Dumping my HP 4670 - What else is out there?

  • Thread starter Thread starter PeteB
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PeteB

I have a 4670 that I'm returning... Don't know if anyone else has used
these...it's the cute see-through design. Basically, I got it because I
have some large artwork I want to scan in, and assemble in sections with
Photoshop. The design is perfect for this...flat scanning surface without
all that flatbed scanner plastic housing stuff in the way...

However - the 4670/4600 series has one flaw - it can't scan worth anything.
I was scanning in some darker artwork (cartoon stuff with black background)
and it everything came out with these light and dark bands, like I was
superimposing an american flag over everything I scanned. Looked
ridiculous. For kicks, I scanned a black piece of construction paper.
Guess what? Yeah, I got a stripped sheet of black paper scanned in.

I ran around with HP support for a while, then on my own got a couple other
systems hooked up to it and it did the same thing... Even got a replacement
from HP which did the exact same thing. They suggested I turn up the
'shadow' setting...well, that works...as long as you don't want any
distinction between black and gray in your photographs. What was worse, was
that wherever the bands of light/dark were, the artwork wouldn't meet up
100%. If you zoomed into what you scanned, you would see this slight jump
of artwork back and forth as it went from one darker band, to the lighter
band.

Enough of my rambling about this unit...:) I'm in the market for something
new, that hopefully I can use in the same fashion - to scan in items that
are perhaps 3 foot x 4 ft, in sections. Any suggestions out there?
Appreciate any feedback!

Pete
 
I have a 4670 that I'm returning... Don't know if anyone else has used
these...it's the cute see-through design. Basically, I got it because I
have some large artwork I want to scan in, and assemble in sections with
Photoshop. The design is perfect for this...flat scanning surface without
all that flatbed scanner plastic housing stuff in the way...

However - the 4670/4600 series has one flaw - it can't scan worth anything.
I was scanning in some darker artwork (cartoon stuff with black background)
and it everything came out with these light and dark bands, like I was
superimposing an american flag over everything I scanned. Looked
ridiculous. For kicks, I scanned a black piece of construction paper.
Guess what? Yeah, I got a stripped sheet of black paper scanned in.

I ran around with HP support for a while, then on my own got a couple other
systems hooked up to it and it did the same thing... Even got a replacement
from HP which did the exact same thing. They suggested I turn up the
'shadow' setting...well, that works...as long as you don't want any
distinction between black and gray in your photographs. What was worse, was
that wherever the bands of light/dark were, the artwork wouldn't meet up
100%. If you zoomed into what you scanned, you would see this slight jump
of artwork back and forth as it went from one darker band, to the lighter
band.

Enough of my rambling about this unit...:) I'm in the market for something
new, that hopefully I can use in the same fashion - to scan in items that
are perhaps 3 foot x 4 ft, in sections. Any suggestions out there?
Appreciate any feedback!

Pete
Click to expand...

I've looked around a little and Here is one low priced 11x17 scanner
that is available:

http://www.mustek.com/html/prod_scan/A3usb.html

The price is about $250. It has lots of disadvantages, like CIS
instead of CCD image sensors and only 300 dpi optical resolution! But
on the other hand it's a really big scanner for the price. Obviously
you wouldn't want to use it for everyday scanning because the specs of
any regular flatbed far outperform it.

Here is the scan size spec:

A3 size, 11.7" (W) x 17.0" (L)

Otherwise the Epson "Tabloid Size" scanners like the 9800XL start at
about $1,000.
 
PeteB said:
I have a 4670 that I'm returning... Don't know if anyone else has used
these...it's the cute see-through design. Basically, I got it because I
have some large artwork I want to scan in, and assemble in sections with
Photoshop. The design is perfect for this...flat scanning surface without
all that flatbed scanner plastic housing stuff in the way...

However - the 4670/4600 series has one flaw - it can't scan worth anything.
I was scanning in some darker artwork (cartoon stuff with black background)
and it everything came out with these light and dark bands, like I was
superimposing an american flag over everything I scanned. Looked
ridiculous. For kicks, I scanned a black piece of construction paper.
Guess what? Yeah, I got a stripped sheet of black paper scanned in.

I ran around with HP support for a while, then on my own got a couple other
systems hooked up to it and it did the same thing... Even got a replacement
from HP which did the exact same thing. They suggested I turn up the
'shadow' setting...well, that works...as long as you don't want any
distinction between black and gray in your photographs. What was worse, was
that wherever the bands of light/dark were, the artwork wouldn't meet up
100%. If you zoomed into what you scanned, you would see this slight jump
of artwork back and forth as it went from one darker band, to the lighter
band.

Enough of my rambling about this unit...:) I'm in the market for something
new, that hopefully I can use in the same fashion - to scan in items that
are perhaps 3 foot x 4 ft, in sections. Any suggestions out there?
Appreciate any feedback!

Pete
Click to expand...

i just bought one of these today. i agree. the scan quality is
terrible. after futzing around with it for a couple of hours i
compared a scan with my old scanjet 5p. the 5p blew the 4670 away.
must take it back immediately. what a
mistake...
 
When I bought my 4670 at Christmas, the banding showed up immediately in certain
dark images, and occasionally in "normal" ones, but sorta randomly. I made
several hundred scans with it, and it generally seemed to get better--but the
problem didn't completely go away. However, it decreased to the point where I
couldn't get it to repeat when I wanted. I got the following response from
HP Tech Support, for what it's worth. (I say for what it's worth because I
haven't tried it--the problem has declined to the point where I decided to wait
until it turned up again.)

Gary Hunt <[email protected]>

------------------------------
To resolve this issue in Scanjet 4670 scanner, please
perform the steps below to perform the diagnostic test:
1. Disconnect the USB and power cable from the back of the scanner
leaving the power module connected to the power source.
2. While pressing and holding the Scan and Instant Share buttons down,
plug in only the power to the scanner.
3. After the scanner light comes on, release both buttons. The scanner
self-test will initialize.
4. The scanner lamp should be on, and the lamp carriage should be
moving back and forth from one end of the scanner to the other end
of the scanner.
5. To end the test, disconnect the power from the back of the scanner.
Reconnect the power and USB. The scanner should completes the test
successfully.
Now, try using the scanner. The issue should be resolved.
 
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