Scion Reviews

Spent the past 3 days with the N670U scanner and my opinion went from loving it (first scan looked great) to disliking it (discovered its significant weaknesses) and then back to just liking it (figured for the $82 +S&H, it couldn't be perfect). In the interest of brevity, I'll just summarize with pro's & con's. But first some basic information: This scanner replaced my UMAX 1220U b/c WINXP made the old software obsolete and therefore limited its usefulness. My system is a heavily used COMPAQ PIII 500 MHz with 256 ram, running Windows XP Home.

CONs:

(-) A bit confusing on install as to which CD to use; my unit came with two CDs, one with the ScanGear CS-U driver and software package and one marked "For winxp only". But when I read the documentation, it said you should NOT install that (for winxp only) driver if you wanted all the features of the included regular TWAIN driver and software. The fine print on the winxp cd explains that it's a WIA driver and contains limited features for basic scanning. Right on the scanner box it says designed for winxp, with the logo and everything, so my question is why would anyone want to have only basic, limited features?

(-) LOTS of mainly white, dust-like-looking, specks on the scans, if scanned with default settings and viewed at full size. I guess it might be called "noise". The glass on the platen is perfectly clean, but the scans look as if it was dusty as hell. Later I found a fix that cleans it up pretty well: check the check box on the first driver screen that says something like "use driver to make additional adjustments" and then go to advanced settings where you'll find a "remove dust and scratches" feature that gives you several options: I choose "hard".

(-) I get a "Windows 16 bit subsystem error" each time I start the driver to scan. I get this with some other software too, so maybe it's my computer. In any event, I can click "Ignore" and it proceeds after about a 20-25 second delay.

PROs:

(+) small, lightweight, vertical footprint

(+) whisper quiet

(+) usb for power

(+) fairly fast scanning (after the delay mentioned above); not including the delay-which is probably my computer issue-I can scan a 5x7 photo at 600 dpi with the dust/scratch removal feature on in about a minute and a half, much quicker at lower dpi of course.

(+) no real warm up time needed; scanning with my UMAX was like starting up my old Chevy Nova on a cold winter morning in Wisconsin.

(+) decent color, although sometimes overly saturation of some photos (even using the same original photo, sometimes I have difficulty getting a scan as good as the first time I scanned it which had very natural and even coloration). This can be easily adjusted with any photo app though.

(+) multiphoto scanning is an amazing feature; downside of this is that you can't get the advanced scratch/dust removing option using the multphoto option (at least I haven't figured out how). So, the scans are not the best quality - ok but not great.

(+) nice ScanGear Toolbox interface; pleasing to the eye and basically user-friendly.

(+) buttons on front of unit are assignable and quite convenient.

(+) overall scanning of text (and photos if you don't mind some white specks or using advanced setting) is pretty good.

(+) just tried the OCR and it worked very well; Canon gives you the OmniPage Pro versus a cut-down SE version which would be expected for the price.

(+) it just plain looks good!

So there you have it: the good & the bad. Looks like the thumbs up and thumbs down folks are both partly correct. And CNET's rating of 6 isn't too far off either. I'll be generous, but not as generous as most customer reviewers, and give it a 7. The "noise" (mainly white, dust-like specks) is a fairly big negative and prevents a higher score.

I'm quite pleased with this scanner. It's great for your average daily tasks of scanning documents and once in a while a photo or color magazine. But the scan quality lacks a bit in comparision to other scanners, which may be an issue if you'd like to use it for publishing or photo prints.

Here's a quick summary of the cons and pros I've found:

Pros:
* Thin and lightweight
* Uses one cable for power and communications (USB)
* Very little noise during scanning
* No calibration/warmup required for each scan (only once)
* Fast, if you use the correct settings
* Comes with a stand, allowing you to store AND scan in a vertical position (it's slightly slanted, so documents won't slide out and with the stand comes a strip of velcro to keep the lid shut) - a great space safer!
* Easy to use software, which works great on Windows XP
* Also includes XP drivers, allowing you to use the scanner directly from Explorer
* Crisp colors for photo scans

Cons:
* Always on, causing quite a drain on the USB port or hub (my hub is now getting quite hot)
* 3 buttons do not have lit indicators (so you can tell which button was pressed if you were not paying full attention)
* No "fax" button (directly from scanner to internal faxmodem)
* Scan speed could be better in some instances
* Scan quality is not the best (some scan lines are visible, black is not pure)
* A bit "plasticy" in design; doesn't feel rigid or long lasting

Except for what I have listed above, I have had no immediate issues using the scanner on a WinXP Pro system. The software is easy to use and without flaws. The TWAIN drivers integrate with publishing software as you'd expect. Everything will install fine if you follow the instructions on the incluided pamphlet or manual.

