In this day and age where computer peripherals are still hovering at highs for quality products, I decided to save myself a couple of bucks and buy myself what I thought would be a cheap alternative to a high-end scanner. I ended up paying about twenty dollars (after rebates) for this piece of machinery, and it was, quite frankly, the best money I have ever spent.

My favorite feature of this scanner has got to be the USB; with the hot-swappable USB feature, I don't have to leave the scanner on all day, and it is really convenient for me to move the scanner from my desktop to my laptop, depending on where I want to scan the files from.

Another feature I like is the whole look of the product. It's small, sleek, and extremely light. This makes the product portable enough for me to drag to other people's places so we can go on a "scanfest". I never bothered to check, but sometimes I think that the AC adapter that came with the scanner is heavier than the unit itself

Yet another plus I see is that Agfa is consistently putting updates to its software on its website; which helps us consumers keep on the cutting edge of scanning technology. It's nice to see that they don't let their products atrophy, but it also assures me that they're always on the move for either upgrading or fixing their product lines.

While the quality of the scanner leaves something to be desired, it has successfully passed several of my OCR tests, and is great for scanning in checks and receipts (to keep track of contracting payments and expenses). The utility of the scanner, and the price, far make up for the somewhat lesser quality.

Software is also a sticking point. Looking at the collection that Agfa gave me, I decided just install the basic drivers and whatnot, and stick with Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Acrobat. If you don't have those programs, I'm sure that the ones that came with the scanner suffice; the software itself was probably worth the money you'll pay for the entire scanner.

My ultimate opinion? If you need to do heavy, professional, scanning work, you'll probably need a high quality scanner, and software that'll set you back a couple thousand dollars. But if you're like me, scanning a document once a week, a picture here or there, go with the 1212U. You can't go wrong.



Recommended: No

Amount Paid (US$): 20 ($50 less a $30 rebate)
Interface: USB