I bought the HP ScanJet 4100C a few months ago for $199. Haven't regretted it for a minute. USB, plug and play. Instructions say, "install software on your computer, plug in scanner, restart computer." As Gallagher would say, it's just that easy! When I want to scan something, I put it on the scanner bed and push a button on the front of the scanner. The scan program starts automatically, scans the item, analyzes it, and shows me what I've got. Usually that's all I need and I save it. Sometimes I muck with the scan border, output size, resolution, etc. It's way easy. I don't have any other scanner experience to compare this to, but from the horror stories, I think I make the right choice.

If you've seen the chip scans I post here, they're all from the HP.

HP has an older 5100C that's more money and not better. They have a newer $149 model I can't comment on, except it's probably just as easy and maybe not quite as good.