Customer Reviews

HP SJ8300 Professional Image Scanner (Silver/Black)

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

I spent three hours with HP technical support trying to make this thing work. The things they had me try were basic, like removing and then reinstalling cables, cycling power, and like. Gee why didn't I think of that?

They blamed everything else but the scanner. When I refused to reinstall the hardware yet again, HPs solution was to request I buy a more expensive HP product.

I remember when HP produced quality products. Not anymore!

We purchased this scanner for the purpose of scanning our slides and negatives. When we tried to scan, we kept getting an error message that stated the TMA adapter was not installed. I tried to solve the issue by using the online chat with HP. They stated that the product was over a year old and out of warranty and would not provide tech support unless we wanted to pay extra. We felt that it was unreasonable for HP to start the warranty from the time it was manufacured instead of the date we purchased it. If this had sold for under a $100, I could understand HP's reluctance in providing Tech support, but we payed a substantial amount of money for this. A few years ago HP was the BEST, but something has happend to the company. Not only do I not recomend buying this scanner but I do not recomend ever purchasing another HP product until their product quality and customer support improves.

Tried to use the slide scanner for the first time. TMA light would not work. Received message that said it was not connected. It was connected. Checked the HP site for this scanner and the forum on the site indicated this is a major problem with the 8300. It also indicated that HP support is not very responsive to getting it fixed or replaced.

The scanner does work fine to scan documents or pictures. If you think you will need to scan negatives or slides I recommend that you do not get the 8300.

I was surprised seeing the reviews for this scanner on Amazon. I bought this scanner from a big box electronics store for a higher price than Amazon and am very happy with it. It absolutely works with Macs (at least OS 10.5). Using VueScan, I had it out of the box and scanning within a few minutes. Didn't bother using the HP software. I needed to scan some large photos at a professional level and my Mustek large format scanner just wasn't up to the job. This scanner seems to be a good intermediate scanner between the typical consumer scanners and the very expensive professional ones, Only drawback is it takes up a lot of desk space, but the trade off is you can get far better scans than you can with lesser quality scanners.

HP just recently came out with driver version 13.0 for Windows 7 and it is lacking. There is only one descreen feature in the driver thus it will not let you descreen at 145 lpi for artwork or old postcards, etc. Fortunately, I have other systems still running XP (and will continue to run XP) so I can still scan with my UMAX scanner and get good results. All in all, if you are using Windows 7 do NOT purchase a Scanjet 8300 until (read "IF") HP comes out with an improved driver.

I purchased the HP 8300 direct from HP.com (foolish me). First the Windows software included was for Windows XP/Vista. Both my HP desktop and HP laptop have Windows 7. I followed the instructions to go to the HP website and download the software and drivers for Windows 7 which I did. After installing the software the scanner would not work so I called HP Tech Support. The techs I spoke with through numerous calls were very difficult to understand as their command of the English language was seriously lacking. Over a period of about two months I worked with HP Tech Support to try to resolve the problems. The last tech took command of my desktop computer and eliminated several files which allowed the scanner to work. However my HP All-In-One printer presented a conflict with the scanner and had to be deleted. The tech offered no solution to the problem so I now have the scanner on my desktop and do my regular printing using my laptop. During all of the issues I researched the HP.com website trying to find as telephone number for someone in the United States. I finally found an 800 number with an American operator. I asked her for a telephone number for HP corporate headquarters in the United States and she told me she did not have a number. When I insisted she had to have a number she told me to have a nice day and hung up. I then sent an email to the then CEO and every VP of HP from email addresses on their website. I never got an answer from any of them. I did get an email from Customer Support who referred me back to the same tech support group with limited English capabilites as before which resulted in the scanner working but required the deletion of the printer. I will never own another HP product in my life and as soon as I am can afford to I am going to replace all of my HP products. It is a sad day when you cannot reach anyone at the corporate level of an American company.

Scanjet 8300 Professional Image Scanner - 4800dpi(sold individuall)
Yes it is easy to use. However, HP used to be a good company, but now they have joined the ranks of the fallen and have abysmally stupid policies. I bought this scanner three years ago, it has all the features I wanted, especially the ability to handle legal size scans. Within the first three months the TMA switched itself off, since it was under warranty, HP's solution was to replace the TMA assembly, so far no problem. The unit worked fine untill last month when the platen became unattached (no blunt trauma) in the upper right corner. This means the lamp assembley snags on the corner when the cover is closed and does not when open (but greatly lowers contrast). A simple fix, no new parts required merely reattach the detached corner. However, HP's solution, and there were several, was to replace the scanner with not merely a lower cost different model scanner that did not handle legal size paper (a deal breaker). That was unacceptable I paid $543 (directly from the HP store) for the 8300 in 2007; their current solution is to buy a more expensive, $1200 scanner, which they would discount $100 or a refurbished 8300 scanner for $278, 3 month warranty. They also claim the 8300 is either out or going out of production apparently they can't make up their mind. It is still listed and recommended in their catalog.

Although I escalated by complaint to their CEO, the best they could do is refer my to an outpost in Costa Rica. Only one technician understood that I have only a base unit Scanjet 8300. I only live 25 miles from the corporate HQ. They also claim it cannot be repaired because it is a sealed unit. All that it need to the corner glass be reattached to the unit and it will run fine. It does not need a new part, and it does not need to be replaced per se. Prior to the 8300 I had a Scanjet 3c which lasted for 11 years. I am to recommending to one and all to consider other products before investing in an HP product.

i only buy hp products and i own a big chunk of their stock. and i have been a happy camper

i have been using the HP3010 scanner for my genealogy work: lots of old photos that i need to scan at 4800 resolution so i can restore them in cs4 photoshop.

so i decided to upgrade to the HP8300 because it purports to be about 10 times faster.

i first installed it on my new HP Elite 2509m desktop that i just purchased at Costco, running Windows 7.

the installer burped at Windows 7. HP technical support told me to download the latest release for the 8300 which supports windows 7.

well it didnt work; and hp technical support could not get it to work

then i installed it on my HP Pavilion d5200t ATX PC running Vista 64 bit

i almost got it to work, but finally it choked. it told me to unistall and reinstall.

after a few hours and little help from HP technical support; i put the scanner back in it's shipping crate.

Amazon was kind enough to give me a return label, and off it went back to Amazon.

joe

Good software, easy setup and operation. The results obtained with this machine are really very good and consistent. I have owned a number of scanners and this is the best by far.

This device's software is in serious need of rewritting. Attempting to facilitate its use, HP has only developed programming which is awkward, confusing and unstable. My advice to the manufacturer: send it back to square one. To prospective buyers: look elsewhere for a scanner.