Cannon CanoScan LiDE 60: Trouble-Free Performance at a Good Price

The Good

First and foremost, the CanoScan has been very easy for me to use. I'm neither a technophobe nor a computer whiz. But I definitely don't want to have to muck about trying to make something play nice with my computer. Getting the CanoScan set up was a breeze. All I had to do was put the software cd into my laptop, load the software, reboot my computer, and then connect and start using the scanner. It's worked flawlessly for me ever since.

Portability - the Cannon scanner is compact, lightweight, and doesn't require a power cord. That means that it's easy to move from one computer to another, or one room to another, or even carry around if you need to travel with it. The dimensions of the scanner aren't much different from a ream of A4 paper, and it weighs much less than that ream would. The scanner draws all the electricity it needs through the same cord that connects it to the computer via the USB port.

Reasonably fast and quiet - I don't have to use this scanner on a daily basis. If I did I might want a faster scanner, though I'm sure that would entail either a reduction in image quality or a steep hike in price. I've never sat down with a timer, but I would say it takes something like 20 seconds to scan a standard letter-sized page. The scanner is pretty quiet too. What noise it produces is a sort of medium-frequency chirpy hum. It doesn't get on my nerves even when I have a lot of scanning to do.

Adjustable image quality - The CanoScan can capture images at a range of resolutions. Of course, the higher the resolution, the longer the scanning takes. If you aren't too concerned about detail there's also a black-and-white scanning mode. Adjusting the image quality is done through a software program on your computer rather than by fiddling with buttons on the scanner itself. Also, there's a chance to preview the scan you've made on your computer before you save it. So if something's not right with the scan, you know it immediately and won't waste your storage capacity.


The So-So

I use the scanner primarily for making pdf copies of pages from cookbooks. I read a lot of cookbooks from the library, but buy very few of them. In general the quality of the scanned image is good. I'm trying to capture text rather than photographs most of the time. Although the resolution of the text suffers slightly in the scan when using the default resolution (300 dpi), I never have difficulty reading from the scans I create. I find that the image is sometimes vague or even lost entirely near the spine of the book. I can improve this somewhat by making an effort to flatten the inner edge of the page down to the glass of the scanner, but it's difficult with large books. Usually there's no text right at that edge, so it doesn't concern me much.

The appearance of the scanner is pretty no-nonsense, with dull silver metallic and black coloring. Personally I wouldn't care if it were neon pink. But if you want a scanner that looks at home in a business environment, this one won't cause you any embarrassment.

There can be a minor amount of hassle if you have scanned several pages together into a single file. If one page is didn't scan well (say, you placed the page crooked on the flatbed of the scanner), there's no way to get rid of that one page and re-scan it while preserving the other pages that scanned well.

There are a number of different tasks the scanner can perform that I don't use it for. So I can't do much other than report that the software allows the scanner to interface with your copier and fax by reaching through your computer directly to these other attached machines. Apparently it can also be used directly with most email services to load images into your messages.


The Bad

Possibly the only thing that bothers me about this scanner is the lid. It's bouncy. When I raise it up, I have to stand it up gently, and just so. If I go too fast, it springs back from the 90 degree angle and falls back onto the glass. Not that it hurts anything when it falls; it's too lightweight for that. But it would be useful if it could snap into place and hold itself open at a right angle. When I scan from books, I often need two hands to arrange things, so I don't always have one to spare to keep the lid upright. Even a little jostling can make the lid fall shut. This is a persistent but admittedly petty annoyance.


To sum up

This scanner is perfect for the occasional home and home office needs that my husband and I have. Although I don't have broad experience with many scanners, I would recommend a Cannon scanner to someone who was looking for one. For the past two years it's been a trouble free part of our home office.