Scanning for Dummies (Agfa Snapscan 1212p)

Member Name: Bryn Pearson

Product:	Agfa Snapscan 1212p
Date:	04/12/01 (759 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: works well, nice and easy to use

Disadvantages: a4 paper is as far as it goes.

I am not a technically minded person, I can read manuals, but I can't cope with the sort of technology that requires indepth understanding before you can use it. When purchasing a computer and various accompanying bits, I asked for recomendations from friends - I wanted easy to use products that would give good results. The AGFA scanner was recommended to me - it isn't too expensive (about thirty pounds, depending on whom you buy it from). It is easy to use, and it plugs in in such a way that you can run your printer at the same time.

Now, I've not had a scanner before, so I knew nothing about the possibility of having to unplug and plug it in, and do the same with the printer - I gather this is not unusual. For a person of little technical prowess, this would be a nightmare, and I am delighted to have missed out on this horror. The only thing I have to remember is that if I want to use it, I have to turn it on before I boot up the computer (this may have more to do with the computer, I don't know, but be aware it might happen to you!) If I am halfway through doing something and decide I need to use the scaner, I have to reboot the computer, which is a pain. If you are not too green minded and leave all your gadgets on all the time, this won't trouble you.

I have to say that the first scanner I was sent (mail order company) didn't work. It took a while to get a new one - more the fault of the middle men than AGFA. The new scanner has never played up and has worked like a dream ever since (best part of a year now.) It handles photos and drawn images well. I use it occasionally to scan in images that are to be used for book covers on my website - and it certainly does a good enough job for that, so I have no complaints.

The scanner - flat bed - basically its an oblong box with a lid that you lift to place the paper onto the scannig area - not wildely disimilar from a photocopier. It's that sort of grey/beige co
lour of most computers.The box has an on/off switch, and that's it, everything else you do on the computerIt doesn't fit well on my computer desk, but that's not really it's fault.....

The accompanying blurb - the snapscan scanner comes with a ince glossy piece of blurb telling you hwo to sue the scanner, and what to do if it goes wrong. This is a good handbook, and makes sense for those not massively into technology - it's a good piece of work.
This looks like a large document, but isn't. You get step by step setup instructions, starting from the moment yout ake it out of the box, through installing it. You get this in about half a dozen languages.

The guarantee - mine was for three months, but again I suspect this has more to do with the middloe men than AGFA, so you might want to check with whoever you buy from.

The Software. You get a cd rom with your scanner - this contains scanwise - the stuff that actually lets you put images on your computer. You need to install this - the blurb tells you how its done, and how to add more software. Scanwise is fairly easy to use - you click the preview button on the screen for a preview, you click 'scan' for a scan, it tells you how to save. You will need some sort of graphics package if you want to then do anything with said images. If you want to be able to read and convery text from your scanner, you can get software for this, but you will have to buy it seperately.

I have been very happy with my scanner, and if I need to replace it, will certainly go abck to AGFA (although through some other middle man!) I woudl recomend this product for anyoen new to this sort of thing, and for anyone who doesn't want to do anything outrageously complucated. This scanner can handle any obvious scanning needs, and produces good quality images.

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