HP ScanJet 4400c

If you have a sideboard full of old photographs, the thing that generally stops you browsing through them and reminiscing is the thought of having to clear up several hundred photographs laying strewn across the floor afterwards.

One of the most popular uses for a scanner is copying photos. Once scanned, around 100 images can be saved onto a CD-R and viewed, printed and distributed via email at any time. It's a great way to manage your memories.

A good scanner is essential for good results and HP's ScanJet 4400c has a good pedigree. At £90 it's not unreasonably expensive, but with plenty of cheaper options on the market, it needs to be worth that extra few pounds.

The 4400 is big on ease of use. The four front-mounted buttons can be used as shortcuts for sending pictures to emails or optical character recognition (OCR) software. The preview pane appears once the initial pre-scanning is done, and is refreshingly free of unnecessary settings and controls, requiring the bare minimum of faffing to achieve good results.

More experienced users might find the pared-down controls frustrating but this is better than confusing beginners.

Set-up is a simple procedure thanks to a large, easy-to-follow poster. Connection is via either a USB or parallel port. Both cables are included in the box and if you decide to use the parallel connection, you can plug your printer into the scanner, removing the need to fiddle about with leads at the back of the computer.

In our tests, the scanner was quick at the most common resolutions. More importantly, it was able to reproduce colours very well. The maximum resolution is 1,200dpi, which is more than enough for normal scanning.

The supplied software includes HP's photo printing software, Arcsoft PhotoImpression, ACDSee and the Trellix website builder.

If you have photos or typed documents you want to transfer into your PC, the ScanJet 4400c will do it without any problems. Excellent documentation and the inclusion of both cables make this scanner look a very good buy.

ContactHP: 0990 474747 www.hp.com/uk

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Reviewed in Computeractive, Issue 88.