Scan multiple pages as a single PDF file with A-PDF Image to PDF

Since I upgraded to a Windows 7 machine, the scan and fax software of my HP LaserJet 3055 All-In-One printer does not work anymore. People are actually quite upset about it as you can see from the following two threads:

• http://www.sevenforums.com/drivers/24792-hp-laserjet-3052-3055-scan.html
• http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Scanning-faxing-and-copying/HP-Laserjet-3055-Cannot-Scan-to-Acrobat-in-Windows-7/m-p/251146

The "official" answer from HP's website is to use the Windows Fax and Scan software that came with Windows 7. This solution, however, at least has the following issues:

• I can no longer connect my HP printer to the router and use it as a network scanner because Windows Fax and Scan will not recognize it as a scanner (printing is okay)
• Windows Fax and Scan does not let you save scanned document in PDF format but TIFF only
• Unless you use the document feeder of the printer, you cannot scan multiple pages at one shot. Instead, you have to scan the pages one-by-one, save them as separate files and merge them together, which is a big hassle.

I exchanged a few emails with HP support but they would not help me as the warranty of my printer has already expired. Guess what, when it is time for me to get a new printer, I will definitely not buy from HP.

The Microsoft Office Document Imaging software that comes with Microsoft Office can actually scan multiple pages in one shot but then I discovered that it is deprecated (no longer available) in Office 2010!

So, I tried to look for a third-party solution and found a software named A-PDF Image to PDF. I downloaded its trial version and finally I can scan multiple pages manually without the feeder as a single PDF file. It is not free (the trial version will put a watermark at the upper left corner on the first page) but it has a better interface and a lot more features than the HP scan software that I have been using in Windows XP and Vista.

Hopefully this is useful to others who got screwed by HP's All-In-One printers :P