Canon CanoScan LiDE 60 Flatbed Scanner: Budget conscious functionality and speed

The CanoScan LiDE 60 scanner is a nice replacement for an old Mustek 600E III that I hadn’t used since October of 2000 when I upgraded to Windows XP. The old Mustek was a parallel port scanner and there was no driver for Windows XP that would work. I was given a CanoScan LiDE 30 for Christmas two years ago and I liked it but wanted one a little faster so I got the CanoScan LiDE 60 a few months ago.


The CanoScan LiDE 60

The CanoScan LiDE 60 is a flatbed scanner capable of scanning media up to just a hair larger than 8.5 x 14” or about the size of legal paper. It has good resolution and is much faster than parallel port scanners and even older USB scanners. It employs the use of USB 2.0 but is backwards compatible with USB 1.1 as well. The scanning software seamlessly integrates with Microsoft word, Microsoft Outlook, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat as well as many other software titles I have installed.

The scanner is 10" wide and about 14 1/2" long but weighs less than 4 lbs. Being silvery grey in color with a black strip at the top, it matches most black, grey or silver computer systems being sold today very nicely. The scanner is also very compact (only1½” high) so it makes an easy traveling companion for laptops. The scanner draws all of its power from the USB port on the computer so there is no extra power supply needed making it even easier to port around.


Features (from the box)

* Optical resolution: 1200 dpi
* Maximum resolution: 1200 x 2400 dpi
* Maximum resolution (interpolated): 19200 x 19200 dpi
* Maximum color depth: 48-bit
* Maximum grey depth: 16-bit (64,000 grey levels)
* Interface: USB 2.0 (USB 1.1 compatible)
* Platform: PC and Mac
* Maximum supported media size: Legal (8.5” x 14”)
* Dimensions: 10.16” x 14.72” x 1.57”
* Weight: 3.84 lbs.
* Easy access buttons: Scan, Copy, PDF and Email
* Scan Element: Contact Image Sensor (CIS)
* Software: CanoScan Toolbox v4.9, ScanGear Starter and Textbridge OCR
* Warranty: 1 year

The CanoScan Toolbox software allows you to control the scanner by setting the output resolution and color depth or grey depth as well as choosing black and white for text imaging. You can also adjust the scan area of the document or picture during the preview. Previewing a document or picture on the scan bed is very quick and the actual scan is pretty fast too. The higher the output resolution is set, the longer it takes to scan. A full 8½” x 11” page takes about 20 seconds to scan at 2400 dpi.


Personal Use

I have used the scanner to capture family photographs into the computer using Adobe Photoshop and for reading text documents into Microsoft Word and Adobe Acrobat. The scanner software integrates seamlessly into many programs that use scanners. This is a combination of good software and Microsofts foresight in adding this kind functionality into the Windows XP operating system. I have not used the scanner with a Mac computer yet but knowing Macs, it would probably integrate fairly well with the Mac OS as well.

Copies
Creating copies of documents is easy with the copy button. You simply place the page in the scanner and hit the copy button on the front. The scanner will scan the image and send it immediately to the default printer installed. The copy is an exact duplicate of the original (depending on the quality of the printer used).

Facsimile
This is done basically the same way as copying except you send the image to a designated fax modem instead of a printer. The scanner will scan the image and then you can choose the fax modem instead of the printer from the printer choices (provided you have a designated fax modem on your computer). There is no easy access button for facsimiles but it is easily done by setting the default printer as your fax modem before scanning, then you can just hit the copy button and it will scan and fax to the designated number.

Email
Sending a picture or document with email is easy also. Hit the email button and the scanner will scan the image and open your default email program and attach the image for you. All you have to do is type in the address and comments then hit send. This will not work with Web Mail, you must have an installed email program (like Eudora or Microsoft Outlook) to use this feature.

Photo quality
Photographs I have scanned with this scanner come out beautiful, of course I always edit them with Photoshop to get rid of dust and scratches and to correct color on some less than perfect photos. But the scan quality is very good and reprint quality is good as well. I have two printers I use for printing photos. One is an inkjet for printing things I do not expect to last but want a good quality image and the other is a color laser jet that I use for photos I want to keep permanently. Both are very good and high resolution and the images from the scanner come out very sharp with good definition and color.


Installation

Installation is simple in Windows XP. You insert the CD, follow the directions and then plug in the scanner. The total install time is less than 10 minutes from box to desktop. If you know how to plug in a USB cable and click a button on the computer, you can install this scanner is no time.


Heat

Heat is a non-issue with this scanner. The lamp only comes on when previewing or scanning a document or picture. My old Mustek scanner would turn its lamp on when powered on and it would stay on for a long time after. It would also stay on for a long time after scanning and this made the scanner get very hot after a few minutes. The CanoScan LiDE 60 (just like the other CanoScan models) stays cool all the time which I like very much.


Conclusion

This is a fine scanner for home or office and performs very well with decent speed. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a good scanner at budget pricing. I bought mine for $74.99 at Newegg.com about three months ago and have not had any regrets.

Thanks for reading,

Gr8ful :-)