Microtek ScanMaker 4850 review

The Microtek ScanMaker is the second-cheapest scanner on test, and feels it. Build quality is slightly flimsy; the lid doesn't feel like it will last long in any demanding environment.

A quick glimpse at the Quality scores on p128 reveals all you need to know about the Microtek's capabilities. The skin-tone test revealed accurate colours but was very noisy. The 600ppi 7 x 5in scan revealed a limited dynamic range, as bright colours were clipped: bright areas of the image lacked some detail. Our mono beach image confirmed this - dark areas weren't detailed, and we were again disappointed by the amount of noise. On the plus side, the mono A4 text scan looked smooth and free of jagged edges.

Unfortunately, the bundled ABBYY FineReader OCR software pales against the brilliant TextBridge Pro 9, as bundled with Xerox's 4800TA. It's okay for basic text pages, but TextBridge is far more adept at detecting images and tables than FineReader 5.

The rest of the software is good, though. Adobe PhotoDeluxe Home Edition 4 supplies a good range of easy-to-understand tools, while Ulead DVD PictureShow 2 and Photo Explorer 8 SE Basic make browsing through and distributing your images easy.

The ScanWizard 5 TWAIN interface is surprisingly well featured for the price. Although there's no histogram, you can adjust the highlights and shadows (but not the midtones) using an eyedropper. There's also an adjustable tone curve, and a brace of filters that includes sharpening and unsharp masking.

The automatic colour-restoration function worked reasonably well, although it didn't completely remove the red cast from our faded Kodachrome image.

Another disappointment is the USB 1.1 interface. While this didn't have a huge impact on minor jobs such as generating a preview or scanning a 6 x 4in print at 150ppi (taking ten and 17 seconds respectively), the 7 x 5in print at 600ppi took one minute, 39 seconds. The next slowest scanner was the Trust, being 49 seconds quicker.

At this price, there are no negative or transparency capabilities. You can buy a lightbox for £22, which brings the price close to the superior Epson 2580 Photo. Plus, we tried the lightbox to scan our test negative and were hugely disappointed by the quality.

For undemanding users, the Microtek doesn't have any fatal flaws. However, given that the Epson 2580 Photo costs just £19 more and represents a quantum leap in terms of speed, quality and features, we simply can't recommend the ScanMaker 4850.