After my less than flattering review of the Epson Color Stylus 300, I thought it is time to embark on my next challenge: a review of the Mustek 1200 UB. This won't mean much to many of you, but it is, in fact, a colour scanner.
I got the scanner when I bought my home PC several years ago. I do not use it that often, but it certainly comes in handy at times when I need a quick copy and it is inconvenient to go out and get a photocopy.
Let me tell you a little more about it.
The Mustek UB 1200 is a nice compact scanner measuring 21.6cm by 29.7 cm (8.5" x 11.7") and weighing 2.3kg. The technical term for it is a 'Flatbed Colour Scanner', but I shall just refer to it as a scanner.
Like any other home scanner, its design
is quite simple. It has a document cover which lifts up to reveal the scan glass window, and a USB cable at the back of the scanner which leads directly to your computer's USB port.
Installation is very easy. The installation guide that comes with the scanner gives precise written instructions and clear diagrams to take you through the set-up process.
Before installing the scanner, it is necessary to install the driver. This comes in the form of a disc which is inserted into your disk drive. You simply click on 'Start', select 'Run', type 'drive:\run' and click on OK. From here, you follow all the on-screen instructions, and at the end, restart your computer. This all takes a matter of minutes and is very easy to do.
Finally, you need to connect the USB cable from the back of the scanner to the computer's USB port. The computer automatically detects the presence of the scanner and updates the system. Both Windows 95 and Windows 98 users will have to perform a few short steps before the scanner is ready for use, but this is again very straightforward.
When set-up is complete, you can start using the scanner immediately. Simply open the document cover, insert the document you want to scan and thanks to a Cover Sensor, the scanner will automatically recognise that you have a document ready to scan. A dialog box will appear on-screen with several different options - Imaging, Scan Dialog Box and Ulead Photo Express 2.0 SE. These are all slightly different, but if all you want to do is scan a document, then Imaging is the best option for you.
IMAGING
If you select the Imaging option, you will be given the choice of either previewing the document or scanning it straightaway. If you decide to preview it first, this will take about 30 seconds to complete and provides you with a descaled version of the actual document, rather like a Print Preview on Word.
Scanning, however, provides you with an exact image of the document and this obviously takes a bit longer to complete. Once a document has been scanned, you can make alterations to the image before printing. For example, you might like to rotate the image, add text or change its size and proportions. Of course, you can also save it at this point and make any changes later.
SCAN DIALOG BOX
Scan Dialog Box is more sophisticated than Imaging as it allows you to fax and e-mail as well as scan. The use of OCR software is also available. OCR or Optical Character Recognition is basically a means of converting an image to a text file. This probably isn't particularly useful for the average home user, but it can come in handy if you have business connections.
ULEAD PHOTO EXPRESS 2.0 SE
Whereas Scan Dialog Box is designed with the office in mind, Ulead Photo Express is mainly for the home and family. It allows you to create your own greetings cards, invitations, calendars and even brochures. I don't use this one that often, but it is very user-friendly and allows you to create some high quality work.
Whichever scanning tool you use, you can always be assured of outstanding image quality. Images are invariably clear and bright and this is due to the high level of Optical Resolution Control. The scanner has a resolution of 600dpi horizontally and 1200 dpi vertically, which means that even if you enlarge an image, it will remain clear and not grainy.
There are also three scan modes available - True Colour (36 bit, 68.7 billion colours), Grey mode (12-bit, 4096 shades of grey) and Text/Line art (1 bit/pixel). Unless you are an expert in this sort of thing, it won't mean much to you, but basically it means that the scanner can produce images which are optically as close to the original as is realistically possible, because of the huge range of colours available.
My only criticisms of the Mustek 1200 UB are that it can be a little slow in scanning, due to the fact that it scans one third of the image at a time, and that scanning A4 pages can sometimes produce an image which, annoyingly, has an unwanted black border. This can occur if the original document has been positioned incorrectly in the scan window, but is normally resolved if you place the document in the top left-hand corner first.
Overall then, the Mustek 1200 UB is a very impressive colour scanner which comes with some excellent software, and is ideal for the home and office. I believe it is also one of the cheapest scanners on the market, retailing for around £30, so is obviously good value for money too. Highly recommended.
How helpful would this review be to a person making a buying decision? Rating guidelines
great Op, I didnt realise you could get scanners so cheap. I have a 7 year old AGFA one which is OK but a bit bulky. at work I've got a HP scanner/copier/fax but its not flat bed so I dont entrust it with photos. I'll look out for this one, thanks mark
leadboiler 23.04.2004 12:12
Yikes so much detail... another top review. We need a new scanner, ours is crap.
Apr 2nd, 2004
(Apr 6th, 2004)
very helpful by (98%):
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