Hi all. The lovely friends of BookShare have agreed to create a page for scanner reviews on their web site. I have agreed to be the initial recipient of all reviews and to put them in a consistent format before passing them along to post. To this end, I have created a Scanner Review Form and want to get your feedback before launching into the project for real. So please, let's get feedback on the form before we start to fill it out. Attached are two RTF documents. One is the blank form I hope we can use, and one is this same form filled out by me for the OpticBook 3600. I'm providing my filled-out form to help you decide if the format works. I'm also pasting in both documents below my signature in case anyone would prefer to use this form via e-mail instead of opening an attachment. I'd like feedback on the following: 1. What do you like about the form? 2. What would you change about the form? 3. What do you think of the RTF attachment versus pasting in the body of an e-mail? Does it really matter? 4. Any other comments? Thanks much. I really think this will be a useful resource once we build it. Who better than us who put these scanners through their paces on a regular basis are qualified to review them? Donna S Scanner Review Form Scanner type: Reviewer's name: Reviewers e-mail: Date of review: Approximate cost of scanner: Speed: Pros: Cons: Additional comments: Ordering/purchasing advice: Scanner Review Form Scanner type: OpticBook 3600 Reviewer's name: Donna Smith Reviewers e-mail: donnafsmith@xxxxxxxxxxx Date of review: 02/02/08 Approximate cost of scanner: $256 includes shipping Speed: 7 seconds per page plus 5 seconds lapse time Pros: It's designed with the scanner bed close to one edge so that you can place the crease of the book directly on this edge and scan the full page without losing characters in the margin. This makes for very easy, fast and accurate one-page scanning. As the scanner bed is a typical size, you can also scan in two-page mode if you choose. It's quiet and lightweight and the cover removes easily so that you can turn it in any direction to scan. The set-up was easy and worked with JAWS. If you have an OCR program you like, you can just download the driver from the manufacturer's web site and pass on the installation altogether. It also performs as a copier. Cons: Photo scanning is not the best. It's buttons are placed on the top and to one side of the scanning bed and it's easy to press them inadvertently. This doesn't do much except cause you to have to switch applications and exit whatever function you initiated. Of course, with use, you learn not to press these inadvertently. Additional comments: I love this scanner! It's so fast and accurate that I now often scan most books in one-page mode because I don't have to exert so much hand pressure to press down the crease and I don't break the back of the book I'm scanning. However, for some books, I still use the two-page mode scanning and it works beautifully for that as well. I use it with both Kurzweil 1000 and FineReader and have absolutely no complaints. Ordering/purchasing advice: I purchased it through Amazon which seems to have the lowest price. It shipped through Tiger Direct.