An Adequate Low-End Scanner Until It Died Too Soon
Written: Jan 24 '01 (Updated Nov 27 '05)
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Pros: decent scans at a decent price. Enclosed software works well.
Cons: Died in less than 2 years, slow, difficult to install using Win 98
The Bottom Line: There are faster and more reliable scanners out there for not too much more money.
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| Saxguy's Full Review: Visioneer OneTouch 7600 Flatbed Scanner |
When I bought my Gateway Essential 466 computer in May 1999, I added the Visioneer 7600USB flatbed scanner as a peripheral. I bought it from Gateway as I has no experience and figured that it would be easier to set it up if I got it directly.
The Visioneer 7600 USB is a basic flatbed scanner, with a USB interface. It was easy to hook up and use. It has a one button panel for scanning and copying. It came with Paperport software for management of images.
The scanner had good pluses:
Good Quality On Routine Functions
The quality of the output was very, very good, given it's modest price. I have a small online business that deals in collectible playing cards, hence the importance of the scanner. The scans from the 7600 were good enough to use on the site and Ebay, and definitely led to more sales than I had without the scanner. The scanner was able to scan non-flat items (rosaries) acceptably, scan text documents for faxing and perform acceptable copies through file capture and printing.
Good Attached Software
The Paperport software was very easy to use and offered good ways to organize, store and manipulate files. I liked the software so much so that I am using it with my new scanner, an Epson Perfection 1240U.
However, there were minuses as well, and they tend to outweigh the pluses:
Died Too Soon
The scans became totally black a couple of weeks ago, for no apparent reason. After some email technical support, it became clear that it was not going to work any more and could not be fixed. The life of this scanner was 20 months, which is far too short.
Too Slow
The unit required a 45 second warmup and was slow in general on scans and especially on color scans. While this is not unusual for low-end scanners, it was noticeable. I therefore bought a more expensive scanner ($175 total) to reduce the warmup and scanning time and also for slightly better color.
Difficult To Install On My Environment
In general, I've found Windows 98 on my Gateway to be troublesome. The combination of Windows 98, Microsoft Office 2000 and the Paperport software was troublesome. The software would sometimes give error messages and require a reinstall. That was troublesome because there was a drive r used in the process that had to be manually updated after the install or else the software would not work. It got to the point where I had the driver available in an obscure directory for me to pull out during the reinstalls.
So, I guess the 7600 is adequate for a low end scanner. For me, it was worth it to spend a little more money on it's replacement to reduce scanning time and improve the color.
Please check out my related reviews:
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Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 129
Interface: USB
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