Pandigital Photolink One-Touch PANSCN04 5-Inch x 7-Inch Photo Scanner (Discontinued by Manufacturer)

We purchased this unit based on the other positive reviews. However, when we received it today, we realized that is was missing all the accessories except the power adapter. It is meant to be packaged with an SD card, a cleaning kit, a protective sheath, etc. Also, it appears that this is a refurbished or a previously returned unit. When we opened it, the protective film looked as though it had been removed before and then wrapped back around the product. I am guessing that the previous purchaser returned it without the accessories.We are working to try to get a refund right now, but I wanted to share my experience.=== UPDATE ===We are returning the original unit right now and have purchased a replacement (Amazon did not offer a quick exchange solution). The second one was delivered and did indeed contain the accessory packet that was missing from out first order. I immediately tested this unit with a stack of family photos that needed to be archived. The following are notes from my experience:PROS:1. The scan happens relatively quick - about 10 seconds or so for a 4x6.2. The unit does not take long to save to the memory card, so scanning photos in quick succession is possible (you only need to pause for about 1-2 seconds after a scan completes before feeding the next photo).3. One of the initial reasons for our purchase was to scan photos quickly without the need for a computer. We wanted the ability to visit relatives and quickly scan family photos without hauling our flatbed scanner around on trips. This device fits that requirement perfectly.CONS:1. Our initial order arrived without any of the accessories. We were forced to purchase another unit and sent the original one back for a refund.2. It is very obvious that shortcuts were taken while engineering the device. For example, the resolution setting is indicated by either an amber or green light - one must read the manual to figure out which resolution is indicated by which light. A simple label with two small lights would have been sufficient to solve this problem. Instead, they opted for an unlabeled dual-color LED and left it to the customer to figure it out. Poor usability decision.3. There is no way to set the date on the unit (that I can find). Thus, all the scans will have an origination date set in the year 2009. This completely messed up the date sort in larger collections where I had scanned some images in with our flatbed scanner. This problem is not the end of the world, but it seems that with better engineering, a solution would have been provided.4. Quality. Faint lines will appear on your scans, even after running the cleaning cycle. These are only visible when you zoom into the image. If you are simply using the scanner to archive old photographs, this may be acceptable. However, if you are hoping to order reproduction prints, you should use a better scanner. [I have uploaded a sample image to the product page].5. The device only saves to JPG format. If you want the image in a different format, you must use the computer.6. Only two resolution settings: 300dpi and 600dpi. Acceptable, but a lower and higher setting in addition to these two would have been useful.7. Heavy compression. Every image is saved to a file that should conceivably have a much larger file size. This indicates the images are being compressed heavily before being saved to the card. This may account for the "fuzzy" images that other customers are reporting.8. Many of my test photos had a small note in the bottom margin with names or dates which I would have liked to retain in the scan. However, the auto-crop feature usually cut off the notes in the middle. It could be understood if it cropped the entire white border (including the notes), but to crop it midway seems odd. Also, several photos were cropped incorrectly and I was forced to go back and rescan them.9. Alignment. The scanner auto-feeds the photo, which is great. However, even when the photo seems to be traveling through the device squarely, the scan would actually be tilted about 10 degrees or so. Quick editing was able to fix this, but it was an annoyance especially when the photos appear to be feed through the device on a straight path.10. The file naming convention always starts over whenever photos are cleared from the card. This can cause issues if you are hoping to dump all the scans into a single directory from several separate scan "sessions." (The computer will prompt you to verify that you wish to overwrite the original file). We were forced to create a new directory for each scan session and then later use a renaming application so all of the images could be housed in a single directory.11. As others have mentioned, the cables are in a awkward location. When plugged in, they can easily block an exiting photo after being scanned. Again, simple engineering could have resolved this issue. The ports should either be on the back right side of the device (where photos do not pass), or on the side.CONCLUSION:We will definitely be keeping the device since it is a very convenient solution to scan a collection of photos on-the-go without a computer. Our main goal is to archive some old family collections that number in the thousands. These scans will only exist digitally and will not likely be reprinted in the future. Thus, the faint lines and poor quality is sufficient for "non-crucial" digital archiving. However, if we ever come across a "key" photo that we may want to reprint in the future (like a portrait of an ancestor), we will always use the flatbed scanner. It is slower, but it will produce much better images that can be used for reprinting.If Pandigital ever offers a followup product, they should reevaluate the engineering. A few simple changes would have made this scanner a great deal and fun to use. Unfortunately, this unit was probably worth less than what we paid, which was not much.

The Pandigital "Photolink One-Touch PANSCN04 Photo Scanner" performs very well as a standalone scanner for most 5"x7" or smaller photos. My wife and I are at the age where we are starting to inherit family photo collections and, although the circumstances that bring us these photos are less than joyful (usually), we are aware that these images are often the last tangible record of some of our great grandparents, distant relatives, and events and places from times past. In the past I used a flatbed scanner to digitize our old photos, but that is a time consuming and tedious process that can take hours sitting in front of a PC and walking back and forth to the scanner laying pictures on the surface. The "Photolink" significantly reduces the time and effort involved in importing photos to the PC and the results are usually very high quality. Here are my observations:Pros -+ Stand Alone; does not need to be connected to a PC when scanning, making it easy to work on a large stack of photos while watching TV or at a family reunion (we have a big event every two years or so)+ Good Image Quality; scanner supports resolutions of 600 and 300 dpi, and produces clear images with accurate colors+ Includes 1g SD Card; holds hundreds of pictures and, with nothing extra to buy, you can start scanning within minutes of opening the box+ Easy to Use; this is a very simple deviceCons -- Does Not Like Polaroid Pictures; the scanner is sensitive to the thickness of the picture and most Polaroid pictures will not feed- Conflicting Instructions for "Sleeve"; instructions for using the included sleeve differ in the User Manual and on the device, but we usually use it all of the time now- Requires Cleaning Often; not too much of an issue since it comes with everything needed and it is easy to do, we clean it before every new "stack" of photosMisc -* Not Battery Powered; this has an AC wall adapter, so that needs to be taken into consideration if planning to use at events* Can Be Used As a PC Scanner; includes software that allows connection as a USB scanner, but I haven't needed to try that featureThis is a very handy scanner that works better than expected! For those that are interested in "fixing" old photos once they have been scanned, I recommend  Adobe Photoshop Elements 8  and  Digital Restoration from Start to Finish, Second Edition: How to repair old and damaged photographs .Recommended!CFH

Bought this to scan old pictures. Simple toUse and the quality is great. I used the usb option. Plug a usb into the scanner, put pictures in and then plug usb into computer once I’ve done a ln album. Great little machine

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