Introduction
Currently the market is awash with scanners with differing specifications and respectable price tags. Selecting the right scanner for your requirements can be a daunting task. As far as specifications go the most confusing issue is that of resolution. This is a common misunderstanding that a higher resolution results in a better quality output. This has led to Manufacturers making exaggerated claims about the capability of their respective scanners. These claims are based on a technology called interpolation. What really matters is the optical resolution of the scanner, which can be anything between 300-1200dpi. Scanned images are made of dots (pixels) and if you zoom far enough into the image you will be able to view these 'dots' with jagged edges, interpolation attempts to smooth these over.

Imagine receiving a 20 page document, which you would desperately like to edit, change and send back to the author? Traditionally you would have to re-type the complete document and make the necessary changes needed. However, with a scanner you simply scan the pages and edit the changes in your favorite word processor. The children who have a project or some graphical based homework to do will get a great deal of use from a scanner. The photographer in the family can scan his or her photos to create thumbnail catalogues or create a pictorial database attaching important information about the photograph. A scanner will end up being one of the most useful and versatile peripherals you've ever bought.

How we carried out our tests
We selected a fine art image (see figure 1) that measured 6" wide and 8" high at a resolution of 1,200dpi and 2400dpi in 42-bit colour, and a record of the time taken to scan, and file size created. You would not normally use this specification as the resulting file size can be in excess of 17/35Mbs respectively. Our next test was to establish the scanners OCR capability using; Text with Graphics (figure 2) at 72dpi, and Text only (figure 3) at 72dpi and 300dpi, with a record of the time taken to scan, and file size created.

Microtek ScanMaker 4700
Microtek's last entry in our labs was with the ScanMaker X12USL, which won our performance award. The Microtek scanner also had technical issues resulting from transit damage, which Microtek resolved quickly by providing us with a replacement unit. The 4700 however came well padded and had no such issues. The 4700 supplied to us came with a USB interface as standard, inclusive of a 2 meter USB cable. Setting up the 4700 is a simple matter of plugging the USB cable to the back of your computer and unlocking the carriage (located at the bottom left side), by tilting the scanner on it's side and pulling the lever towards you until you hear a 'click'. This mechanism is similar to the transportation lock's found on other scanners. It is important this function is carried out with the scanner power turned off and before work can begin. We were up and running in no time at all.

The 4700 is supplied with a multi-lingual 'installing and getting started' guide detailing how to unpack the scanner, unlocking the carriage, connecting the scanner to your PC, and how to view the on-line documentation supplied by Microtek and installation of the software bundle. The on-line guide is in Adobe Acrobat format, and the reader is provided on the on-line CD for you to install if you do not have it. A useful multi-lingual 'step-by-step' guide helps you optimise and use your scanner to it's full capability by providing guidelines on how to scan a photo through to adjusting colour in an image and storing multiple images, and ideal companion for any beginner. There is also a multilingual quick reference guide to ScanWizard 5 for Windows printed in A5 format; it really is a quick guide only. We were pleased with MicroTek's documentation offering, the packaging checklist and the unlock instruction card provided were a nice touch, as this would be an added bone to any first time user.

Microtek has taken ease of use very seriously with the 4700 and has added extra button functionality, by providing five buttons on the front panel to give quick access to most frequently used functions. The buttons consist of Scan - to capture images quickly and save or send to other applications for further processing, Copy - copy and sent to printer by specifying number of copies, E-mail - scan the image and sent directly to your e-mail editor, Cancel - abandon any scan job progressing further, Setup - activates the Microtek Scanner Configuration (MSC), control panel to enable you to customize buttons and set your preferences. The look of the scanner is very much an individual thing, and as such we can't describe it, as the 'sexist' product we have seen, however, in terms of functionality the 4700 is faultless.

The software bundled with the 4700 is generous; it has an excellent selection of tried and tested software currently available on the market. The list is impressive: Caere's Pagekeeper - document management software enabling you to organize all you're scanned images and documents. Caere Omnipage LE and Recognita Standard OCR together can meet all your Optical Character Recognition requirements, and integrated easily with Word 2000. Microtek's own ScanWizard 5 - is very popular amongst Microtek users and we can see why, it is one of the most comprehensive image control software for scanners we have used. As well as providing Adobe Acrobat Reader ver 4.0 and PhotoDeluxe ver 2.0, an additional bonus is Ulead's PhotoImpact 5 (bundled version) to further manipulate your still and moving images. Microtek has put a lot of thought in the bundled software arena, and as such has come up with a good combination that will benefit both first time and experienced users.

In our test arena the 4700 faired reasonably well (see test results). Our fine art image test in 1200dpi was completed in 18 secs for the preview, and the final scan in 5 mins and 33 secs, and under 2000dpi the preview was completed in 17 secs and the final scan in 5 mins and 52secs. The 2000dpi timings were impressive. In our OCR test the Text with Graphics combined in 72dpi the preview took 15 secs, and the final scan 19 secs, while for the Text in 72dpi the preview took 16 secs and the final scan 17 secs, and in 300dpi the preview was completed in 19 secs and the final scan recorded a time of 22 secs. All in all not a bad performer, but certainly not as fast as Microtek's ScanMaker X12USL previously reviewed in our labs.

Our Verdict
The Microtek 4700 is a well-balanced USB based scanner, and at a street price of £150.00 plus VAT is good for the money. The generous software bundle and the extra features built in make it a worthwhile inclusion in your shopping basket, if this is within your budget.

Specifications

Type:	Desktop single-pass color scanner
Image Sensor:	CCD (Charge-Coupled Device)
Interpolation Resolution:	19600 dpi
Optical Resolution:	1200 x 2400 dpi
Sample Depth:	42 bits (14 bits per color)
Scanning Area:	8.5" x 11.7" (215.9 mm x 297.18 mm)
Scanning Speed:	4 ms color or gray/line @ 600 dpi 12 ms color or gray/line @ 1200 dpi
Interface:	USB
Accessory Supported:	LightLid 35 transparency adapter MTMA transparency adapter
Lamp Source:	Cold Cathode Lamp
Scanner Dimensions (L x W x H):	20" x 11.4" x 4.6" 510mm x 290mm x 117mm
Net Weight:	Approx. 8 Lbs./3.6 Kg
Power Consumption:	18.75W maximum
Image Editing Software:	Adobe PhotoDeluxe (for Windows 98, iMac, and Mac G3, G4) Ulead PhotoImpact (Windows 98)
OCR Software:	Caere OmniPage (for Windows 98, iMac, and Mac G3, G4)
Web Page Design Software:	Trellix Web Microtek Edition (for Windows 98)
System Requirements(Windows):	Pentium PC or later with USB port CD ROM drive (for installing software) Windows 98 or 2000 32 MB of RAM (64 MB recommended)
System Requirements (Macintosh):	iMac or Mac G3/G4 with built-in USB support CD ROM drive (for installing software) Operating system of 8.6 or later 64 MB of RAM (128 MB recommended)

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