HP ScanJet 5490cse Scanner

Rating:
Summary: A dreadful experience
Review: Based on web testimonials, I bought this scanner with automatic document feeder specifically to scan a couple thousand photo prints. The scanner and ADF worked perfectly for exactly one day; on the second day the resulting images started coming up smeared and with blotches of ridiculous color (like formless tattoos on people's skin and stains on their clothes). The ONLY appropriate help to be found (in the e-manual or online) advised me to "clean the ADF window"--which of course I did, to no avail whatsoever. I called HP. The representative listened to my complaint and said, "Oh, I don't think you can use the ADF for photos..." I told him that was precisely how it was advertised and the major reason I bought it. After a few minutes on hold, he came back and declared it sounded like a defective ADF. I advised him I wanted a replacement. He ordered it, and took credit card information to ensure I would send back the defective one. More than two weeks went by and no ADF was delivered. I called HP again with my case number and was told by another rep that the replacement ADF order had been canceled; he had no explanation as to why. I told him this: "I want you to ship me a new ADF for this machine *today*, and I want you to pay postage for return of the defective ADF. If not, I will return the entire unit and I will never buy a Hewlett Packard product again." The rep set about making it happen, and finally said it was OK, except that the part was out of stock. So I took the damn'ed thing back to the store and now am back to using my slow old manual flatbed HP without an ADF. All in all, a very disappointing experience with HP.

Rating:
Summary: No problems.
Review: Feeder works well and image quality is good. Slides and negatives work well. Installed on my Windows XP machine just fine. It has obviously been updated based on the other review. I give it a four only because it is a bit slow for my tastes.

Rating:
Summary: My first let down by HP is a ScanJet 5490C
Review: I chose to purchase the HP ScanJet 5490C based on its impressive technical specifications, my past experience with HP products, features including but not limited to the buttons on the front of the scanner, and the "Designed for Windows XP" logo printed on the side of the package as well as the "USB Certified" logo with Windows XP listed underneath it.

The buttons on the front of the scanner were to be an important part of my office's document workflow. However they would not work after the first installation or after many repeated HP technical support assisted installations. My laptop is certified Windows XP compatible by both Microsoft and Dell however it turns out that the HP ScanJet 5490C is not recognized as XP compatible in the Microsoft Hardware Compatibility List (HCL).

The sticking point here was a piece of XP system software called stimon.exe. Stimon.exe's job is to listen to the USB ports so that when a button on the front of the scanner is pushed stimon.exe will launch the corresponding software on the computer. Microsoft informed me that because the scanner is not XP compatible that it is not enumerated correctly. Without a correctly enumerated scanner attached to the system stimon.exe will not launch. This XPerience frustrated me so much and destroyed my confidence in HP as well as the "Designed for Windows XP" logo.

...

I should also mention that the PaperPort software bundled with the scanner does not support Windows XP and there were no free updates available from the PaperPort web site.

BOTTOM LINE:
Though it has an impressive set of features and functionality the HP ScanJet 5490C scanner is clearly not ready to function as advertised under Windows XP. If you are running XP, seriously consider putting off this purchase until HP releases a new version of their ScanJet driver (higher than 3.13). And do not count on a pleasant experience if you need to use their high-school-staffed technical support.

Rating:
Summary: Great All-Purpose Scanner!
Review: I just received this scanner yesterday and within an hour I was scanning items with it. The sheet feeder works pretty well so far and I haven't tried out the slide attachment. I installed it on a Windows XP box and didn't even have to reboot during or after installation. A very good product. Whatever problems the previous reviewer had, HP has fixed them now.

Rating:
Summary: Easy to set-up
Review: I just received this scanner yesterday and within an hour I was scanning items with it. The sheet feeder works pretty well so far and I haven't tried out the slide attachment. I installed it on a Windows XP box and didn't even have to reboot during or after installation. A very good product. Whatever problems the previous reviewer had, HP has fixed them now.

Rating:
Summary: Great All-Purpose Scanner!
Review: I love this scanner! It has every single feature you would want in a scanner especially for the price. Slides, negatives, photos, documents, etc. The feeder is a bonus!

Rating:
Summary: Very poor for an HP
Review: The ADF on our scanner has failed twice in the year we have owned it. HP sugests we return it for a new one.

It is EXTREMELY slow.

Quality of the images is acceptable. Easy set up.

Rating:
Summary: Negative scan with loss of detail and color mismatch
Review: The features sound great. But reality is different. Negative scans look horrible, with loss of detail and color mismatch. Photo scans also show color mismatch. The document auto feeder will usually fail and produce a paper jam. What else can be said? Go for the Epson Perfection 2450.