In Search of the Perfect Scanner

By David Em

September 15, 2003

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If you care about accurate color, an inexpensive desktop scanner is usually a penny-wise but pound-foolish proposition. This year, that situation's finally turned around for both consumers and professionals.

Last month I tested three new scanners. One was from Epson, the $399 Perfection 3200, and two were from Hewlett-Packard, the $299 Scanjet 5500c and the $99 multifunction psc 1210. The 3200 is aimed at photographers, while the 5500c and psc 1210 are consumer models.

The Perfection 3200 is one of the best desktop scanners ever produced. This is due in no small part to the bundled SilverFast software from LaserSoft, which I'll discuss below. I had high hopes for HP's 5500c and expected little from their psc 1210. As it turned out, I was wrong on both counts: The 5500 disappointed while the 1210 excelled.

Hewlett-Packard's scanjet 5500C

My initial enthusiasm for the Scanjet 5500c was based on both its specs and its concept design. The unit's 2400 dpi resolution and 48-bit color capabilities are typically found only on pricier high-end scanners. I was also intrigued by an integrated print-feeder that automatically scans a stack of 3" x 5" or 4" x 6" photographs. This is a great idea: Practically everybody has mountains of snapshots they'd like to digitize, but scanning them two or three at a time is tedious to the point of absurdity.

HP claims the 5500c produces professional quality scans, but even after considerable fiddling with the scanning software, all my scans had a greenish cast and somewhat flat colors. And in spite of the 48-bit color depth, the scans displayed less than perfect tonal gradations.

I couldn't get the photo-feeder to work as advertised, either. It kept hanging up after a print or two, even though it's designed to handle stacks of up to 24 pictures. The 5500c will also scan 35 mm slides, but it requires a clunky extra unit to do it, and I wasn't overwhelmed with the quality I got from it either.

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