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Mustek Plug-n-Scan 1200 UB
by Marechal_Ney
As far as scanners go, this one should more than meet the needs of users who adapt it to any non-professional application. I acquired the Mustek 1200 UB just over a year ago (costing about £45, though this is a vague estimate, since it came bundled with my PC), and have been more than satisfied with its performance. Its plug-n-scan ... status means that, through a USB interface, one need only plug it into one’s PC for the green light to come on and for it to start working. The necessity of an additional power supply is thus eliminated entirely (though a USB port is obviously essential).
The scanner comes bundled with Ulead PhotoExpress 2.0 SE, the main scanning and image-editing program, and TextBridge Classic 2.0, a very useful program that uses OCR technology to recognize letters on scanned documents, faxes, and even images stored on one’s computer, and convert them into text format for further processing in e.g. Microsoft Word. I was particularly impressed with the inclusion of the latter item, before I realized that such software is bog-standard in the scanner industry these days.
The Ulead Photo Express program is undoubtedly powerful enough for the casual user, with a wealth of options to customize the scanning process and the scanned image. Upon confirming one’s desire to begin the scan, one is brought to the USB Scanner dialog box. This gives one control over the scanning resolution, and the image scale, and gives the option of previewing the scan, before selecting part of the preview for the final scan – all quite standard as far as scanners go.
After the scan is completed, the user is brought back to the Ulead Photo Express program for possible post-scan image editing. I have never, however, been a great fan of editing photo images, mainly because it appears that any effects applied to a picture, regardless of the software that implements the effect, inevitably worsen the image (unless one happens to be
dealing with abstract art). Thus, Ulead’s main features were entirely superfluous to me, and to this day I still use Microsoft Photo Editor or Imaging for Windows as my scanning interface. Why? Because this is far simpler, and because a straightforward click on the “Scan New” button on the toolbar brings one to exactly the same scan dialog box as when using Photo Express, with the same pre-scan options (infinitely more important than any post-scan features).
One thing that I learned from my year’s ownership of the 1200 UB is how to acquire a high-quality image through the scanner dialog box (I am not very adept at image processing, and so I am not sure how applicable this is to other scanners). I used to believe that high resolution means higher quality, even if the image needed to be scaled down to a more manageable size. This was totally incorrect in this case – it is better to select a low scan resolution (such as 100 pixels per inch) and to leave the scaling at the original 100%. Not only was the created file far smaller than a 300 pixel per inch scan at 30%, but the results were also much better, with a clearer and more coherent picture.
The flatbed scanner’s speed is quite acceptable for amateur users such as myself, and the noise level is suitably low. The overall quality of the scans (done at the correct resolution and size: see above) is also more than adequate for casual home use.
Overall, this scanner is a purchase I would definitely recommend to casual users who have the benefit of a crucial USB port. Its specification and performance more than meet the needs of such use, with a convenient plug-n-play ability ideal for inexperienced buyers. To top this all off, it is probably at a lower price now than the £45 or so that I paid for it more than a year ago, and is thus quite affordable.
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Scan Express 6000P
by
I bought this scanner for no particular reason, to be honest I didn't know anything about computers, or anything like that. I had never really needed a scanner, but the one I had previously (sorry, don't know what it was), was alright, well in my opinion. But when I started using this I was surprised at how much better ... it was, in terms of quality, speed and amount of options. One thing that did strike me about this scanner is the noise, it is very loud for a scanner.
It gives the option of a pre-scan, that only takes a few seconds, and it is generally just to see what the image looks like instead of a full scan that turns out badly. Speaking of the full scan they are generally fast (depending on resolution), and the end product is very good. There is the option of full colour, grey or dots and the speed depends on which you choose, dots bieng the fastest.
I recieved with this scanner photo plus 4, and it seemed that the scanner works very well with it, it has good options, and the abiltiy to alter your image if desired. Although the software came with the scanner I have recently un-installed this programme and started using Microsoft photo draw, the scanner seems to work well with this as well.
Overall, this is a good scanner and comes at about 100 pounds, it is not the smallest scanner available and is noisy, but the quality and the speed make up for this.
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Mustek Plug-n-Scan 600 CP
by Timski
It was my aproaching my birthday and I was asked what I wanted. "A digital camera" I replied with glee, only to be told that they were too expensive - think of something else. I decided a scanner would be a good idea, I could scan in all those old photos and e-mail them to everyone I know. At the time, Staples were ... having a sale and the Mustek 600 CP was a good price, £44.94. I had heard of Mustek's reputation for quality and reliability and thought this to be a bargain.
On getting my brand new, shiny scanner home it was a doddle to set up and configure, just follow the instructions and you're there. Even the supplied software was easy to install - Textbridge and iPhoto Plus. The installation guide booklet is handy and gives step-by-step instructions on how to do everything from connecting the parrallel cables to the actual scanning - in no less than 6 languages.
The Scan Dialog Box allows the user to run the scanner software each time the lid is opened, alternatively, this feature can be disabled. The options available in the Direct Scan Box are:- Scan, Copy (Photocopies), Fax, E-Mail and Optical Character Recognition (OCR). These options should cover nearly everything you will need to do with any scanner. This sounds like an all singing, all dancing machine for the price. With the Twain drivers installed, integration into your graphics software (Photshop, Paintshop Pro, etc...) is a breeze and much easier to use when you just want to scan a picture, modify it and save it to your hard drive.
The scanned images aren't perfect, but what do you expect for that price? They are plenty good enough for most uses though and unless you are planning to scan photographs and make enlarged copies of them on photographic paper, this scanner will do just fine.
But beware, there is a down side...
The Downside...
Textbridge (OCR) is not perfect by any means. OCR is still quite new and although some soft
ware is better than others, this one does have many problems in recognising many fonts and special characters. I have spent many hours correcting characters that were not read properly.
The Copy option must be set up correctly for it to produce an excact copy, this may be different for your settings and your printer but I had many "trial and error" pages before I got it right.
The scans are slow compared with some of the newer scanners available these days, especially the USB versions, when you are watching the progress bar, it doesn't seem to move - a bit like "a watched kettle never boils".
The 300 x 600 dpi (9600 x 9600 dpi - through software interpolation) could well be all you need but don't expect to scan in a 5" x 3" photo and expect to enlarge it to A3 for printing perfectly - there aren't many scanners which will do this anyway.
The 600 CP is a budget scanner for people who can't afford to buy a "top of the line" one. As with all things today, you get what you pay for.
To summerise, the Mustek 600 CP is an adequete scanner for most uses. It is affordable to most people and it does a fairly good job of it. If you can reach a little deeper into your pockets, you may want to spend a little more for a higher resolution USB scanner, if not, this one will do the job.
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