Customer Reviews

Canon CanoScan N670U Flatbed Scanner

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(13)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

This scanner is a great buy. Whoever designed this should win some sort of award; it doesn't need a power cord and draws it's power from the supplied USB cable. This is the smallest 8.5x11 flatbed scanner I've ever seen. It is truly portable--about the size of a couple of legal pads stacked on top of each other. It takes up very little space on your desk. The quality of color photo scans is also clear and vibrant for a scanner in this price range; it's not professional quality, but at this price, who's complaining? Most importantly, this is the most usable of any scanner I've ever seen. I had this baby up and running in under 5 minutes and making great scans of some photos from last summer. It's one touch mode is great; it's easy to set up and customize each of the 3 front buttons. I'm still amazed at how well-designed and usable this scanner is. Highly recommended for home or small office use.

These are the reasons this scanner has impressed me:

1) Photo scan quality is good. So good in fact, that a recent scan of a color drawing on paper revealed the fine paper texture in the image.

2) This makes photocopies a snap. All you have to do is put the paper under the lid, press one button in front, and within seconds the printer is spitting out a great reproduction.

3) Slim design doesn't draw to much attention to itself, and is perfect for keeping a workspace looking tidy.

Spent the past 3 days with the N670U scanner and my opinion went from loving it (first scan looked great) to disliking it (discovered its significant weaknesses) and then back to just liking it (figured for the $82 +S&H, it couldn't be perfect). In the interest of brevity, I'll just summarize with pro's & con's. But first some basic information: This scanner replaced my UMAX 1220U b/c WINXP made the old software obsolete and therefore limited its usefulness. My system is a heavily used COMPAQ PIII 500 MHz with 256 ram, running Windows XP Home.

CONs:

(-) A bit confusing on install as to which CD to use; my unit came with two CDs, one with the ScanGear CS-U driver and software package and one marked "For winxp only". But when I read the documentation, it said you should NOT install that (for winxp only) driver if you wanted all the features of the included regular TWAIN driver and software. The fine print on the winxp cd explains that it's a WIA driver and contains limited features for basic scanning. Right on the scanner box it says designed for winxp, with the logo and everything, so my question is why would anyone want to have only basic, limited features?

(-) LOTS of mainly white, dust-like-looking, specks on the scans, if scanned with default settings and viewed at full size. I guess it might be called "noise". The glass on the platen is perfectly clean, but the scans look as if it was dusty as hell. Later I found a fix that cleans it up pretty well: check the check box on the first driver screen that says something like "use driver to make additional adjustments" and then go to advanced settings where you'll find a "remove dust and scratches" feature that gives you several options: I choose "hard".

(-) I get a "Windows 16 bit subsystem error" each time I start the driver to scan. I get this with some other software too, so maybe it's my computer. In any event, I can click "Ignore" and it proceeds after about a 20-25 second delay.

PROs:

(+) small, lightweight, vertical footprint

(+) whisper quiet

(+) usb for power

(+) fairly fast scanning (after the delay mentioned above); not including the delay-which is probably my computer issue-I can scan a 5x7 photo at 600 dpi with the dust/scratch removal feature on in about a minute and a half, much quicker at lower dpi of course.

(+) no real warm up time needed; scanning with my UMAX was like starting up my old Chevy Nova on a cold winter morning in Wisconsin.

(+) decent color, although sometimes overly saturation of some photos (even using the same original photo, sometimes I have difficulty getting a scan as good as the first time I scanned it which had very natural and even coloration). This can be easily adjusted with any photo app though.

(+) multiphoto scanning is an amazing feature; downside of this is that you can't get the advanced scratch/dust removing option using the multphoto option (at least I haven't figured out how). So, the scans are not the best quality - ok but not great.

(+) nice ScanGear Toolbox interface; pleasing to the eye and basically user-friendly.

(+) buttons on front of unit are assignable and quite convenient.

(+) overall scanning of text (and photos if you don't mind some white specks or using advanced setting) is pretty good.

(+) just tried the OCR and it worked very well; Canon gives you the OmniPage Pro versus a cut-down SE version which would be expected for the price.

(+) it just plain looks good!

So there you have it: the good & the bad. Looks like the thumbs up and thumbs down folks are both partly correct. And CNET's rating of 6 isn't too far off either. I'll be generous, but not as generous as most customer reviewers, and give it a 7. The "noise" (mainly white, dust-like specks) is a fairly big negative and prevents a higher score.

I'll admit I had some misgivings about purchasing any scanner not made by HP or Epson, but the specs and reviews finally compelled me to roll the dice on this one. I'm glad I did. This little marvel has all of the convenience and quality that made the Canon Elph S100 such a highly regarded digital camera. It looks good, feels good, works great. Pop it out of its box, plug the cable into your USB port, put the unit on your lap or anywhere you please (it's as light as a legal pad, no space required, no electrical connections), install the software, click scan. You should have an impressive result within 10 minutes of opening the box--even if you've never scanned anything before.

The pictures appear lighting fast and are fine for most purposes in the default mode (75 dpi-- you'll want to increase this for large photos). I clicked the email button--there was the photo already attached to my send page; then I clicked the copy button--instantly my printer cranked out the photo. In the past, peripherals running off USB power have given me trouble. Not with this scanner. It even worked when I inserted it in my temperamental hub. The Canon people have supplied a special, large gauge, heavily insulated cable to insure you won't feel underpowered or miss the customary electrical cord.

