Size
The main reason why people buy the CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner is probably because of its size. This scanner is about sixteen inches in length, eleven inches wide, and one and a half inches in height. The size of the scanner helps by making it easier to fit this scanner onto a small or cluttered desk. Due to its relatively small size, this scanner is much lighter than many of its counterparts. These make two great selling points for this scanner.
Power and Connections
Another aspect of this scanner that sets it apart from the competition is the fact that the power supply is generated by your own computer. Basically, the USB 2.0 cable acts as both a data transfer device and a power unit. All you have to do is connect the USB 2.0 cable to an empty USB slot on your computer, and you're done. When you boot up your computer, you will also be booting up the scanner. Yes, it's that simple.
Features
As for the features of this scanner, there are quite a few. The scanner will scan documents up to eight and a half inches wide, by eleven inches in height. The scanner itself has four buttons on it for ease of use. These buttons are named copy, scan, PDP and email.
You will also be able to select these same features via the software program on your computer; the buttons on the scanner are basically just shortcuts. So if one of your buttons is damaged, don't worry about it. You'll still be able to utilize that function. As for the color DPI range it is 2,400 by 4,800, and you can also scan negatives with this scanner as well.
Another great feature that this scanner has is the fact that it's so portable. All you really need is a laptop with a charged battery, and you're all set. So feel free to scan your documents in the park or at a restaurant. The choice is yours.
As for your computer recognizing the scanner, it's fairly simple. On Windows XP and Vista, your computer will realize what the scanner is and do all of the installation work on its own. And if your computer has any problems with the installation then there is always the old installation cd for you to use.
As you can see, the CanoScan LiDE 500F scanner is quite a handy little gadget that can be used by both the professional designers and the nonprofessionals. It's compact size, ease of use, and portability make it a fantastic scanner to own.
