A monstrous beastie (Agfa Snapscan 1212p)

Member Name: dave27

Product:	Agfa Snapscan 1212p
Date:	10/09/02 (1957 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Good reliable machine

Disadvantages: There are better ones

Three and a half years ago now, when I first tumbled into the world of a decent home computer set up, one of the things I specified in my initial requirements was a flat bed scanner, because I had identified that I wanted to be able to capture images and back in those days the technology behind digital cameras was unproven and pretty damned expensive, so there were little real alternatives to scanning to get pix into my box.

The unit which I was recommended at that time by my tame PC supplier was one manufactured by a company called Artec, with the main advantage being that it was cheap, dreadfully cheap. However, false economies are never a particularly good idea, and so it is with scanners. The Artec may have been cheap, and was reasonable for the money, but it was dreadfully slow, inefficient and lacking in that certain something.

I reasoned that I would need to get a newer version at some stage, but found it difficult to justify forking out the extra dosh to get to the next stage. However, two things happened which helped the decision. One, I decided to get a second, higher spec computer because I'd come into some money and was getting a little teed off by the relative slowness and lack of features of my original set up (boys and their toys, eh?). Naturally enough a big purchase meant that the cost of a new scanner would be easily swallowed up within the overall package price of a new system. However, it was still going to be a touch tricky to persuade Mrs D to let me part with the necessary readies. However, then along came Two, and my problems were solved. You see, the old scanner stopped working. I reasoned naturally enough (I hope you are convinced) that it may be the plug which was the problem, so I decided to check it out. Unfortunately, it was one of those moulded types which are almost ever present these days, so you couldn't just attach the new plug. Curses! Oh well, I thought, I'll justy cut the lead and then f
it a new plug, no worries. It still didn't work, however, despite all my efforts, so I took my crippled scanner down to Mr PC to see if I could get a new power lead.

When I got there they gave me some very funny looks, and let me in on the secret that the power lead was actually an adapter and that I'd shoved so much power through the scanner, that it was now very much a dead scanner, this scanner is no more, deceased, beautiful plumage, etc etc.

Oh well, at least I could justify a new purchase...

As luck would have it, my PC supplier had got a really decent second hand printer in, a veritable huge beast called the Agfa SnapScan 1212P. He wasn't sure what the going rate was but said he'd chuck it in for about £40. From what I've seen, it should sell for about £60, so I think I've got a pretty good bargain, because the Agfa SnapScan is a bloody great range.

It's a huge great beast, taking up a fair chunk fo your desk real estate so it might not be ideal for everyone, but certainly it's a mega fast monster, operating at excellent quality, and producing some truly tremendous results. It comes complete with the Agfa ScanWise software which is a really excellent package, so quick and easy to use, offering exceptional control over your outputs. The mechanics involved are truly robust and I've been very impressed indeed with the whole package.

I use Caere OmniPage Pro as my OCR capturing package and that too has proved exceptionally good, but it's the monstrous beastie at the heart of my set up which is the real star of the show, and I've been truly delighted with this purchase.

I used to use the scanning application included within CorelDraw 8, but the ScanWise software is streets ahead in terms of quality, ease of use and features.

It connects in to my set up via USB, so I don't need to employ the parallel linking I used to use, attaching the printer via th
e scanner to the PC, and the results are much better this way. Now when I checked things out on the net, it says that this scanner is also supposed to be attached via a parallel connection, so I don't know whether the one I've got is a bit of an oddity, but it's certainly a real workhorse.

It's also extremely quiet.

However, as I think about it, I'm more and more convinced that my machine may not be the 1212p, because I've checked out a couple of reviews and everyone is slagging it off.

Now, just give me a mo, to check...

**************

Bugger, my machine is actually a SnapScan 1236, so I'm in completely the wrong area. In fact, my box should have cost nearly £150. What a bloody bargain! No wonder it's so good.

The 1236 is a far superior machine to the 1212P and if you can get one at the right price I'd strongly urge you to buy it rather than accept cheaper imitations.

Do not despair, however, because I will do you a favour and write about the subject at hand anyway.

According to the PC Pro website's review of the 1212U version in Feb 2000, "For the past year the Agfa SnapScan 1212P has been our scanning Best Buy, with excellent image quality at a very good price. A year on, we're taking a look at it again (this time in its 1212U USB version), along with the latest models from other manufacturers, to see if it still deserves the accolade."

Now from that, it seems that the 1212P is some three years old, so it's hardly surprising that it's been overtaken by upgrades, but certainly it's still a decent machine, despite what I've been told. PC Pro laud Agfa as the best manufacturers of flatbed scanners and the 1212P is an okay machine, although not as good as my lovely 1236.

The actual original PC Pro review back in 1999 said this: "In both of these tests, the 1212P outperformed all the other scanners in
the low- to mid-price range, only just being out-classed by the machines costing upwards of £150. It didn't achieve quite the same intensity of contrast as the very best performers, but still displayed very impressive colour accuracy and sharp focus.

In these group comparisons, there always has to be an overall winner, and the Agfa 1212P is it! It offers simply stunning value at £99 (£116) on the street, the drivers and manuals are excellent and it even looks rather spiffy. But most importantly, the quality is only a gnat's whisker away from the best in both photo and line art reproduction. It's not the fastest scanner in the world, but that's just about its only shortcoming. A worthy Top 50 winner."

It almost makes you want to switch, eh? Yeah, but not quite...

SPECIFICATIONS: Flatbed scanner, 600x1200dpi max optical resolution, 36-bit colour sensitivity, 216x297mm max scanning area, Parallel interface, Dimensions: 320x440x110mm (wdh), Bundled software: Visioneer PaperPort, Caere OmniPage LE, Ulead iPhoto Express.

Summary: