A great simple scanner
Written: Feb 17 '02
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Pros: Space saving design and nice scans.
Cons: USB connection is slow. No big scanner frills.
The Bottom Line: A great scanner for anyone with not a lot a deskspace, and a few pictures to scan.
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| green-z's Full Review: Canon CanoScan N1220U Flatbed Scanner |
Don't be fooled by the diminutive size of the CanoScan 1220U, (and it's replacement the 1240U). It may only weigh a few pounds, but this scanner is all heavy weight.
People usually by scanners to scan pictures, but what most often happens is that the scanner spends more time in the box or on a shelf. Why? Because good scanners are take up too much desk space. But, in the era where the LCD monitor is king, Canon has solved the problem and given us a small footprint scanner with big scanner reproduction quality. At 15" deep and just 1.5" tall, you will hardly notice the scanner is on your desk. And with the sharp scans it makes, you will want to keep it there.
The scanner works with either the included Canon scan utility or with any other graphics program such as Photoshop or Photoshop Elements. Photoshop Elements for both Windows and Mac is included (a $70 value). The scanner also has instant scan buttons on the scanner itself which will scan your image and either open up your graphics program, or open up your email program and place the scan in a new email, ready for you to send out.
As much as I love this scanner its not for everyone. First, it is USB only, so if you do have a USB port, you'll need to install a USB card. Because it is USB, it is slow with big scans, or scan made at the high resolutions. Because of this, if you plan on making lots of scans, this isn't the scanner for you. It takes about 1 to 2 minutes per scan, so its only ideal for the ocassional scan, rather than to get the entire roll of film in your computer. The other downside is that it doesn't do slides or negatives. I don't consider this really much of a negative since film scanners are better at that job.
The scanner is compatible with all flavors of Windows, including XP. It also works with Mac OS 8-9, and in classic mode on OS X. A native OS X driver is due soon. I find classic mode fine for now since Photoshop 7 (which will be X compatible) has not been released as of this writing.
Finally, keep in mind that the 1220U is a discontinued model. The new model is the 1240U, which has 48 bit scanning.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 149
Interface: USB
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green-z
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