Easy to connect . Easy to use . Can even be a FAX with the right set - up
Disadvantages:
Not the highest definition available
Recommend to potential buyers:
yes
Full review
I have been using this flat-bed scanner for about 18 months with no complaints. It was my first experience of a USB connection, and installation went like a dream. It is a compact design, unlike some of the really cheap ones, although it would be difficult to get any smaller than the latest Canon Canoscan range without your A4 sheet sticking out the sides!
I'm never really that worried about the actual dpi figures quoted by manufacturers, since a high degree of detail is wasted if you then intend to make the file into a jpeg or other compact file format. Also, your printer's dpi figures can be the governing factor on any copies made.
The HP 4100c has easy to use HP software, which allows for trial scans followed by full definition ones if you like what you see. It does a fair job of interpreting what it is looking at and even the OCR seems to work OK.
The machine also has two buttons on the front - one for going direct to printer, effectively making it a photcopier. If one of your printers just happens to be FAX software, then you've got yourself an outgoing FAX as well!
The second button launches the standard scanner software, but this can also be launched from within a graphics package like Paint Shop Pro, using its Import routine. (The scanner shows up on a list of graphics hardware along with digital cameras etc, so you just pick your source and proceed).
I still remain impressed by the simplicity of the HP 4100c's style and operation. It has been superceded, but by a machine that looks the same, so my recommendation would probably extend to that instead.
More details
Ease of use
Very easy
Design
Good
Range of extra features / functions
Good
Instruction manual
Good
Manufacturer Support
Satisfactory
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