Review on 🖨️ HP ScanJet Pro 4500 fn1 Network Scanner (L2749A) - Fast & Efficient Scanning Solution for Professional Networks by Jeff Rubio

I'm really confused. First, let me tell you why I bought this scanner. I have a Lexmark CX410 and it's great, except that the ADF distorts the pages (often very badly), which the software fix doesn't fully fix: in other words, it distorts in different ways from top to bottom. Additionally, the CX410 doesn't have an 8.5 x 14 long bed scanner for legal documents. With that being said I figured I'd throw my money away and buy a nice $550 dedicated scanner so I settled on the ScanJet Pro 4500 FN1 and what a disappointment: 1. It's very VERY dry, a joke almost to the point. There are three ways to send scans from the front panel: computer, email, and network. When you click E-mail or Network, the following options are available: Options, Pages to [scan] and Scan. You click "Options" and get: PDF or JPG; 150, 200, 300, 600dpi; color/black and white. THAT'S IT!? In fact, you get a few more options under Advanced Options, but those involve deskewing, blank page removal, misfeed detection, and document merging. The CX410 has many more options; Some of them are: Resolution, Darken, Send As (PDF, Secure PDF, JPEG, TIFF, XPS), Color/B&W, Content (Text, Text/Photo, Photo, Graphics), Edge Erase, Image Enhancement (JPEG Quality) . , mirror image, reverse image, scan edge to edge, remove background, color balance, dropout, contrast, shadow detail, sharpness). In addition, the CX410 has "shortcuts" (e.g. #+2) that allow you to set preferences such as format (PDF, JPG, etc., content type, content source, color and resolution). Not all, but a lot more than the Pro 4500. The Pro 4500 has no labels on the front! This is a VERY slow scan at 600 dpi, so I usually scan grayscale documents. Yes, there is a big difference between 300 and 600 dpi. 600 is much better. So how slow is it (600/grayscale)? Whole 20 seconds! My CX410 scans greyscale at 600dpi in 4 seconds! Do you think the quality could be better at HP? Wrong: 3. The quality stinks. The Pro 4500's grayscale is more like that of a fax/copier. The CX410 looks in photo quality. And if you want, you can make the CX410 look like the Pro 4500. In other words, the Pro 4500 doesn't offer "photo" quality grayscale (like the CX410), only "text" quality grayscale. Guys, this is 80's technology! The scanners of the 90s already offered grayscale in photo quality. I had a Microtek back then and believe me that old scanner is better than this one and really not that much slower. I think many of you are wondering what about scanner software? Yes of course. You probably get more control, but I don't have any third-party HP software installed. Even the TWAIN driver should give you more control. But let's face it. Who has time to log into their desktop and run a bloated program just to send a simple scan? Separately, the Linux TWAIN driver (which I use) also lacks options. Unlike the CX410, which has a lot more. The TWAIN driver for the Pro 4500 also delivers even poorer quality results. I have attached two photos for comparison. I used XSANE. Yes, it really is that bad (see attached pictures, first Pro 4500, then CX410). Note. This may be the TWAIN driver for Linux, which may not be the same as Windows. Note, however, that the quality of the Pro 4500 is also significantly lower than that of the CX410 due to the front panel (without drivers). So I'm returning this scanner. It's overpriced for what it should be. It's actually a SOHO scanner masquerading as a business-class scanner, designed for workgroups. The price should not exceed 250-300 dollars.