Scanning Ahead

HP ScanJet 7000

The HP ScanJet 7000 scanner offers a number of features and value-added enhancements for the money. Among them: a 50-sheet automatic document feeder, the ability to save acquired documents in a variety of formats, and the ability to scan at resolutions of up to 600dpi.

End-User Advantages

The beauty of the ScanJet 7000 lies in its simplicity. Only six buttons adorn the front of the scanner, along with a backlit, easy-to-read two-line LCD display. Menu navigation on the scanner itself is straightforward and reminiscent of most laser printer interfaces, using up and down arrows for navigation and an OK/Select key for data entry.

Scanning is easy to configure and even easier to operate. The 7000 comes with several presets, or “profiles,” which are appropriate for most common tasks. Users will find that it’s easy to tweak these settings because the scanner readily accommodates any number of custom presets. Common options are available in the Profile Properties dialog, as well as useful enhancements, such as auto-straighten, auto-orient, resize page, erase edges, delete blank pages, detect barcodes and digital stamps. Even when all of these options were selected during testing, the scan speed was not noticeably affected.

Why It Works for IT

It’s simple: The 7000 is easy to operate and can handle most day-to-day scanning tasks right out of the box. The scanner’s user-friendly interface makes quick work of finding the settings you need, leaving more time to tackle the tasks at hand.

It’s fast: HP’s advertised 40 pages per minute is no exaggeration when using the 7000 to scan documents at 200dpi. It handles double-sided pages just as quickly as single-sided, all in one pass. Unlike some of its competitors, the 7000 has a paper tray that collects originals without letting them buckle or fall out.

It’s reliable: The scanner’s roller assembly is a clamshell design, which allows easy document retrieval should you encounter a paper jam—which almost never happens. I crumpled several pieces of paper into balls and unfolded them just enough to go through the feed, but could not get the printer to jam or misfeed. More amazing, these pages scanned just as well as their uncrumpled counterparts. The scanner did an excellent job of removing wrinkles and imperfections. I could not tell any difference when reviewing the scans.

It’s cost-effective: This scanner is competitively priced and comes bundled with a generous offering of software, including Visioneer PaperPort 11, Presto! BizCard 5, and Readiris Pro. Even without this software, the included HP scanning utility is capable of accomplishing most scanning tasks and can natively scan directly into .PDF format, eliminating the need to purchase Adobe Acrobat separately.

Disadvantages

While feature-rich, the HP Scanning Software could be better. I had to cancel one job part-way through, and after hitting the cancel button, I lost the ability to invoke the scanning software by pressing buttons on the front of the scanner. Rebooting fixed this problem.

Also, the scanner’s copy utility is a separate icon from the scanning software itself. This gives the software suite a disjointed feel, forcing the user to use one utility for everything.