Microtek ArtixScan 4000tf Scanner

Most of the reviews of this scanner are based on short-term, initial impressions after limited usage. I have used my 4000tf for nearly 4 years and thousands of negatives. Unfortunately, much of the scanning was done in the first two years, because subsequently, the scanner became balky and stopped working. The weak point seems to be the mechanism by which you introduce film holders to the scanner - namely, you push the film holder into the scanner until it grabs and accepts it. Eventually this system wears out and the scanner can no longer tell when the film holder has been fully ejected or when it is being inserted. As a result, the scanner motor cycles continuously as it tries to eject a film holder that is no longer inside, and once it stops cycling, any film holder introduced into the scanner will be immediately ejected. This prevents any scanning from occuring. This is not a software glitch or a interface glitch. This is a mechanical weakness. I have since found quite a few references to similar behavior in other owners' machines. If Microtek would fix this problem, that would be great. But Microtek has one of the worst customer service labyrinths I have seen. I have yet to find out where (if anywhere) Microtek has a repair center. As a result, I cannot recommend purchasing this scanner at any price. The Nikon V is the better alternative by far, especially when you add in the presence of digital ICE dust removal technology. The dust removal software in Silverfast is clumsy and ineffective in comparison. Don't buy this scanner.

I was looking for a dedicated slide scanner to replace a mid range model scanner that I was using before and was glad to find this one affordably priced. It has calibration software that lets me calibrate my monitor, scanner and printer using the same color scheme which is very helpful when you need the color to be as close to perfect as possible. Some of my clients are very picky and since I have started using the 4000tf I have not had any complaints with regards to the work. I would highly recommend this scanner to anyone out there looking for dedicated slide use.

This unit looked great on paper and I was excited at the prospect of scanning my old slides and negatives but the soft ware provided with this unit has serious flaws and tech support is less than helpful (the understatement of the year). I have other scanners and a state of the art PC, but in spite of waiting on hold forever (TOLL CALL) nothing works. The e-mail support is worthless.

Received from UPS and had it set up less than 45 minute later.
Hardware and software set up is flawless (Win XP + firewire + Photoshop 7.0).
Calibration was a breeze.
Film holder is a bit fiddly but very robust.
Slide holder is robust and easy to use.
Scanned a known dusty and scratched slide at 4000 dpi and Silverfast cleaned up all the defects easily. The scanned result was just incredible.
Siverfast is a bit fiddly but no harder to use than most digital dark room software and is incredibly powerful.
After years of gettting what I thought were good scans from my Microtek 35T Plus I am simply blown away by the quality and ease of use of the 4000Tf

The product for sale here is listed as the new Microtek Artixscan 4000tf film scanner, but the Amazon.com product description and the technical data description of its features are both from the old model 4000t.

The new 4000tf has a much wider dynamic range (4.2 instead of 3.4), and has Firewire and USB connections instead of SCSI. It also comes with the new Silverfast AI 6.0 instead of 5.x software. It is a much better scanner now.

This is a good price for the new 4000tf, but way too high for the discontinued (but still available) 4000t.

So which is for sale here, the new Artixscan 4000tf or the old
model 4000t?