Rating: 
Summary: EXCELLENT when scanning 3D documents
Review: As an avid scrapbooker and scrapbook business owner, scanning images that are "lumpy and bumpy" is next to impossible and believe me, I've tried every possible scanner out there. One of HP's ScanJet's did the trick for a while but it took up a majority of my desk. NOW I have a scanner that allows me to scan all my "lumpy and bumpy" objects with ease. Having a tough time finding something to scan something larger than 8x10? That's alright! This scanner comes with stitching software that gives PERFECT, SEAMLESS stitching. Awesome, awesome scanner. The best part is that I can stand it upright and store it beside my monitor so that I have more room for .... well .... more junk on my desk! :)
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT when scanning 3D documents
Review: As an avid scrapbooker and scrapbook business owner, scanning images that are "lumpy and bumpy" is next to impossible and believe me, I've tried every possible scanner out there. One of HP's ScanJet's did the trick for a while but it took up a majority of my desk. NOW I have a scanner that allows me to scan all my "lumpy and bumpy" objects with ease. Having a tough time finding something to scan something larger than 8x10? That's alright! This scanner comes with stitching software that gives PERFECT, SEAMLESS stitching. Awesome, awesome scanner. The best part is that I can stand it upright and store it beside my monitor so that I have more room for .... well .... more junk on my desk! :)
Rating:
Summary: EXCELLENT when scanning 3D documents
Review: As an avid scrapbooker and scrapbook business owner, scanning images that are "lumpy and bumpy" is next to impossible and believe me, I've tried every possible scanner out there. One of HP's ScanJet's did the trick for a while but it took up a majority of my desk. NOW I have a scanner that allows me to scan all my "lumpy and bumpy" objects with ease. Having a tough time finding something to scan something larger than 8x10? That's alright! This scanner comes with stitching software that gives PERFECT, SEAMLESS stitching. Awesome, awesome scanner. The best part is that I can stand it upright and store it beside my monitor so that I have more room for .... well .... more junk on my desk! :)
Rating: 
Summary: hot looks, mixed performance
Review: Doesn't that pretty much sum up the problem with every piece of technology today? OUr products looks good (or better) but the behavior designed into them is aggravating. CRAPPY SOFTWARE KILLS PRODUCTS!
This thing takes too long to warm up. It takes too long for the lamp to return to it's starting position, it takes too long after you see the preview image on your monitor to give you back control. I have piles of stuff waiting to be scanned and I cannot wait for this device to catch up with me.
Rating:
Summary: Great design, BUT... also, questionable marketing
Review: Granted, this is a great scanner and an inventive design. For me, however, the design screams to be used in a mobile fashion. After all, the unit is touted as a great scanner for large or unwieldy items (as opposed to a strictly desktop scanner, for instance). In my case, I was looking to use it for copying from books for use in research. If you have tried copying from a book on a flatbed scanner, even one with an expandable lid, you'll know the difficulty involved. With the 4600, one can effectively crop the book in realtime, eliminating the guesswork. BUT, imagine my surprise to learn that the scanner comes with a wall wart AC transformer! The addition of a power adapter significantly undercuts the 4600's utility as a mobile scanner (e.g.--books in a library). As an owner of a usb-powered Canon flatbed scanner, it didn't even occur to me that the 4600 would be different. Note that the marketing materials leave the impression that the 4600 is usb-powered. It touts a "combination usb/AC cable", a phrase that is certainly open to interpretation. In this case, it isn't even true: at some point, the "combination cable" _must_ split into a piece leading to the pc and a piece leading to the AC adapter. What is the advantage in this??? Also, the marketing materials cryptically list among the contents this line: AC adapter (where applicable). What does this even mean? A big thumbs down to HP for crippling a potentially great scanner, and attempting to hide its true identity. It's great as a desktop scanner, but there are loads of competitors that are cheaper in that class.
Rating: 
Summary: Buyer beware of this white elephant!
