For our performance tests, we used the 6700's FireWire interface and the add-in card and cable that come with the scanner. In terms of overall performance, the 6700 was slightly better than the Epson Perfection 2450, another 2400-dpi scanner we tested using FireWire. While the Epson ran faster on low-resolution scans (such as a 300-dpi black-and-white document), the Microtek was twice as fast on our 1200-dpi color photo. The 6700 also ranked highest overall in our August 2002 roundup for image quality. For example, in our print test of a 4-by-5-inch color photo scanned at 100 dpi and 24-bit color depth, it earned the top score thanks to the best combination of sharpness, brightness, and color reproduction (in skin tones as well as other shades).
The 6700 is designed for shared use over a local area network, and comes with LAN-specific software (Microtek LAN Wizard) that enables image sharing, job status reporting, and sending messages to other users on the network. In addition, like the 5700, the 6700 can scan transparencies as large as 5 by 7 inches with its built-in adapter.
WHAT'S NOT: The 6700 lacks an 8.5-by-14-inch glass and doesn't come with an automatic document feeder, so (as with other scanners that have letter-size scanning beds) you'll need to get an automatic document feeder to scan legal-size documents. You can buy a 50-page ADF from Microtek for [$]. After the first year, live technical support is on a pay-per-call basis. The 6700 doesn't support the newer, faster USB 2.0 interface; Microtek says it is working on new models that do use USB 2.0.
WHAT ELSE: Like the 5700, the 6700 has a lid that includes a built-in lightbox for previewing slides and small pieces of film--a feature that no other scanner manufacturer offers. The 6700 sports five quick-start buttons for scanning, copying, e-mail, OCR, and scanning to the Web; the last transfers your scanned images to the IMira.com photo-sharing Web site.
The 6700 comes with Adobe Photoshop Elements for image editing, Ulead Photo Explorer 6 for image management, ABBYY FineReader Sprint 4 for optical character recognition, and Trellix Web 2.5 for Web page design. Microtek's efficient scanning driver (ScanWizard 5) provides separate modes for beginners and advanced users; the included step-by-step tutorial makes learning how to batch-scan multiple images and perform other image-editing tasks quick and easy. You can easily scan and save 48-bit color images (if you want to store as much raw color information as possible in your original scans), just by using the scanner driver. In fact, it's the only driver we've looked at recently that makes saving 48-bit color this simple. Also, you can save scanned documents in Adobe's Portable Document Format, which many businesses prefer for posting documents online.
UPSHOT: The Microtek ScanMaker 6700 is an attractively priced scanner for offices--networked and otherwise--that need fast, high-quality scans from photos, film, and paper documents.
Microtek ScanMaker 6700
USB 1.1 and FireWire, 2400 by 4800 dpi, 11.5 by 19.7 by 4.5 inches (width by depth by height), 8.1 pounds, 8.5-by-11.7-inch scanning area, built-in transparency adapter, optional automatic document feeder. One-year warranty; free technical support for one year (10 hours on weekdays, call is not toll-free);
WHAT'S NOT: The 6700 lacks an 8.5-by-14-inch glass and doesn't come with an automatic document feeder, so (as with other scanners that have letter-size scanning beds) you'll need to get an automatic document feeder to scan legal-size documents. You can buy a 50-page ADF from Microtek ... After the first year, live technical support is on a pay-per-call basis. The 6700 doesn't support the newer, faster USB 2.0 interface; Microtek says it is working on new models that do use USB 2.0.
USB 1.1 and FireWire, 2400 by 4800 dpi, 11.5 by 19.7 by 4.5 inches (width by depth by height), 8.1 pounds, 8.5-by-11.7-inch scanning area, built-in transparency adapter, optional automatic document feeder. One-year warranty; free technical support for one year (10 hours on weekdays, call is not toll-free); thereafter, fee-based support is available ....
