Whether it's for the home office or small office, the CanoScan N640P flatbed scanner is the perfect solution for all your scanning needs. It's compact and stylish design means it... more
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A review by Kyz22 on Canon CanoScan N640P February 11th, 2004
Author's product rating:
Speed
Fast
Colour sensitivity
Good
Resolution
Excellent
Ease of Installation
Excellent - very quick and easy
Value For Money
Good
Advantages:
Good price, reliable, simple to use
Disadvantages:
Has a boring name
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
After my recent review of another Canon scanner I though, ahh why not review the other one too, whilst my head is still full of scanning terminology. Sorry if it sounds a bit similar to my other scanning review, but there is only so much you can say about a scanner!
So, the N640p, it sounds just like a manufacturers code that is used in a database somewhere. Well, to be brutally honest it is. Scanners, printers and suchlike never get good names. Cars will be called "Focus", "Edge", "Cheetah" and other fancy names, but scanners will always have rubbish names. Without further ado, here is a comprehensive guide to the CanoScan N640p, with as little jargon as possible.
My family first got a scanner in about 1999, and it broke within a month. That put us off for some time but we finally bought another one, which lasted and was rather good (see other review). Now with my own computer and a great deal of imagery, website and design work I thought a scanner would be rather useful, and with brand loyalty to Canon, I went and bought a N640p.
At the time I didn’t know a lot about scanners but I have grown to learn I made a rather wise choice. Most scanners have a fixed Dpi (oops there goes the jargon) rate, which means it scanners at a certain resolution (quality) and always gives the same results. The beauty of the N640p is that you can change the Dpi (this is Dots appearing on your page per inch, so basically leads to how good quality your final image is) rate, so give a lower resolution or higher resolution whenever you want.
You're probably thinking, "Isn’t a high resolution always best?" That is what I originally thought, but it isn’t in all circumstances. If you're scanning in photographs or glossy documents then a high dpi/resolution is best and will give a clear image quality. However if you scan printed images such as newspapers or magazines at a high dpi, the colours separate due to the way it is printed, so you should set your scanner to a lower dpi for this purpose, and the Canon N640p lets you do this with relative ease. You simple go to the settings panel.
Installing the machine is easy, it works on a plug and play basis. Jam the cable into your computer, let it recognise your new hardware and you're ready to go. If you're not using Windows Me or Xp (home or professional) then you will probably have to use the disk to install the scanner as the Device Manager isn’t as advanced on their operating systems as it is on more modern versions. If you encounter any difficulty with the product Canon have a 24 hour help line and a troubleshooting website to help you with queries. The customer service is a of a consistently high standard and the simplicity is brilliant.
As far as prices go it tends to change where you shop, but I paid £45 for the scanner about 9 months ago, from a local electrical goods store. This came with 6 months warranty, all the cables and suchlike, and a copy of Acrsoft Photo Studio 2000, a photo re-touching programme not dissimilar from the likes of Paint Shop Pro and its counterparts.
Scanning with this scanner is really easy as it has a flexible lid (or as they call it a Z-lid expansion top). This basically means if you want to scan something bulky, such as a book, you can put it in the scanner and not end up squashing it. The lid opens vertically, making the scan bed (the glass bit where you place things you want to scan) very accessible. As far as looks go this scanner is beautiful. It takes up very little space, the dimensions are tiny at 25.6 cm x 37.3 cm x 3.9 cm so it will sit on any desk or shelf without getting in the way at all. It looks rather slick and modern with its slim line design, and it works as good as it looks. It scans line a dream, it is fast (takes about 6-10 seconds to scan an A4 size area) and does so with minimal sound.
In conclusion this is a very nice scanner at an equally nice price. It looks great, works great and gives great results. What more can you ask for?
Advantages: Sorry, no advantages for this scanner Disadvantages: Where do I start? hmm.. how about it breaking on me 2 weeks after buying it.
Okay so when I bought this scanner I thought hey it'll be okay, it'll scan all the images I need and last me for at least 6 months. Little did I realise that after purchasing it from Argos for roughly £60 it would break down on me a couple of weeks later. If you are going to build a scanner at least make it so it'll last for a while; forget about all the additional features and accessories, what people want is the bloody thing to work. Being a student ... ...usually, and they dont want to waste it on scanners, such as this one, breaking down on them the first weeks they purchase it. I would understand it breaking if I had dropped it or split my tea on it or something, but for it to break for no apparent reason really bugs me, especially since I have so much coursework to do and need it really badly. I don't want to buy another one now because I think it'll break down like this one. Not to mention that ...
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Whether it's for the home office or small office, the CanoScan N640P flatbed scanner is the perfect solution for all your scanning needs. It's compact and stylish design means it won't take up valuable desk space. It's astonishingly lightweight and so quiet in operation, you'll hardly notice it's there. With its high-tech metallic finish and sleek new styling, the CanoScan N640P looks incredible on any desktop. But great looks are just the beginning, since this scanner has been designed for exceptional performance as well. High-quality scans now come at a truly great price. The N640P scanner makes scanning simple. Connect the scanner via parallel port to any compatible Mac or PC and you're ready to go. Push the convenient external scan button and scan photos, graphics, articles and more. The software included helps you take advantage of it all, whether you want to optimize photos, manipulate images or simply integrate text or graphics into your projects. Canon's exclusive Z-Lid Expansion Top will change the way you scan bulky items, such as books and magazines. Many other scanner covers lift only at an angle and become uneven and awkward when scanning anything that isn't completely flat. The N640P scanner cover includes a special expansion hinge that lifts vertically, allowing the lid to lie flat, creating the space needed for bulky items.
