Pros: This scanner, like the "Opticbook 3600 Plus" I owned before it, functioned for 13 months, just long enough for the one-year warranty to expire. Then the CIS module (i.e., the light source) failed.

Cons: I had heard Plustek's customer service is poor and my personal experience confirmed this. First, a Plustek representative attempted to charge me $400 to replace the scanner light source (a component that costs less than $200). When I requested the name of the third-party manufacturer of the light source so that I could order it directly, the Plustek representative rebuffed me. When I asked to speak to a supervisor, I was informed that the manager was too busy to speak with me. So I threw the Plustek OpticBook A300 in the garbage and opted for a smarter, affordable book scanning solution.

Other Thoughts: I advise everyone reading this review not to make my mistake: do not waste your time or money on this or other unreliable, overpriced Plustek scanners.

I have since assembled a DIY book scanner based on Daniel Reetz's Open Hardware specifications. The DIY book scanner far, far outperforms the Plustek Opticbook A300 and does so for a small fraction of A300's price. Google it!

Manufacturer Response:

Sorry you had problems with your A300 and our support group. We have thousands of these scanner being used in commercial environments worldwide. But that said, this is a mechanical device and any sometimes components fail.

If you still have the scanner and would like it repaired, please send me an email at markdruziak >at< plustek [dot] com. We can work something out.