Review of HP Scanjet 5590 Scanner (price, reviews, best, buy)
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Upon purchasing a new computer and finding it necessary to reinstall all of my peripherals, I found, to my dismay that I had lost the software CD for my ancient scanner and that the company no longer posted drivers for such an old model. Because it was slow and buggy anyway, I opted to begin looking for a new scanner for my computer. I was in the middle of a project to scan old photographs and documents for digital storage and preservation, and so I needed something that would be quick, and reliable and preferably affordable. A visit to a local Best Buy later and I had found what I had needed.
I settled on the HP Scanjet 5590 Scanner for two reasons, mostly because at $250 it was in my price range, and because my old scanner had been an earlier HP Scanjet model and had lasted many years with reliability, and I hoped the HP brand would continue to live up to its reputation for building quality devices. The device proved easy to set up, my computer recognized it straight away and already had the drivers for it in the system, so I found I did not need the included software CD for the drivers, although I later did install the scanning software. I do not have a lot of room in my home office area, so I was also glad to see that the scanner fit nicely in the spot the old one had occupied.
The scanner is remarkably speedy, able to scan documents in less than twenty seconds. The scanner scans in 4800x9600 dpi resolution, which is very sharp. Both color and grayscale scanning produce stark and clear images which can be saved in various formats, from memory consuming BMPs to compact jpegs. The unit connects to the computer via USB2, which is comfortably fast and responsive. Thus far it has been very easy to use and operate, with no glitches or problems. It would have been nice if it had had Bluetooth connectivity but this is not a major need for me and I don't consider it a problem. I am very happy with this unit.