Notes on the PrimaScan 2400u from a Cheapo Scanner Expert
Written: Jul 25 '01
|
Product Rating:
|
|
| Ease of Use: |
 |
|
|
Pros: The PrimaScan is cheap, and fairly easy to set up.
Cons: The software is worse than others I've used.
The Bottom Line: Its cheap, it works, and the interface is nice.
|
|
|
| jwlester's Full Review: Visioneer PrimaScan Colorado 2400u Flatbed Scanner |
First of all, I'd like to tell you why I've designated myself a "cheap scanner expert". The answer is that scanners are essentially on death row when I purchase them, and usually the death of the poor scanners comes through little fault of their own - rather it is usually a result of negligent scannicide. For that reason, I've gone through more cheap scanners than the average Joe, Jim or Billy-Bob, and have a nearly unparalleled amount of experience with them.
My last scanner met its end in a similar fashion to its immediate predecessor (which ended up in the garbage in perfect condition after I accidently threw out the power supply), but in this case I made the unfortunate mistake of plugging in the wrong power supply after a move. The smell of a burnt up scanner is a wonder to behold and obnoxious to the nose. Now after blowing up two perfectly good scanners and losing the power supply for a third, I'm sure it will be no suprise to you, my fair reader, that I'm in the market for something cheap.
So when I strolled into Fry's Electronics, my desire was for the cheapest scanner that would do the job. Fry's were out (as usual, which is another epinion - and one which could take several MB of space with my grumbling) of the refurbished HP scanners that were advertised, but they did have the Visioneer Primascan Colorado 2400U for $39 ( I know I could have found it cheaper, but I wanted it right away) My first scanner was a Visioneer, and until I destroyed that one, it worked pretty well - so off I went.
The first thing I noticed was that (as usual) the amount of software crap that came with the scanner had multiplied in MB almost exponentially since the last Visioneer I had. Perhaps the software breeds like rabbits, or perhaps it has a case of Bloatosoft disease, but in any case rather than use the terminally terrible image software, I use a freeware program called Irfanview (see my epinion on it - it rocks!) instead. I chose not to install anything except the neccessary TWAIN driver. (Even so, some of the software seems to have found its way onto my computer, where it was causing problems and was attacked relentlessly with the delete key).
The TWAIN driver software is actually pretty good. It is easy and intuitive to use, if somewhat more basic than some of the other software I've encountered. It starts up quickly and generally needs little adjustment.
I do have some cheers and jeers about the scanner itself. On the positive side, it automatically shuts the lamp down when not in use - saving both lamp life and electricity. On the other hand, I'm somewhat unhappy with the small size of the scanning area. I'm constantly having to be extremely careful in my placement of objects on the scanner, because the area is not big enough. It is only about 1/2 inch smaller in width than my last scanner, but that really seems to make all the difference. The second thing I'm somewhat unhappy with is the length of time it takes the lamp to warm up. Since it shuts off after only about 5 or 10 minutes, I'm constantly faced with one of those bars telling me what % left I have to wait before the lamp is warm. Add to that the 15 seconds it always takes before starting a scan and the wait can be irritating.
This is where my self-conferred "expert" cheapo scanner user status comes in handy - I know lamps CAN warm up faster, and I have used scanners that began scanning almost instantly (my Dad's UMAX).
The scans themselves come out just fine - if you put 15 seconds into setting the controls on the driver software correctly (and for most things they already are). Want a different contrast or better resolution? This scanner can do that (and really the top resolution of this scanner is excessively gratuitous - there's NO WAY you'll need it for most objects you'll scan). The only thing I've had trouble scanning is OCR of white text on a black background (black on white works terrific). I still haven't been able to figure this out, but that's likely due to lack of operator skill rather than any fault with the scanner.
Am I just being picky? You bet I am - because there's not really too much in it as far as scanners go, and I'm doing my best to air my pet peeves. Theses cheap scanners all work fairly well, and they all blow up if you plug them in wrong. Its the little things which differentiate these things and if you want my honest epinion - just buy the cheapest one you can because there really ain't too much difference.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 39
Interface: USB
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
jwlester
|
|
Member: JW Lester
Location: Northern California
Reviews written: 69
Trusted by: 38 members
About Me:
I am an avid kayaker and climber.
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.