If you use a hub, do make sure it is a self-powered hub (with an AC adapter) and not a hub-powered version. While the power requirements seem to be low, even on my well-known-brand USB hub it seems to pull quite a bit of a load.

Pros: Very small size. Can store vertically with the stand included. Z-lid for bulky scans. Easy to use.

Cons: When looking at the scan on the computer screen sometimes they look horrible, but when printed they look great!! This is the Canon software that is included, not the scanner.

You can't get any better for this price. I wanted an entry level scanner to scan CD covers. This was a perfect choice. I even forgot I have it sometimes because I store is vertically against my monitor so it takes up hardly any space. I love this scanner and it hasn't given me any trouble at all. I love the metallic grey/blue color too!!

I got the NanoScan N656U Scanner thinking that it was the way to go. Not having to worry about another power cord to keep track of and to find a open power socket to plug into. But after installing it on my eMachine that has Windows Me on it, I was able to get it to preview, but when I tried to scan even on the lowest dpi setting of 75 dpi it would freez up the scanning TWAIN program giving me a errar with a code 30e (I think). I was not sure if it was the eMachine or Windows Me which I have grown to hate both for their cheap parts and constant bugs. I called Canon who was helpful. The 30e code means that the scanner is not getting enough power to complete the scan. At the Canon's personale's advice, I tried it on another computer. I found I could scan at up to 180 dpi with the USB cord provided, I got worse resaults with another USB given with another type of hardware, but I did get better results with a brand name USB cord getting up to 300 dpi scans completed successfully. Canon did suggested that if the problem continued that I could contact them again to get a free replacement or other approvable action. I decided to send it back and got a Visioneer 8???? scanner with USB and two parralel ports and a power cord for around [price] and have had no problems.

My first scanner was 5 years old, a UMAX 610?, a loud, bulky, scanner...but it got the job done until it started messing up.

Cannon's scanner that I bought a week ago is slim, SOO QUIET, & feature packed for my needs.

I put in the CD, connected the USB cable (NO POWER CORD NEEDED!!) & my 2 yr old PII 400 mhz Laptop running Win98 found it & loaded everything quickly & easily.

Highly recommended!!!

I got one of these for Optical Character Recognition (OCR).

Setup was easy, but the scans are a bit slow. It does a good job of scanning photos for me.

The OCR output is about 93%+ for most documents. Books with tight bindings are sometimes difficult to scan accurately, but I haven't found any thing that does a better job in these situations. The image quality is very good, so it is generally easy to make out the correct 'reading' when the OCR can't make out the source. The OmniPage OCR is perfect for my purposes.

I had this scanner for a couple years. I thought it worked really good. I used it mainly for scanning pictures, and they were very sharp. Then one day the glass shattered into hundreds of tiny pieces with no apparent explaination.

Never having owned a scanner - and thus having nothing to compare it to - this scanner produces pretty decent results. I've only scanned a corporate brochure and some Boy Scout patches so far, and in both cases I was pleased with the result.

A heads up, though - installation of the software took me over an hour, as I tried to override the defaults and only install the necessary components (for instance, I already have Adobe Acrobat and a graphics editor installed and didn't want a 2nd version of each, etc.) Well, the installer didn't like that and threw a fit, so I had to uninstall everything and start over from scratch. Maybe it's me, maybe it's Canon - who knows.

Incidentally, this was on a PC - I also installed the software on my dad's iMac, and it went on without a hitch.

Once everything was up and running, scanning was very easy to learn and went quickly. I was really surprised at how quiet it was - it only makes noise when doing a "preview" scan (like an electronic whining, sounds sort of like a can opener). But when doing the actual, final scan, it's so quiet I was tempted to lift the lid to see if it was actually doing anything!

Scans look pretty good, but you need to do some trial and error with the settings to maximize the sharpness. No manual comes with this scanner - all documentation is on the installation CD-ROM.

This is my second scanner from Canon. I owned the first Canoscan that came out a few years ago, and it served me very faithfully. Upon upgrading my system, I felt the need to get a new scanner with USB. I came back to the Canoscan models.

