Entry-level Flatbed Scanner

Lower prices and better availability have helped scanners to increasingly penetrate the home and SOSB markets where they have a variety of uses ranging from digitizing family pictures to sending faxes. This time we got the 640P from Acer’s newly launched ScanPrisa range for review.

ScanPrisa 640 scanners are available with three different interfaces: USB, SCSI, and parallel port. The 640P is the parallel port version. There are no indicators or buttons on the scanner except for a power switch and power LED, and everything else is done through software. Installation is simple and takes only a couple of clicks. Make sure you put your parallel port in EPP (Enhanced Parallel Port) mode through the computer BIOS before you use the scanner.

The scans were of good quality during testing. Colors were well-defined and the image looked sharp and clear. Of course, this also depends on the resolution at which you take the scan. A scan preview was completed in 8.5 seconds, but actual scanning took slightly longer. At 100 dpi, a postcard scan took 11.2 seconds, and a A 4 size scan 17.2 seconds. Grayscale scans were slightly faster at 8.8 seconds. On increasing the dpi to 200, the same color A4 scan took almost 32 seconds.

The scanner comes with a comprehensive manual. Apart from the drivers, the scanner also comes with Ulead PhotoExpress, ABBYY FineReader OCR, Presto! PageManager, Acrobat Reader, ScanButton and Copier software.

Overall, the low price, software bundle, and scan quality makes it a good buy.

Anuj Jain for PCQ Labs