Why "only" 4 stars? For starters, the plastic holder that enables the unit to be a stand-alone vertical device, along with the velcro strip to hold the cover down, makes little sense. The brief start-up instructions even suggest you may wish to operate the scanner in that position--about as practical as using chopsticks. Since there's nothing to hold your document in place, you'd have to "trap" it between the cover and base. But my real gripe is the lack of a complete, hard-copy instruction manual. Personally, I find Acrobat Reader anything but user-friendly. Moreover, printing it out not only kills a tree and drains your ink supply but leaves you with an unwieldy stack of papers instead of a nice little booklet. I'd forego both the vertical holder and another five bucks in exchange for a printed instruction manual. But I guess the elves will play their tricks.

I'm quite pleased with this scanner. It's great for your average daily tasks of scanning documents and once in a while a photo or color magazine. But the scan quality lacks a bit in comparision to other scanners, which may be an issue if you'd like to use it for publishing or photo prints.

Here's a quick summary of the cons and pros I've found:

Pros:
* Thin and lightweight
* Uses one cable for power and communications (USB)
* Very little noise during scanning
* No calibration/warmup required for each scan (only once)
* Fast, if you use the correct settings
* Comes with a stand, allowing you to store AND scan in a vertical position (it's slightly slanted, so documents won't slide out and with the stand comes a strip of velcro to keep the lid shut) - a great space safer!
* Easy to use software, which works great on Windows XP
* Also includes XP drivers, allowing you to use the scanner directly from Explorer
* Crisp colors for photo scans

Cons:
* Always on, causing quite a drain on the USB port or hub (my hub is now getting quite hot)
* 3 buttons do not have lit indicators (so you can tell which button was pressed if you were not paying full attention)
* No "fax" button (directly from scanner to internal faxmodem)
* Scan speed could be better in some instances
* Scan quality is not the best (some scan lines are visible, black is not pure)
* A bit "plasticy" in design; doesn't feel rigid or long lasting

Except for what I have listed above, I have had no immediate issues using the scanner on a WinXP Pro system. The software is easy to use and without flaws. The TWAIN drivers integrate with publishing software as you'd expect. Everything will install fine if you follow the instructions on the incluided pamphlet or manual.

If you use a hub, do make sure it is a self-powered hub (with an AC adapter) and not a hub-powered version. While the power requirements seem to be low, even on my well-known-brand USB hub it seems to pull quite a bit of a load.

After having so much trouble with 2 Epson 1250's and a 1650 as well, I returned them and bought the Canon. What a difference! Unlike the Epson, the colors were crisp and accurate. Smooth, easy-to-use software, light and compact design, and relatively speedy. An excellent value. I do wish, however, that a more comprehensive manual was included. Also, this scanner is powered directly from the USB cable. I found out through trial and error 1. It needs to be plugged directly into the computer's USB; a hub will not provide sufficient power. 2. Stick with the 6' cable provided. I tried a 10' without much luck.

I was replacing a 5 year old 300 DPI Umax scanner Astra 600S. I am a product designer and scan at 150 DPI to 300 usually. I was addicted to the Umax interface and, when the Umax scanner's bulb started to go, I really read and re-read all of the reviews and descriptions that I could find. I eventually went back to the Canon 670 because it was so small, took it's power from the USB port and Amazon had it at such a good price, including shipping.

It took all of 5 minutes to install on my Apple G4 as advertised. By the way, I looked at the next higher rez Canon scanner (which at the time was advertised at a 99- price by Amazon).........by the time that I confirmed that I wanted it, Canon no longer made it available to Amazon for the price. For my use, I couldn't justify it but, you really can't beat the 670, period. It's a high quality product and I should know. I specialize in designing plastic products and this one is very well executed.

The scans are easily accomplished and the text scans are great. Attaching to an email letter is a snap. What else to say? Nothing. Unless you REALLY need a higher rez scanner (if you do, get a Canon), this one is all you'll ever need. Epson makes great printers but scanners? Well, the quality seemed to be a bit lower and the same applies to Microtek scanners. Higher rez scans (and prices, of course) but a far flimsier product feel.

I should add that I went to the NYC Mac Expo so I could play with the various scanners and my choice was confirmed. The Canon line was of the highest apparent quality for the dollar so I feel very comfortable suggesting any Canon scanner. Microtek may very well make a good product but the feel of the lid was so cheap that I wouldn't feel very comfortable taking the chance. Still, each to their own.

I am still amazed of how good this little scanner is. Setup under WinXP was a piece of cake. Just connect the USB cable and install the driver and software from the Cannon CD (Do not use the WinXP CD) After just five minutes I was scanning, making copies and sending emails to my friends, all at the touch of a button. This little scanner is fast, quiet, and produces great results, almost identical than the originals. The real steal is in the bundled software. Cannon gives you a great OCR and photo lab.
I would recommend this little scanner without any hesitation.

Just got it and have scanned in 4-6 photos. Software was easy to load and seems compatible with Win'98. Scanner easy to use too, and great image quality.

My only criticism has to do with the documentation they don't provide. Very slim manual that doesn't cover functions like copying documents. Still haven't figured out how to do this.

It works great so far since I purchased this scanner two weeks ago from local Staples even though my computer is 3 years old NEC Ready 340T AMD300MHz running Windows 98. It is connected through usb hub with self-powered mode. I scanned a 4x6 color photo at 300dpi. It took only 25 seconds. Scanned image was good enough for home casual user. If you really want to get professional quality scanned color photo image, you should get real photo scanner ... . I scanned some art work, poster, pictures from art magazine. Scanned images were really sharp. If you are not satisfied with color, you can easily adjust with using photo editing software. I use Corel Photo-Paint 9. My friend who is professional graphic designer was impressed by the result. I guess that you have to know how to use it before complaining. ... I definitely recommend it.