Review: HP fails to tell you that this scanner DOES NOT scan documents, until you spend a few hours with tech support trying to figure out what the blankety-blank is WRONG with this thing. If you're only scanning a photo, fine, but anything with even one word of text, FORGET THIS THING!!!
Rating: 
Summary: Great Scanner
Review: I have just purchased this scanner with trepidation, given the bad reviews it's received here. Yet, it has been highly rated by other consumer reporting websites. After being burned by Visioneer's technical support (2+ hours wait period, then asked to call back the following day), I decided to give HP ScanJet 4600 a chance. Falling prices have made this unit much more affordable.
I had no issues with installation using WinXP, SP2. I found that it scans text, illustrations, and newspaper print (post-edited with bundled stitching software) very well. I use third party software for image-editing and OCR. Therefore, I cannot comment on the performance of included software other than the stitching software, which was very easy to use for obtaining a quality image. This machine is also portable enough to take to libraries to scan materials such as newspapers and books (where the book binding isn't prohibitive). For me, this is a big plus. It's lightweight and much thinner than other bulky scanners, which would be a burden to carry. It scans items face up or face down and is detachable from it's horizontal base. This is a bonus for scanning items like maps or oversized books. In addition, it takes up little space when stored vertically.
I have scanned few photos, as this was not my primary purpose for purchasing a scanner. I found that the scanning surface must be cleaned with lens towels prior to glossy photo scanning to remove all dust particles, which will show up in images. If archiving photos were my primary scanner purpose, I would recommend selecting a different scanner, because post-scan editing is required to return some images to more natural hues.
I will say that while scanning one book, I did see black and white banding at the crease, which is analogous to how loss of focus occurs when photocopying books near the crease. I found that the binding must be pressed such that the book was flush against the scanning surface. If one plans to scan many books where the binding holds the book tightly closed, then you may have problems with this product.
All in all, this product works very well for my purposes as well as appealing aesthetically.
Rating:
Summary: Very fast, problems if documents not flat
Review: I have owned several scanners, including some solid Agfa scanners and wanted to use this scanner to scan some old books without harming them, so the fact that I could place the scanner over the book was the deciding factor.
I was surprised at how fast the scanner works for OCR, compared to my Agfa scanners, but then I havent compared it to many other recent scanners.
It worked well for my purposes. I use Omnipage 14 which is superior to Read Iris 8 (supplied), at first impression. Still Read Iris did reasonably well on an old book with yellow pages, but failed miserably on my income tax notification. Omnipage did a *lot* better.
There was banding when the scanner is not perfectly flat on the subject and I noticed that the depth of field is very limited, especially at high resolution, but this is unavoidable with this kind of technology. Scanners with a lens like the Agfa avoid this kind of problem, but you can't put them to the same use. They are bulky.
All in all I am satisfied.
Rating:
Summary: Fooled Twice, Shame on Me!
Review: I went through two scanners and about 10 hours before I realized it wasn't me, my computer or the "energy" of my office that was a problem. This scanner has a serious defect in its ability to scan anything that isn't very white or COMPLETELY flat against the glass. Vertical banding of dark and light stripes appeared in every scan I undertook with both 4600's.I was given the runnaround by the HP tech(?) and am going to have to wait until HP or some other company revamps the technical issues of what is otherwise an elegant and smart design. As a point of comparison I did identical scans with my Epson Stylus CX5400 all in one and when I could get a scan that wasn't plagued with the vertical banding I found the Epsons color and clarity superior at identical resolutions. (sarcasm here) Mind you, the Epson is a slightly more expensive ($50) printer copier scanner while the HP is only a scanner. This HP does not do what it is advertised to do.
Rating:
Summary: It's ok...
Review: Scans of various drawings and paintings done with the HP Scanjet 4600 exhibit alternating light and dark bands parallel to the direction of the scan. The bands vary in intensity depending on the color or value of the area being scanned. This problem showed up on two samples of the scanner. HP has been of no real help in solving this problem and I have returned both samples. The design is ideal for scanning large items but, unfortunately, the bands make the product useless.
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