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[ Go to August 1997 Table of Contents ]
WinLab Reviews
-- by Serdar Yegulalp
Hewlett-Packard's new network scanner, the Network ScanJet 5, is the sequel to the company's ScanJet 4Si product (see WinLab Reviews, April 1996). The 5 adds network support for Microsoft Windows NT using TCP/IP and IBM LAN Server. Other new features of the ScanJet 5 include the ability to send scans to fax machines, a better front-end control panel and vastly improved client software. Weighing only 37.5 pounds and with a footprint of approximately 11 by 17 inches, the ScanJet comes with a built-in 50-page document feeder. It connects to Ethernet 10BaseT, token ring, 100BaseT and 100VG networks. After a quick firmware upgrade from the supplied CD, the ScanJet we tested was ready to roll. A new front-end panel lets you control where scans are routed on the network-from workstations to fax machines and network printers. Any PCL-5 compatible printer on the same network as the ScanJet can receive print jobs from the scanner. We scanned hundreds of pages of double-sided jobs and didn't suffer a single paper jam. The hopper holds various paper widths, from A5 to 8.5 by 11 inch. Image quality is only fair when working with offset photos-there's no descreening option-but it's quite impressive when scanning line-art and text documents. The unit has no color capability. The user-management software provides the ScanJet 5 with a list of users to route to and works directly from Windows NT's own user-name lists. Very little work is required to install distribution lists into the ScanJet 5. Bundled software includes Visioneer PaperPort for HP and Caere OmniPage LE (OCR). Visual Basic and C/C++ toolkits are also available. The Network ScanJet 5 earns its place on our WinList for being the best heavy-duty paper tamer for the money.
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