HP Scanjet 5590 Flatbed Document Scanner

The HP Scanjet 5590 is a flatbed document and photo scanner built around a 2,400 dpi CCD optical array with a 50-sheet automatic document feeder capable of duplex (two-sided) scanning in a single pass. The 2,400 dpi optical resolution is not interpolated — it reflects actual sensor density, which means photo scans at this resolution carry real spatial detail rather than software-upsampled pixels. The 48-bit color depth (16 bits per channel) is the other technically meaningful specification here: it captures a wider tonal range per scan than 24-bit output, giving post-processing software more data to work with when correcting exposure, recovering shadows, or adjusting white balance on faded originals. The transparent materials adapter extends coverage to 35mm slides and negatives, consolidating what would otherwise require two separate devices.

In practice, this scanner was designed for a mixed office/photography workflow — departments digitizing paper records alongside occasional photo and film archiving. The duplex ADF is the primary productivity differentiator: a 50-sheet double-sided contract batch completes unattended in under three minutes at 200 dpi, which is the realistic working resolution for text documents. The flatbed plate handles books, bound documents, cards, and 3D objects that the ADF cannot. The critical deployment caveat is driver support: HP no longer maintains software for this model, and users on Windows 10/11 or macOS Ventura and later will need VueScan or SANE-based alternatives to unlock full functionality including the ADF and TMA. For buyers aware of that requirement, this remains a capable, optically sound scanner at its price point.