Pentax DSmobile 600 Scanner

• Only 12 ounces and measuring just 11 inches in length
• User-friendly sheet-fed design
• Optical Resolution: 600 dpi
• Scanning Modes: 48-bit internally, outputs 24-bit true color; 8-bit gray scale; 1-bit bi-level B&W
• Operating Systems: Windows Vista, XP, 2000, ME SE, Mac OSX 10.3 and later (download from www.pentaxtech.com)

We use this scanner to digitally file our statements and bills. It scans quickly and quietly, without the need for an adapter and without taking much space on one's desk. It partners well with Adobe Acrobat -we have Acrobat Professional which allows us to crop document edges if the original is less than 8.5 x 11 -and I've seen no software compatability issues with Windows XP Home or XP Professional. It also allows you to continuously scan multiple page documents (as opposed to scanning each page as its own PDF file).

The one criticism that I have has to do with the software that accompanies the scanner. It does not apparently remember the last settings (e.g., resolution, color vs B&W, and destination directory) so you have to re-enter all of these each time you sit down to scan.

We haven't tried using it for any graphics purpose, but from what I can tell, it's not likely to perform like a flatbed scanner for this purpose, at least for serious graphics work. For a casual scan of a photo for a document or a webpage, it would probably work just fine.

Absolutely satisfied!

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Update (5/2009)

Scanner still working great. Also realized OSX's "image capture" program works great with this product too (it's in your applications folder).

I just got this scanner and am using it on OSX 10.5 (Leopard); it works beautifully. I found using the scanner with Photoshop to be slow, but I was amazed to find it also works with ironicsoftware's Yep! PDF management program. You can scan directly into PDF from Yep quickly and beautifully.

You will have to download the OSX drivers from Pentax's website (it is easy to navigate and find).

I am a scholar and have used this machine to scan in articles I can't find online. The DSmobile scans a full page (black and white) in under 10 seconds. If the page has been folded (not a crisp piece of paper), you will have to make sure guide the paper with your finger, otherwise, it may get hung-up in the scanner's rollers. Overall, this is an excellent product, and it works seamlessly with my Macbook Pro.

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OK, I like this product, I really do. The quality is pretty decent, it's not too slow, it's pretty easy to use. All good things. My quibbles are with the software for Mac users, or I should say, the lack thereof. All of the software that is advertised for this product is for Windows ONLY. It says that it is compatible for Mac OS X, but you have to download the drivers from the Pentax website (which is fine) but the drivers to not operate the button on the scanner, it is non-operational with Macs, and it does not include PageManager 7, so you CANNOT make PDF files with it alone, that it advertises.

Amazon's page says, "One touch of the button on the DSmobile 600 will launch your choice of compatible scanning programs. Make a preferred scanning program your default and that one touch will initiate that program." It should indicate that this applies to Windows users ONLY. If you do a little digging on Pentax's website it says it won't work. So, while this scanner is good, you need your own software, like Photoshop or other design software (or even Word:Mac) to use it.

BUYER BEWARE!! I'm not saying I regret the purchase entirely, I just don't thin it's fair that I paid for software I did not get. The 3 stars is for the software only, the scanner itself is really nice.

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This little scanner is the answer for those that need a quick and convenient way to copy documents. Works exactly as it was advertised.

I'm a mortgage originator and occasionally meet my customer at a location other than my office. This is the easy alternative to a copy machine and works great when I copy driver's license (or other ID), bank statements, etc. It won't replace my larger (sheet feed) scanner for speed, but speed is okay for small jobs, and the quality is great.

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I use it with my laptop to scan mainly letter sized documents, to include old mimeograph and spirit duplicator (remember the purple print?)pages and it works just as well as my flatbed scanner. I use the B&W setting for mimeo and have to switch to color for the purple print. Super convenient and easy to use if you read and follow the instructions.