Overall, a very disappointing scanner.
Written: Nov 05 '03 (Updated Nov 18 '04)
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Pros: Relatively good quality scans.
Reasonable speed.
Software easy enough to use.
Cons: Too big in size for scannable area.
Crashes frequently, crashing entire computer.
Flimsy lid.
The Bottom Line: Don't buy this scanner. UMAX has made it uncomfortable to use and frustratingly deceptive. Would you want something on your desk that takes up more than twice the necessary space?
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| boingo82's Full Review: Umax PowerLook 1120 Flatbed Scanner |
After my Microtek scanner at work died, my boss purchased for me the UMAX PowerLook 1120. I hate it. Why?
For starters, the scanner takes up more than 2x the space of the scannable area - in other words you have a 13.2" x 21.3" scanner on your desk taking up 281 square inches of space, BUT the scannable area is only 8.5"x11.7" - only 99.45 square inches.
The scanning glass is significantly larger than scannable area, which is deceptive. The glass is 10"x14", but only 8.5"x11.7" is usable. In other words you carefully arrange a bunch of photos on the glass for a batch scan, only to hit "Preview" and find out that many are off the scannable area. This was SUCH a big problem that I taped off the non-useable scanning glass.
The scanning light rests under a clear glass area when not in use, potentially blinding the user. I had to tape off this portion too, because every time I opened the lid to place or remove photos, I suffered retina damage.
I do not scan very much, but the scanner still crashes my computer more than it ought to. Usually the computer is totally frozen where not even "Force Quit" works and I have to restart.
Even when it does not crash, it frequently produces corrupted image data. More than 10 scans now have been corrupted. Now, this is not very many out of a total of more than 1000 scans, but it's very inconvenient to batch-scan a bunch of photos, and then open up the files to find out that on some photos the scanner threw in some "garbage" info and misaligned the R, G, and B channels. Then I have to dig up the photos again and rescan them.
Not enough zoom levels on scanning software. This is a bother, but not a big bother. What I mean by this is you can either view the scan preview at 1:2, where it takes up a small fraction of the screen, or you can view it at 1:1 or higher, where it goes clear off the screen and you have to scroll to view all the scannable area. WHERE is my "fit to screen" option???
The scanner lid is very flimsy feeling and has sharp edges and the underside of the plastic showing. Hard to describe but it looks CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP.
In addition the scanner is already starting to do the same thing that made us throw out the Microtek. Gradually the scanned images are getting darker and darker and redder and redder in comparison to the originals. This is apparently a sign of the CCD going out. Considering the scanner is only about 3 months old this is truly pathetic.
I can't comment on the value: price since I didn't pay for it. I can say with conviction that I liked the Microtek scanner much better and it was a cheapo home-use, not a professional use scanner.
The scanning software was relatively easy for me to figure out, but I am not an amateur. It offers options for scanning mode (RGB, CMYK, Grayscale, Lineart, etc. There are some others but they're always "grayed out" and therefore unusable.) It offers resolutions so high that chances are you will realize that the stuff you're scanning is junk. 4000 dpi is great, but how often do you scan something high-quality where you can actually use that resolution?
It also offers Descreen settings, and color correction settings.
My favorite thing about this scanner is that it allows you to "batch scan" or "multiple scan". With batch scan mode it calibrates once and then scans all the separate scan jobs, fast. With multiple scan, it calibrates once for each scan and is slower.
In summary, the scan quality with this scanner is good but fading fast. The software is overall pretty good. The scanner is deceptive in size, and in my opinion, is awkward to use because of the scan bed and the awful light that's always on, combined with the flimsy, cheap lid.
I will put up with this scanner at work but I would NEVER buy it at home and would NEVER recommend it to anyone.
Update:
After around a year and a half of using this scanner, I've come to update.
The errors have pretty much stopped.
The "Umax powerlook 1120" logo on the front keeps peeling up, it doesn't stick like it should.
I discovered a new annoying "feature" tonight. If you accidentally hit "escape" in the scan software, it quits out. And the scan job you have just set up (with 15+ photos) is GONE and you have to set up the whole scan AGAIN and type in all the stupid filenames AGAIN. Whoo.
I still do not like the scanner.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 700 est.
Interface: USB
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Epinions.com ID:
boingo82
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Reviews written: 5
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