Hercules Scan@home 48USB

CNET editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 2.0 stars Mediocre
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 4.0 (2.0 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Erik Sebellin
• Reviewed on: 05/23/2001

Even at the relatively low price of $89, the Hercules Scan@home 48USB brings up so many concerns--ranging from poor scan quality at standard resolution to terrible OCR software--that the scanner is not worth the money.Even at the relatively low price of $89, the Hercules Scan@home 48USB brings up so many concerns--ranging from poor scan quality at standard resolution to terrible OCR software--that the scanner is not worth the money.

Hercules@bat
Open the box and out pops the nondescript scanner and two CD-ROMs--one containing drivers, Adobe Acrobat Reader, and Xerox TextBridge Classic 2.0, and the other containing Ulead Photo Express. Also included is a USB cable that, because it draws power from your computer, eliminates the need for a bulky power adapter. You also get a well-written manual printed in seven languages. Oddly, the manual covers everything but the bundled Xerox TextBridge software.

Using the scanner is fairly simple, even though the Hercules scanning application can be vague. For example, if you want to learn what a particular option does, the software provides no help beyond a pop-up text box that tells you the name of an option when you hover your mouse over it. Turn to the manual, and you will find a solid overview of the software, but there is only a single sentence explanation of each option--meaning that novice users will face a steep learning curve. Even worse, the scan-preview window is pitifully small, and it is difficult to manipulate the selection box that lets you choose what to scan.

Once you scan your image, you have two options. First, you can use Ulead Photo Express, the included graphics manipulation software, to edit your images. Unfortunately, this package offers only basic editing options, such as the ability to alter brightness and contrast, and some templates for creative projects (photo albums, calendars, and so on). Second, you can use Xerox TextBridge to perform OCR text scans.

Xerox TextBridge has two buttons on its menu (Get Pages and Get Page), allowing you to select multiple or single scans. You then choose the format of the page you wish to OCR, such as a spreadsheet or a magazine article. And once your OCR is complete, you save your work. Unfortunately, while TextBridge can save your document in packages ranging from Excel to Word, it does not include options for saving in all the latest versions of Word and WordPerfect (it stops at Word 97 and WordPerfect 8), nor is there an option to export to other applications. Even worse, the OCR transfer quality is nearly always terrible, with distorted formatting and bizarre artifacts. Columns are rarely maintained, and you have no option for scanning in both pictures and text.

Foul ball
The Scan@home's problems extend far beyond its software. CNET Labs' tests found the Hercules lacking in both performance and scan quality. An abundance of crosshatch patterns and too much contrast plagued its 150dpi color and grayscale photo scans, for which our jury gave the Scan@home poor scores. Interestingly, when we increased the scanning resolution to 600dpi, the Hercules outclassed HP's ScanJet 2200c by a whopping margin. Continue reading

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Recent user reviews

• Average user rating: 2.5 stars out of 4 reviews
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• Showing 3 of 4 user reviews

• 3.0 stars

  "Great product for USB powered scanner."

  by edsamuel1957 on July 14, 2009

• 3.5 stars

  "There are certainly worse buys!"

  on February 18, 2002

• 4.0 stars

  "It's flat out great for the money"

  on February 11, 2002

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