Digital Trends

My biggest mistake...

by David Heruty on Apr 17th, 2008 at 9:20 PM:

WARNING: Do not buy this scanner!! It will die on you after the warranty end. Read my review, it will save you an aggravation and lots of money.

We purchase the 9800XL with the TDM scanner in April 2005. About six month later the scanner developed a blur on the right side of about ½ inch that grew to more then ¾ of an inch later on. At first we just avoided that area and before the one-year warranty end I called Microtek and they offered a replacement. We got a fresh new one and all was good again. Well, only for a short while. The second scanner develops the same issue with the blur on the right side just as the first one. Shoot! I called Microtek and since the warranty was expired their only solution is to offer us a discount toward a new scanner. I was shocked to learn that it will cost us $700 for the replacement.

Fast forwardÂ…

When I understood that Microtek is not kind of a company that support their products I decided to open the scanner myself and take a pick. A closer look revile that one of the mirrors was fogged by something unknown on the same side of the blur. I clean the fog with film cleaner and finish with glass cleaner. I also clean all the other mirrors since I was already inside so what the heck. I put everything together, plugged it in and manage to have a nice scan with no blur anywhere. Hooray!!

Well, my cheers did not last long and a couple of month later the darn blur returned and grew again. I gave up on it and just was avoiding the area until a month ago the light went off. Shoot! I emaild Microtek to have the same generic respond:

Dear Mr. XXX,


Microtek does not sell parts for the ScanMaker 9800XL scanner. Be advised that your ScanMaker 9800XL scanner cannot be repaired; Microtek does not have repair centers in the United States or Canada. However, if your ScanMaker 9800XL scanner is currently out of warranty, your out of warranty Microtek product MAY qualify for a special promotion sale and or upgrade. For more details on how Microtek can help you with a replacement of your damaged product with an equivalent model or an upgrade to a higher end unit model at a special discount price, please contact our Customer Service Representatives for more details at 310-687-5940.”

The same $700 penalty was offered again this time as well. Hmmm

Since I cannot kill a scanner that is already dead. I opened the scanner and took a really closer look on the light source but this time looked at the ballast as well. I was shocked to see that one of the capasitors on the ballast was burned to a crisp (see photos) WOW. I took the part out and gave it to a technician that also found that the transistors were fried as well. He said that he thinks that the ballast have a design flaw since as I told him others experience similar problems with there scanners. This discovery gave an answer to the blur and fogged mirror I was experiencing with both scanners THE CAPACITOR OVERHEATING AND SMOKING WAS THE PROBLEM THAT FOGGED THE MIRROR, hmm. I took some pictures of the faulty ballast (see photos) that clearly show that it is a manufacture error or design flaw. I email the photos to Microtek with some clear details of my discovery and asked to BUY a new ballast (hopefully improved). I emphasis on BUY a replacement ballast.

Again, same answer (with my interpolation). “We donÂ't give a rat-a$$” about your problem and we donÂ't care if it is our fault or not, pay us $700 and get a new one. (Most likely with the same bad ballast that will surly fail)

Conclusion:

Since IÂ'm already burned by this bad scanner it is too late for me, however if I can save some others poor souls from falling into MicrotekÂ's disposable product trap. Then I can then sleep better at night.

My last words are:

STAY AWAY FROM THAT COMPANY AND THEIR PRODUCTS