Fast performance, Auto Scan Mode highlight new Canon scanners

Canon Canoscan LiDE200

(Credit: Canon)

I ditched my fax machine a long time ago in favor of scanning and e-mailing documents. It's not the most efficient thing to do for documents more than a few pages, but I'd much rather have a low-profile scanner on my desk like these new Canon Canoscans than a big, ugly machine that's sole purpose is to send faxes. Plus, the new Auto Scan Mode on these three models--the LiDE100, LiDE200, and 5600F--supposedly takes care of the scanning process for you.

According to Canon, this Mode takes the scan process from eight steps down to two because it recognizes the type of document and finds the correct settings automatically, eliminating the need to do things like select resolution or crop images after they're scanned. "EZ Buttons" on the units (four each on the LiDE models and seven on the 5600F) allow users, as usual, to skip using a computer to control the scanner and simply press buttons to copy, scan, e-mail, and create PDFs.

Canon Canoscan LiDE100

(Credit: Canon)

The CanoScan LiDE200 ($89.99) and LiDE100 ($59.99) are thin, USB-powered Contact Image Sensor (CIS) scanners capable of scanning at 4,800x4,800 dpi and 2,400x4,800 dpi respectively. Both feature Canon's Quick and Automatic Retouching and Enhancement (QARE) Level 3 technology for automatic dust, scratch, fading and graininess reduction. Both are also fairly fast for the money, able to scan letter-size color documents at a resolution of 300 dpi in approximately 14 seconds with the 200 and 24 seconds with the 100.

Canon Canoscan 5600F

(Credit: Canon)

Though the $149.99 Canoscan 5600F is a little thicker than the LiDE models, it's also more powerful, designed more for photo archiving than office productivity. It's able to scan up to six frames of a 35mm filmstrip or four 35mm slides at a maximum optical resolution of 4,800x9,600 dpi, scan letter-size color documents at a resolution of 300 dpi in approximately 11 seconds, uses white LEDs so there's no warmup time, and like the others it has the QARE Level 3 technology for cleaning up scans.

[iamwho]

I love the thinness and speed of the Canon scanner, plus the one-cable design simply cannot be beat, however there's something endemic in the design that causes it to fail. My old N1220U sat for months, admittedly, without being used. Then I fired it up to scan something, no joy. Bought a lightly used LiDE as a replacement, same problem. I scrounged around and found a HP all-in-one, which is OK since it was FREE :-) but I miss the Canon's thinness and speed.