HIS FACE WAS DARK AND CRACKED, BUT I DIDN'T WORRY
Written: Dec 13 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: lets you works wonders with photographs, easy to use, gives you many options
Cons: none found
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| Donnie013's Full Review: AcerScan Prisa 320P Flatbed Scanner |
I guess we all think our parents will live forever. The thought of them leaving us never seems to enter our minds until the day finally happens. Then we are devastated. That devastation continues as we go through old photographs and sadly realize, "What a lousy photographer I am! The picture is SO dark!", or maybe it's just so old, it has cracked down the middle of our loved one's face - or maybe the beloved photo belongs to someone else you just want a copy for which there is no negative.
All of the above (and more) was what I faced the year my dad died. I picked up a small, cheap roller-type scanner. It was a nightmare. All it did was distort photographs and only scan in black and white. A few years later, my son and his lovely wife took pity on my plight and surprised me on my birthday with a new flatbed scanner.
The fist thing I found that I like about this flatbed is that it did NOT distort the scanned image like my roller model did. I found out that by using this scanner, things only got better. Much better!
When I first started using this wonderful instrument, being a complete novice to all its capabilities, I performed just the basics. Scan and print. But, the more I used it, the more I learned what it could do.
I found an old photograph of my dad with my sons. They were only 7 and 8 years old at the time. The year was 1974. It was the only photograph I could find with both my sons and my father. I knew they would love to have copies. My dilemma what that the photo was so small and dark, you could barely see their faces. I decided to try my hand at "scanning" for a better copy.
My Acer not only enhanced the "brightness" quality of the picture (you now could actually see that my dad had his arms around my sons and they were smiling and not fading into the background) but I was able to enlarge the photo without ruining the pixel quality. (The scanner can adjust for various pixel output). I was truly amazed. His face was no longer dark and cracked. It was bright and clear!
This was my turning point. I began using my scanner more often for a variety of projects. Scanning and lightening an old wedding photo of my sister-in-law (the photo was 30 years old), I transferred the scanned photo onto card paper and made a unique 30th Anniversary Wedding card. Jeri and John loved it! I was now on a roll.
After being able to get my through the features of making things lighter, sharper, larger or smaller, I found I could "trim" them to various shapes. I wasn't stuck with just a square photo. Using the oval shape around a photo of my great grandmother's photo, I've created an old-fashioned photo for my table. As you "shape" the photos you can also use the "soft edge" feature that allows the edges of the photo to gently fade away. It's an awesome feature that really makes the finished product look more professional.
Recently, my mom gave me an oil painting that was done of her in 1923. The paint was dried and cracked and had several large chips that had fallen out. She wondered if I could "fix" it. Using my scanner, I was able to lighten the now darkened painting and fill in the cracks and chips, making it look brand new. I did the same with my parents old wedding photographs. I made 8x10s for my mom and then shrunk them down to a 5x7 for my wall.
Okay, so now we know a few things this scanner can do. But, I'm sure every scanner can do them, also. Let me tell you a bit more about mine.
My Acer comes with software that includes, MiraScan, Photo Express, TextBridge Classic and Copier.
MiraScan:::::::::::
MiraScan is the driver program which allows to you actually use the scanner without having to read a bulky manual. Everything about this machine is self-explanatory as you proceed in your task.
Photo Express:::::::::::::
helps you create cards, calendars, screensavers and so much more using its preloaded templates. It holds "photo albums" where you can either use the preloaded pictures or save your own that you have scanned and edited. With this feature, you can import photos directly from your digital camera or video camera. This is where you change the size, trim and form the edges, enhance or reduce the lighting and sharpness, balance your color image and touch up red eye or cracks. You can send these photos by email or fax
TextBridge::::::::::::::::
this is an OCR software by Xerox that enables you to transfer text-based images into editable text files. Basically what that means is that you can scan documents for re-editing without having to retype them.
Copier::::::::::
lets you use your scanner and printer like copy machines.
The scanning feature lets you select the type of scanning you need for your projects. You have a choice between Color (for color pictures), Gray (for black and white) and Line-Art (for documents).
Other scanning options include:
High speed or high quality scanning
Resolution (anywhere from 75dpi to 9600 dpi - or you could just customize your work)
Scaling (sets the horizontal and vertical scaling of the scanned pictures)
Filter (sharpens and de-blurs images)
DeScreen (this is used for images printed out by half-toning or dithering. Not using this process, the scanned imaged will gain a moire effect)
Once you finally scan your picture, you can resize them, flip them or rotate them. You can even "flip" them in the reverse position by using the "transform" button located on the browser.
This scanner offers you several type "image" modes for saving your photos: GIF, BMP, JPG, TIP and much more.
For those who just like to have fun using special effects with their photos, you can "play" using the effects like "morphing", swirling, rippling, rain drops, etc.
One thing I must mention before I forget. This scanner can be used with either SCSI or Parallel Port interfaces.
I can't believe all the things I have been able to do using my Acer scanner. This one one of the greatest gifts I have ever received. And the most ironic part about receiving this gift is all the wonderful gifts I can now give in return.
It's a magnificent machine that, in my opinion, no one should be without.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
Donnie013
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 - Top 200 |
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Member: Margaret Brennan
Location: Punta Gorda Isles, FL
Reviews written: 453
Trusted by: 288 members
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