The scanning and graphics imaging specialists at Microtek Lab is shipping the US$399.95 ScanMaker 6700, a network-capable scanner targeted to office users.
The ScanMaker 6700 provides 48-bit color depth and 4800 x 2400 dpi optical resolution, as well as dual FireWire and USB connections. The scanner achieves a true optical resolution of 4800 x 2400 dpi by using the Sigma Six CCD (Charge Coupled Device) technology, with six rows of sensors. The 48-bit color depth reproduces trillions of colors, and the integrated 16-bit ADC (analog-to-digital converter) converts originals into digital data with high fidelity, according to Sam Samimi, Microtek’s vice president of sales and marketing.
Other features include a built-in transparency adapter for scanning up to 4×5 inch transparent originals. And the lid of the ScanMaker 6700 serves as a light box for previewing slides and film. Its five Smart Touch buttons provide one-step scan, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), copy, e-mail and scan-to-Web functions. The scan-to-Web button lets you access the Internet through your Internet service provider so you can, for instance, share photos. In addition, the integrated PDF engine lets you share and view documents regardless of platform and simplifies the electronic distribution of scanned documents and images.
Bundled software includes ScanWizard 5 for all-purpose scanning controls in automatic or advanced panels, Adobe Photoshop Elements for image retouching, ABBYY FineReader Sprint for optical character recognition (but it’s Windows only), Ulead’s PhotoExplorer for digital file management (also Windows only), and Microtek’s scan, copy and e-mail utilities. The ScanMaker 6700 offers an optional 50-page automatic document feeder for $199.99. The ScanMaker 6700 is listed at $399.99.
Mac system requirements are a Power Mac running Mac OS 8.6 or later and 64 MB of RAM (128MB is recommended). Mac OS X users may want to upgrade to ScanWizard Pro 7.0 for US$144.99.