and, yes, there are options to save settings in between settings (I suggest examining the help files or more fully exploring the software menus.) I tried it on an XP and MacOS X system and it worked well. Really impressed with the Mac support overall for the scanner. It's a little slower than I'd like, but still a nice package.
46 Great, but not perfect!
I preordered this scanner because it looked like it would really suit my needs with the ability to scan slides and negatives. I was a little dissapointed that it will only scan 35mm slides/negatives and not older formats. May this was my mistake in assuming it could do too much. Otherwise it operates fast, smooth and perfectly. I am running this on a XP Pro system and having NO problems. The software is fairly basic yet flexible enough for beginner or advanced settings. Scan quality is Excellent. The ability to lay the scanner on material is a great idea. I thinks HP really did a good job on this one so if you're looking for a good midrange scanner with a lot of versitility then I'd say go for it!
47 Nice hardware, worthless software
The scanner itself is nice and a good idea. I pre-ordered this unit because I needed a scanner that would scan flat. I could not wait to get it. Boy was I disappointed. The scanner looks good but the software it comes with is pure junk. I first installed on a win98 machine which the cd claimed was supported. It would not work, javascript errors everytime. I installed on a 2nd XP computer and it worked without the javascript errors. I really needed it to work on my portable 98 system but at least I got it to work at all. I wanted to scan poster size artwork and re-assemble it using the arcsoft panorama software but it does not even work. I never could get it to go past the screen when you arrange your images. The hp scanning driver software is even worse, it will not remember your settings, you have to reload everytime, it closes when you scan from photoshop so you cannot scan multiple images without it taking 5 minutes each. If you scan using the hp software alone to get multiple scans it will autosave to jpegs(junkpegs to graphic artists) which are worthless to me. I need tiffs for the quality. There is no purpose in making a high resolution scan if it is going to be destroyed by saving to a jpeg. There is no option to change the filetype either. This software was clearly rushed to market with no thought as to how it would be used. I tried to get new software from hp's website but the links do not even work to download updated drivers for this scanner. This could have been a very nice piece of equipment but as it is, it is of very limited use and can only be used when you have plenty of time to waste with the software.
48 Nifty design, nice scan, but a little slow
This scanner is versatile, compact, and makes great scans. It was incredibly easy to install on my 3.5 yr old computer (with Windows XP). In the short time I've had it, I've successfully scanned photos, negatives, and text using the OCR feature. The picture produced from the negative was about 3"x5", but was adequate for my needs. The text scan was produced by placing the portable scanning screen over an open book. It produced only a few text errors.
My only complaint is that it's slower than I thought it would be. It's still faster than my 3 yr old Canon, but not nearly as fast as the similarly priced flatbed HP scanner my sister purchased last summer. Perhaps when I have a big batch of pictures I'll still have to go to her house to scan them...

Friday, 21-Nov-2008 13:20:31 CST
Quote of the Day:


There are no accidents whatsoever in the universe.

		-- Baba Ram Dass






I was the best I ever had.

		-- Woody Allen