Posted by: Administrator
on December 08, 2003 04:37 PM
. Hi everyone, just a word of warning for anyone in the market for one of these units. . I originally bought one of the HP's, but when I got it home I discovered that there was dust stuck to the inside surface of the glass where I could not clean it. I exchanged it three time at Staples, they all had the same problem. The dust is hard to see with your eye, but certainly shows up as spots all over a scan. I contacted HP, they suggested it was a problem with that batch, and replaced it with another one that I found had the same problem. Then they took it back and sent it in to be cleaned properly, but when I got it back again the situation was even worse! HP didn't seem interested in fixing the problem, so I took my refund, and started looking at other manufacturers. . I now have an Epson CX5200. I had to go through 3 of these units before I got one that had _almost_ no dust stuck to the inside surface. I will say that even the worst of the Epsons I had was _far_ better than the best of the HP's regarding internal dust. In addition to the better dust situation, I found the Epson to be a far superior product for the following reasons: . - Higher quality materials, better and thicker plastic than the brittle stuff the HP is made of, and the glass is thicker and more solid, you can knock on it and it sounds good (unlike the HP) . - The Epson has a real foam press under the glass cover instead of a fake one made of plastic included on the HP. . - It sounds sturdy when in operation, while the HP sounds like it could self destruct. . - The CCD on the HP contacts the glass while scanning leaving marks! . - The Epson is standards (TWAIN) compliant, while the HP requires proprietary software, and HP's windows software requires you to install Microsoft IE (yuk). Also the HP software just doesn't work very well, it won't remember even basic settings like DPI between scans, while the Epson software for Windows works well and has some great and useful innovations. . - Better overall design --> Opens wider for easy access to interior --> More compact and better exterior profile --> Paper trays fold up out of the way --> Individual ink cartridges for each colour --> Straight through feed (can the HP even do this?) --> Has scanner lock mechanism for moving (HP doesn't) --> Has hardware "Stop" button to halt an operation . - Epson includes USB cable . - The Epson is possible to open and self-service (HP has special screws and secret snaps) . - HP considers interior dust to be acceptable. While Epson didn't do anything to fix the problem, they atleast did not say it was "withing acceptable tolerances". . . That last point just blew me away, HP actually provided me with their official manufacturing specs for what they consider to be "Ok" as far as internal dust, it was "Dust and Particles - Max 0.25 mm with less than two particles in a 6.5mm diameter zone.". According to that spec, it is acceptable to have a maximum of 148 particles that would show up on a scan within an area of 4x6 inches (a standard photograph). As far as I am concerned, advertising a scanning resolution of 1200dpi while they allow for debris that will show up at 300dpi is just plain dishonest and false advertising. Imagine if a camera company allowed for dust inside their cameras! . As a side note, I want to mention that Canon scanners appeared to be completely dust free upon close examination, which is no surprise considering that they are primarily a photo and imaging company. Unfortuanately, their units are not Linux compatible, so I could not consider them an option. This may change, when I contacted them, the Linux person there said it was in the works... . In conclusion, Epson was my final choice and the unit has performed flawlessly for almost a year now, but make sure you check closely for dust while you can still exchange it at the store, and call Epson and complain if you find any! I hope somebody finds this report useful, I feel better now.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-) .
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Posted by: Administrator on December 08, 2003 04:37 PMHi everyone, just a word of warning for anyone in the market for one of these units.
.
I originally bought one of the HP's, but when I got it home I discovered that there was dust stuck to the inside surface of the glass where I could not clean it. I exchanged it three time at Staples, they all had the same problem. The dust is hard to see with your eye, but certainly shows up as spots all over a scan. I contacted HP, they suggested it was a problem with that batch, and replaced it with another one that I found had the same problem. Then they took it back and sent it in to be cleaned properly, but when I got it back again the situation was even worse! HP didn't seem interested in fixing the problem, so I took my refund, and started looking at other manufacturers.
.
I now have an Epson CX5200. I had to go through 3 of these units before I got one that had _almost_ no dust stuck to the inside surface. I will say that even the worst of the Epsons I had was _far_ better than the best of the HP's regarding internal dust. In addition to the better dust situation, I found the Epson to be a far superior product for the following reasons:
.
- Higher quality materials, better and thicker plastic than the brittle stuff the HP is made of, and the glass is thicker and more solid, you can knock on it and it sounds good (unlike the HP)
.
- The Epson has a real foam press under the glass cover instead of a fake one made of plastic included on the HP.
.
- It sounds sturdy when in operation, while the HP sounds like it could self destruct.
.
- The CCD on the HP contacts the glass while scanning leaving marks!
.
- The Epson is standards (TWAIN) compliant, while the HP requires proprietary software, and HP's windows software requires you to install Microsoft IE (yuk). Also the HP software just doesn't work very well, it won't remember even basic settings like DPI between scans, while the Epson software for Windows works well and has some great and useful innovations.
.
- Better overall design
--> Opens wider for easy access to interior
--> More compact and better exterior profile
--> Paper trays fold up out of the way
--> Individual ink cartridges for each colour
--> Straight through feed (can the HP even do this?)
--> Has scanner lock mechanism for moving (HP doesn't)
--> Has hardware "Stop" button to halt an operation
.
- Epson includes USB cable
.
- The Epson is possible to open and self-service (HP has special screws and secret snaps)
.
- HP considers interior dust to be acceptable. While Epson didn't do anything to fix the problem, they atleast did not say it was "withing acceptable tolerances".
.
.
That last point just blew me away, HP actually provided me with their official manufacturing specs for what they consider to be "Ok" as far as internal dust, it was "Dust and Particles - Max 0.25 mm with less than two particles in a 6.5mm diameter zone.". According to that spec, it is acceptable to have a maximum of 148 particles that would show up on a scan within an area of 4x6 inches (a standard photograph). As far as I am concerned, advertising a scanning resolution of 1200dpi while they allow for debris that will show up at 300dpi is just plain dishonest and false advertising. Imagine if a camera company allowed for dust inside their cameras!
.
As a side note, I want to mention that Canon scanners appeared to be completely dust free upon close examination, which is no surprise considering that they are primarily a photo and imaging company. Unfortuanately, their units are not Linux compatible, so I could not consider them an option. This may change, when I contacted them, the Linux person there said it was in the works...
.
In conclusion, Epson was my final choice and the unit has performed flawlessly for almost a year now, but make sure you check closely for dust while you can still exchange it at the store, and call Epson and complain if you find any! I hope somebody finds this report useful, I feel better now.<nobr> <wbr></nobr>:-)
.
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