Modestly priced Canon scanner an able performer

Less expensive first-rate scanners are becoming as plentiful as inexpensive first-rate printers. Canon's CanoScan 9900F flatbed scanner impresses on a number of fronts, with only a few minor downsides. This is a 3200-by-6400 dot-per-inch scanner that is relatively fast without being a speed demon. The 9900F ($400) has four one-touch buttons on its face for copying, scanning, creating a file or e-mailing.

It's not particularly slim nor light at 5 inches in height and 11.5 pounds. But like most flatbeds with an 8.5-by-11.7-inch platen, it won't take up too much horizontal space. The scanner can connect to your computer via high-speed connections Universal Serial Bus 2.0 or IEEE 1394 Firewire cables, although I didn't seem to have any luck getting it hooked up through my Firewire cable. That was OK because it worked fine with both the USB 2.0 and USB 1.1 connections.

I liked Canon's FARE 2.0 (File Automatic Retouching and Enhancement) software which can do some of the work I normally save for Photoshop. It reduces the dust and scratches and makes the grain smooth on pictures in need of help.

But the neatest trick was the scanner and software's ability to scan a group of slides or negatives, placed on the platen, one by one without me having to do anything except set things in motion. The slides and film I scanned looked excellent given the fact that I was using a flatbed scanner. None were dim and I was able to increase them in size to 4-by-6-inch prints easily.

Information: 800-385-2155 or www.usa.canon.com.