• Maximum color depth scanned: 36 bits
• Optical resolution: 600x1, 200
• Type: Flatbed
• Transparency adapter available: No
• Automatic document feeder available: No
• PC compatible: Yes
• Mac compatible: No
• Maximum interpolated resolution: 9, 600x9, 600
• Maximum page scanning area: 8.5x11.7 inches
• Interfaces available: USB, parallel
ScanJet 3400Cse lacks the legal-size scan bed its mammoth proportions suggest. Rather, it accommodates only 8.5x11.7-inch documents. A bright-blue bezel surrounds the scan bed, and a partially opaque plastic lid covers it. A hole cut in the latter reveals three quick-start buttons--one each for scanning, copying, and turning documents or photos into e-mail attachments. The avant-garde design seems forced, but the ScanJet is definitely more attractive than most flatbeds.
The 3400Cse is better equipped to work with older PCs as it has both USB and parallel interfaces.
That driver, HP’s PrecisionScan LTX, caters deftly to novice users. It divides the scan process into five numbered steps, beginning with a preview (represented by a button labeled ’’Start a new scan’’). From there, you select a scan area, then choose where you want the scan to go. A built-in OCR engine can send document text directly to a word processor or any other application. The problem with PrecisionScan? It takes an unusually long time to load (upward of 30 seconds), and your PC seems to sit idly while it does. Meanwhile, it offers few of the advanced photo-tweaking tools found in other TWAIN drivers.
By far the slowest scanner in its class, the ScanJet took almost a full minute to capture a color photo at 300dpi. It’s less sluggish with text pages; even 60 seconds is a reasonable amount of time to wait. More important, the ScanJet exhibited slight color misregistration. Images looked balanced overall with good dynamic range and the most accurate color reproduction in its price class