The downside to this scanner is the software. Basically, it's all garbage. The only piece I use is the TWAIN acquire software attached to my Paint Shop Pro and Adobe Photoshop to bring scanned pictures in. In addition, I have a terrible time reinstalling the drivers for this scanner whenever I unplug it from my parallel port. My CD-ROM chokes whenever I place the Microtek scanning CD in my CD-ROM. I had to download the latest drivers from the Microtek website instead.
My recommendation is: invest the extra money to get a newer, more current scanner with at least a DECENT software package. But buy the scanner for the scanning, not the software that comes with it.
I just upgraded to Windows XP and the scanner was obviously not compatible. Went to Microtek's site and downloaded the updated software drivers. First install attempt ... the install program crashed. Waited a couple of days. Second attempt... install program ran, but then on reboot got a can't find some kind of .dll file message. Uninstalled the scanner and reinstalled. Third time.. ran install (setup.exe program in Disk 1 of download) again and it worked perfectly. Set up and ran on reboot.
Scan quality is still good... not as good as new scanner and is relatively slow (Extended parallel port EPP Interface), but also $100-$200 cheaper than buying a new scanner.
Good product, finicky "not so hot" to "crummy" install software. Nonexistent support from company other than downloads. I'm not an expert software, computer guy, just persistent and did get it to work. I'm using it with XP ... also works well with XP control panel scanner icon and software... but will probably upgrade to better scanner in next few months (Apr 2004 post)