Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL Scanner with Transparent Media Adapter

I have had a number of scanners, but none begin to compare with the Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL. To begin with, it has a 12x17" scanning area, and with the Transparent Media Adapter, it allows both reflective and transparent scanning. The software is amazingly simple. It is just the best scanner that I have owned.

The Microtek ScanMaker 9800XL Scanner fast, easy to use, and quiet. I use it with a MacPro and VueScan software ([...]). I also bought the Transparent Media Adapter.

I've scanned 4X5 transparencies and large flat art posters (in sections) and everything matched up perfectly.Plug and play... it was done.

I owned a SCSI Microtek ScanMaker III prior but the cost of a SCSI card for the new Macs and the lac resolution and speed I had to upgrade. I'm glad I did.

The scanner hardware has been excellent and functions as advertised. The acompaning software is another story, if not for Adobe Photoshop being included I may well still trying to figure out the software. Most of which I still have not used - everything is done with Photoshop.

I have a Microtek scanner and just downloaded the latest drivers. It turns out Microtek wants a program called Scan Finder to load at every start-up, and there is no way to disable this. The product works satisfactorily, but for my money, I will purchase something else. Something that doesn't create such a nuisance, and isn't so invasive.

Microtek scanner and software AND Newcorp extended warranty are useless

I've deleted my previous 4-star review; that was before the warranty was up and I had my fill of the software the beast uses. It's really just a 1-star machine. Maybe not even that. Some of my complaints below are because other scan software DOES offer these functions.

This will also discuss the extended warranty I got at Newcorp which I would also avoid like grim death as they never could repair it (actually, they never tried).

The software for this unit, ScanWizart Pro is:

1) The ONLY software on my Mac that can't be Force Quit in any way. So, when it decides to give me the spinning beachball of death (again, the only program that does this consistently in Tiger), then I have to shut down the computer manually.

2) I can't easily reset the scan numbers to 0. I MUST scroll through the numbers (from 999 and beyond back down to 0 if necessary).

3) I can't simply hit RETURN or ENTER to start a scan. The arrow must be exactly on the Scan button.

4) No matter how many scans I've done during the day, at some point, I'm asked if I'd like to let the scanner warm up. Was I asked this first thing in the morning? Nope. After letting the scanner sit idle for some time? Nope. I'm asked this immediately after just finishing the umpteenth scan and NOW, for some reason, ScanWizard thinks the scanner needs to warm up. And how long is this warm-up time? I'm not kidding: 538 minutes! I can't find anything about adjusting this or turning it off; there's nothing at all in the help file.

5) When installing or deleting the software, I'm asked if I want to UPGRADE! That's right, in neither case am I upgrading, but that's the button choice. Folks, this is downloadable software and this boo-boo can be corrected at any time (and it only takes a few minutes) by a software engineer, but NO. Microtek can't be bothered with even THIS much quality control.

6) Sometimes the scanner stops the scan midway and says that the user stopped the scan. Nope. Sometimes it stops a scan a few seconds in with no message at all. A ghost in the machine.

7) While it's a tabloid scanner, sometimes there are images that still need to be scanned in parts because they are so large. Unfortunately, the scan color/contrast varies between each scan!

8) ScanWizard still can't address names over a limit of 31 characters (how very 1988!), so, along with the auto-numbering, running out of file characters can happen and you're sometimes not warned about it. That's right, ScanWizard reaches its character limit and just saves each new scan over the old one. You look for all of those scans you thought you did, but only find ONE because all the rest were overwritten.

Speaking of quality control, the unit itself is built to last -- to last until the warranty runs out. I know, this has happened on two units. The warranty dies and so does the scanner. At this point, it puts random lines and bands in the scan. This can't be cleaned or adjusted by the user. Once the lines start, they don't stop.

So, I call up Microtek and am informed:

MICROTEK DOES NOT SERVICE ITS PRODUCTS. THERE ARE NO REPAIRS OFFERED.

But Microtek does offer to sell me a brand new scanner -- for MORE than I can get it on Amazon or anywhere else.

When the scanner is working, it works OK, but do you really want to spend good money on a machine that not only does not last 13 months, can't be repaired when something goes wrong and has software that's like a beta version (it's at 7.6). I don't have another piece of gear like this!

Buying an extended warranty would be a wise idea, but the company that sells it, Newcorp, is a shoe-string operation with no actual ability to repair anything themselves and no customer service (unless you like the "the customer is always wrong" type of customer service).