User Reviews about Plustek Opticbook 3600 A4 Book Edge Scanner Pdf Conversion

I have been using this scanner for a month now and had no problems. I mostly scan textbooks and convert them to audiobooks because of my disability. The Abby software is the best. I only have to make minor adjustments, like deleting the page and chapter numbers so the audiobook version doesn't become annoying. Other than that, this book scanner is perfect. It scans all graphics in the same image that is presented on the page. Plus you can edit the graphics in word, unlike other software programs. I used Nuance for years and it is still a hassle. Dark images either don't scan well, or take up so much space that I have to spend 10 minutes editing it.

I had to order a poorly made textbook (international), but the Abby software still picked up the images just fine. For those who don't know, international books are usually made on cheap thin paper, and all the images and texts are gray. Normally this would make the textbook hard to scan, because other images from the next page can be seen. However, with this scanner, it offers a two sided back screen for this purpose, which prevents transparent images and texts from coming through.

I did a lot of research trying to find an affordable book scanner. I've worked at a library for over 10 years and I can say that this scanner is the best for an individual user. This book edge scanner is perfect for scanning textbooks, and documents. -- I love this scanner!

I bought this scanner a couple of years ago because I am an amateur biblical scholar and I wanted to save the materials I cite and run portions through OCR to avoid retyping long quotations. The interface is a bit "clunky" and outdated, but perhaps it has been improved by now, and I use ABBYY FineReader9 rather than the earlier version bundled with the scanner. I use it in preference to my other scanner (a Canon MP-530 all-in-one) for scanning books. It could be faster, but I have been satisfied with it, and after several hundred pages it is still working fine. I have not had to ask for help, so I cannot comment on other users' problems with customer support. -- Not Bad

Scanner works great considering it's price. Tried bundled software that came w/ scanner, but didn't use it long. I've scanned ~15 books/~4500 pages using Abby FineReader 9.0 and it performs exactly as I want. Not as fast as 4600, but the 3600 is significantly cheaper. I used off and on for approximately 3 months (~4500 pages), then didn't touch it for another 6 months.

Faulty lamp connection:
Recently I used OpticBook again, but the lamp didn't seem to turn on fully (~1cm of left and right edges appeared somewhat bright, but in between was very dim). I could still scan using Abby FineReader, but the image was very very dim--basically just some optical noise, or some shadows with the cover open. Strange considering that I never had any lamp problems during initial 3 months of use. I saw that one Amazon reviewer opened up unit, fiddled with lamp connection, and it fixed the problem. Considering that everyone had no luck contacting customer service, I opened up the unit myself to see if a connection was loose. Undoing 4 easy to find screws allowed me to open up the unit (be careful with the short flat cable on the power switch side). No stickers to rip that would invalidate warranty. No screws hidden under rubber feet pads. Inside the unit, unscrewing 2 screws and removing 2 miniature black metal plates at each end of lamp revealed the connection between white wire and lamp. I gently pulled back the black rubber insulation and exposed the metal clamp holding together multifilament wire and solid wire that went into lamp. The connection seemed solid on both sides, so I pushed back the rubber insulation, and closed the unit again. Miraculously, when I turned on the power, the lamp was brightly lit along the entire length of the lamp. GREAT! Not sure what I really did since the connection looked solid, but playing with the connection to the lamp seemed to fix the problem. (Also, this was an opportunity to wipe away dust that had accumulated under the glass plate.) Now everytime I turn on the scanner, the lamp is brightly lit. I've scanned a bunch of pages, and it seems to work completely normally again. Who knows if I'll have same lamp problems down the road. At least I know what to try if same problem arises again. Not sure if lamp problem is related to storage for 6 months, or transport to a new office, but it seemed to happen all of the sudden (as opposed to gradual loss of lamp brightness).

Of course, try this at your own risk! Don't forget to unplug the power cord before opening! -- great with abby finereader, but lamp connection problems