Microtek may not be quite as well known as some other scanner manufacturers, such as Canon, Dell, or Epson, but the ScanMaker s400, a quality scanner for under $150, might make some people take note of the California-based company and its scanners.

The ScanMaker s400 is a desktop scanner that measures 3.2 x 11.6 x 19 inches (HxWxL) and features a film adapter, 48-bit colors, and a heavy-duty design. It also uses a USB interface to connect to your computer.

For my tests I scanned three different images, a 4 x 5 color image, a 4 x 6 black-and-white image, and an 8 x 10 color image, three times at 150dpi, three times at 300dpi, and three times at 600dpi. The 4 x 5 color image had average scan times of 8.3, 14.4, and 29 seconds at each respective resolution. The 4 x 6 black-and-white image averaged times of 8.9, 16.5, and 33.9 seconds. The 8 x 10 image had average times of 13.8 and 28.6 seconds and 1:04 (mintues:seconds).

The s400 also comes with the LightLid 35 Plus, an adapter you can use for 35mm slides and photo negatives. To test this accessory, I scanned the LightLid with four slides in it twice at each of the three previously mentioned resolutions. The average scan times were 2:24, 4:14, and 7:56 at the respective resolutions.

All of these images looked great on the monitor. It was difficult to distinguish major differences even when comparing the 150dpi image with the 600dpi image. The black-and-white image was on the same plane as the Canon CanoScan LiDE 80. The default colors used by the Microtek software bundle, which includes ABBYY FineReader, Adobe Photoshop Album SE, Adobe Photoshop Elements 2.0, and Adobe Acrobat Reader, produced vibrant and bright images. For those photos that have aged, the software bundle includes a ColoRescue program to enhance faded images.

All in all, the Microtek ScanMaker s400 is a solid scanner at a decent price; however, if the scanner's price is still too much for you, you can ease the financial strain by taking advantage of a $20 mail-in rebate. In addition, the scanner comes with a general one-year warranty.

by Sam Evans

ScanMaker s400
$149.99
Microtek
(310) 687-5940
www.microtek.com