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Mustek Scanexpress 1248 UB
by mattharris1801
This scanner offer great color depth, and carries out the job effortlessly.
Usability >>>> As stated it comes with auto crop technology, so as soon as you plug it in it starts scanning, and it knows where your images or documents are on the scanner and automatically adjusts the size of the new image it's creating ... to save you time. This is a great feature as, normally, you have to spend even more time removing black areas away from the new images.
It's not the fastest scanner I've seen, taking quite a while to scan, but when you get image quality like you do from this its worth the wait.
Very quick and easy to use as it comes with usb, so once plugged in and you've installed the software you're ready to go. This makes it great for someone who just wants to use it to scan in all those old photographs lying around; a service which can cost around £65
Quality >>>> The depth in colour is very high, coupled with high detail, giving a very professional output.
The scanner is very quiet and so I assume very efficient in its processes. As I have already said, it's not very fast taking a couple of minutes to perform a scan, which means it could take you some time to get through a big batch of photographs.
In summary this scanner is perfect if you don't mind paying that little bit more for great quality scanned documents and images, very good for scanning in old photographs that you don't have in digital format, if you can be prepared for it too take a little while.
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Fujitsu fi 6130
by joshdpl
I use this scanner as part of a work placement to convert large (thick, multiple paged documents) into digital files. The files can be up to individual 70 pages. For optimum efficiency, it would be necessary for the scanner to be able to scan all of these without the paper becoming jammed, not scanning the image straight due to movement ... of files or order becoming jumbled due to files becoming skewed on exit of scanner. Unfortunately, it seems the maximum number of pages that can be scanned whilst guaranteeing no problems with the process is 30 or so. In the great scheme of things, this is not particularly an issue - it just takes a little longer to scan documents than I would like. Any number of pages above this and the scanner can jam, although this easy to remedy by pulling on a tab which opens the scanner. Scanning can then be resumed.
Firstly, the scanner is easy to connect to a PC, easy to turn on and easy to scan. No manual set-up was required, just a pressing of the power button. Preparing the scanner is easy too; bringing down the 'flap' at the front for the scanned documents to exit into and extending the tray at the top of the scanner to help guide the documents in. There are also page width guides, which are adjustable. These also aid in guiding documents through the scanner straight.
The scanner is rather loud - it overshadows the sound of a television at an 'average' noise level and can be heard at the other end of my house if the door to the room I'm in is open. Just a touch quieter would be acceptable to my eyes.
Finally, the scanning quality is sufficient - words are legible, although they appear slightly blurred and some words which are hand-written may require straining to read.
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Canon Canoscan LiDE 110
by Doglovers
An excellent scanner well worth the money , easy to use and set up and delivers excellent results . A great buy and I highly recommend this.
Why the Canon
Well I decided to take the plunge and buy a scanner . My experience of scanners hasn't been great. I had one years ago that scanned once and then gave up the ... ghost , never to work again.
I didn't want to spend a lot of money or spend days researching the topic , so I chose this one on the basis of the ratings on Amazon and the price , a very reasonable £49.99.
I toyed briefly with the idea of buying an all in one wifi printer scanner copier , but on reflection decided that I did not want to waste the ink I have just purchased for my printer and also I am very happy with the printer (also a Canon)
The scanner arrived today and it was up and running within 10 minutes so a very positive start and I managed to do more than one scan!
I am not a technical expert so don't expect lots of technical details, but as someone that has never set up or successfully used a scanner before , I thought that I would share my experience in this review.
Set up
If I say that I spent 10 minutes setting this up and 5 of those minutes were spent trying to get the scanner out of the box, you will appreciate just how easy this is to set up and use. I have to say it is very well packed and fits snugly in the box , some might say too snugly , based on my struggle.
The scanner is flatbed , just slightly larger than an A4 piece of paper and very light and slim.
It comes with a USB cable and a CD which has the scanner software and a user manual.
Also a really useful paper Quick Start Guide.
This is a mix of written instructions together with screen shots . It is really user friendly and easy to follow.
I inserted the CD and followed the instructions on screen. These are also printed on the Quick Start Guide , together with screenshots.
The estimated time to load the software was 10 minutes but it actually took less than 3 minutes and this was at the same time that good old Norton decided to do a full system scan.
Scanning
After loading the software plug the USB cable into your computer .
Double click on the icon that appears on your screen or access this from the Start menu . The programme is called MP Navigator , then off you go.
I found this programme really easy to use and for my first scans just followed the instructions on screen. These are really user friendly and have very large icons/ buttons for the main functions such as SCAN which is also highlighted in Green.
It has an Auto selection that means the software decides what you are trying to scan , but equally you can select this yourself.
This is really easy to use and most people would be able to scan without referring to the manual, even me, but I have looked at it and I found it easy to understand.
What can you can scan
Photographs
Documents
Multiple small documents such as photographs at the same time - as many as fit on the scanner.
Larger documents - you can scan the left and right halves separately and then combine back into one image.
You can scan documents that are twice as large as the scanning plate which is A4 size ( 210X297mm or 8.3"x11.7")
Scanning is simple :
Place the document face down on the glass plate. The manual shows you exactly how to place them on the glass to get the best results and there are markers to show you where to put A4 and B5 size documents
Close the lid
Click scan
Takes 2 or 3 seconds to scan
Don't lift the lid until the scan has completed , this is shown on screen.
Editing ( Optional)
Once scanned decide what you want to do with the scanned image. This might be nothing but there are functions available if you want to use them.
The Navigator allows you to do the usual editing such as changing the resolution, brightness and tone. Rotate , crop and zoom in on parts of photographs and documents and then preview the results before scanning. Sort of like a print preview.
The manual explains all the editing functions and is really user friendly. It is a mix of text , screen shots and pictures.
Other than rotating the images and cropping I haven't tried all the other editing tools.
Outputs
You choose whether to :
Save as a document or photograph
Email
Save as PDF file
Send to another application
Send to printer
The results
The documents I scanned are excellent quality .
Some of them were quite old and had faded slightly but the images are very readable.
I also scanned a much loved photograph , so I could include this element in the review and I am really impressed with the results. It was an old colour photogarph of one of my dogs who sadly passed away 10 years ago .
I didn't do anything fancy simply used the auto function and the results are amazing. Totally blown away with how good this is given that the original is slightly yellow , faded and dark in places, but all of that has been corrected and I am thrilled with the results. This photograph is irreplaceble and I now have a beautifully restored version courtesy of this scanner.
I wanted this primarily to scan and copy documents, but I can see that this will also enable me to copy old photographs and improve on the originals, so for that alone it is worth every penny.
This will sit nicely on top of my printer when I am not using it .
It is light and compact , just slightly bigger than an A4 folder. It needs no power source as it takes that from the computer, so you can sit in comfort on the sofa or your bed and scan away.
Summary
Simple set up ,easy to use excellent results and a good price.
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