Within the past three years, scanning technology has finally reached the price-point where the average user can afford to own a scanner for the home.
In the early nineties, the cost of even an entry-level scanner was prohibitive for most users, however, by the end of that decade, affordable personal scanners were everywhere.
The SnapScan 1212u by Agfa is a reasonably priced scanner that performs well enough for the home or small office. The "u" in 1212u stands for universal serial bus (USB). Agfa also makes a 1212p parallel port model. The implementation of USB devices has come a long way since its introduction. When coupled with the Windows 98 operating system installing the 1212u is a "snap". The directions provided were concise and accurate and I had the device up and running in minutes. Unfortunately the USB cord that is provided is a little short, so those wishing to keep the scanner in an "out of the way location" until it is needed will want to purchase a longer cable.
Scanning with the 1212u is also quite easy. It comes with two software packages. FotoSnap is a simple tool intended for novices and FotoLook is a more advanced utility. ScanWise is a third software package (my
personal favourite) that is available for download from the Agfa website. The device can also be used with any TWAIN compliant software package.
ScanWise includes a PhotoGenie to automatically optimize the image settings.
Of the three, this is the only program that allows you to save your scans in formats other than .tif or .bmp. It will also export scans directly to the clipboard or another application. When I installed ScanWise, I had colour pallet problems and sent an anonymous e-mail on a Sunday to Agfa's tech support. I received a response within a matter of hours and the problem was solved. I send big-time kudos to Agfa for promptly resolving this issue.
The 1212u scans images with a traditional two-pass process. The first pass is a quick, low-resolution preview scan that allows you to set the scanned area and make adjustments. Then a second pass is done to retrieve the
final image. A single pass scan is preferable and is offered by other products, such as the HP ScanJet 3300c or the 4200c.
Overall, I found the quality of the scans to be a little disappointing, but passable for a home user or
occasional scanner. The 1212u scanned photos quite well, but the resulting images were a little out of focus. However, the colours were both rich and vibrant. Scanning magazine images or CD jackets yielded adequate
results with no significant moiré pattern, thanks to the de-screening option in the software.
Unfortunately, no matter how high the resolution was set, the images never seemed to become completely crisp like they do with HP scanners. I found the best results were obtained when images were scanned in at high resolution (600 dpi) and then resized with an image-editing program (the resample option in Paint Shop Pro worked very well). Finally, the 1212u performed very well when scanning text into OmniPage Pro 9. The software package was able to make quick work of text, however, any included pictures suffered the same lack or crispness previously discussed.
The Agfa SnapScan 1212u is a good scanner that can be found at a reasonable price. It doesn't compare favourably with more expensive scanners like the HP 3300c or 4200c, but it is as good as any scanner in its price range. It is suitable for the casual user, but for those with more extensive scanning needs devices of higher quality are available for as little as $50 more.
by Jason Offiong
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