This unit was incredibly easy to install (both hardware and software). The USB plug acts as both a port connector and a power cord! The unit is very slim and compact, takes up hardly any desk space. The software pack comes with a limited edition of Adobe PhotoShop 5.0-- for those of you who do not know, Photoshop is a professional photo editing package.

All in all, a very nice scanner package. 42 bit color and great 600 by 1200 DPI. Also, the scanner has the ability to scan items up to 1" thick-- like books.

The scanning is easy, you can open the software or you can use the 'one touch' button on the scanner. There are different settings, so you can customize what the scanner does when the one-touch button is used-- copying, faxing, scanning, etc. The scans are crisp, and the USB is much faster that traditional parallel port scanners. (I speak from experience)

Most people consider this an 'entry-level' scanner, but IMO, unless you're scanning satellite photos and trying to find the missle silos (haha)-- this is the scanner for you.

If you ARE looking for something with a little more *bang*, I also recommend the CanoScan N1220U- same size, same software, but higher DPI and a sleek metal casing. (costs more!)

This scanner can't be beat, in terms of features, price, and quality. I'm not a graphic designer, but the quality of the scans is -far- better than what I've seen from my previous scanner (the infamous Umax Astra). It's faster, it's much more compact (I keep mine stored vertically behind my LCD monitor), and the fact that it's USB-powered is a plus, not a minus, in my opinion.

What Canon doesn't capitalize on is the -software- that's bundled with this unit, even though the software is its best feature. You have to look closely at the specs for this model and the Canon N670U to see that for the extra $100, you get not only higher resolution, but a full copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. If you've ever used Photoshop LE, it's hard to imagine how much better Elements is. It can even scan multiple images on the scanning bed; it figures out where the picture boundaries are and creates a separate working copy for each. This is an incredible time-saver.

My only gripe with this scanner is that it doesn't come with OS X versions of the software, but that may be less Canon's fault than that of its software vendors (Adobe is particularly sluggish in this regard).

I've recommended this scanner to almost everyone that I know. Throw out that Umax and get this!

This wonderful piece of technology really makes life easier! You can install it on your PC in a couple of minutes simply by following the instructions. It comes with a photo-editing software that you can use without consulting a manual. The digital pictures are crisp and the colors are nothing but stunning. The software makes it easy to scan photos at a high resolution and save them as files with a lower resolution if you want to email them to friends and relatives, or upload them onto your webpage.

If you are an old-fashioned photographer who is not yet fully convinced of the quality of digital photos, but you nevertheless want to use the internet to send photos, this scanner is an excellent choice.

Just got this scanner. It is simply amazing. The best scanner I have ever tested. It is very fast, has only a USB connection (no extra cables), and is very light. The setup is very simple and it was up and running in 10 minutes (after software installation). No problems whatsoever. The software that comes with it is very simple to use. Adobe Photoshop Elements comes bundled with it, which is a very very good program... In comparison to other scanners, like those heavy duty Umax and Epson scanners, this Canon scanner beats them all. It is faster, lighter (has the option of keeping it vertical to save desk space), and comes with better software.

I have tried to scan in pictures, text, graphs, forms, etc. It works perfectly. It has also this wonderful option, called OCR, which allows you to scan in a text document and edit it in MS Word. The 3 buttons on the scanner can be adjusted to your needs so if you are always scanning in high quality pictures you can select which button to use for that. The standard setting is scan for saving, scan for printing, and scan for email.

The best thing about this scanner in my opinion is how fast it is. The scanners I have been using, Epson and Umax (brand new scanners in my university) are very slow compared to this one.

I have it connected to a HP pavilion with windows 98SE and it works fine. I was told that it could be resource intensive since it gets the electricity through the USB connection, but I have used it with as many as 6 programs open and it works fine. In fact my computer has never crashed using the scanner...although it has often crashed.

Would recommend this scanner to everyone

Since buying this nice looking piece when it first came out, I have actually NEVER had it working properly under Windows 2000. It has limped along, and at times I have found ways to work around it's consistently inconsistent behavior. When it works, as one reviewer said, it is a rather nice scanner to use BUT that is the trick.... get it to function first. Every so often, after a relatively smooth spell, I get the error saying that it is unable to find or open the TWAIN source. To this problem, there seems to be NO definite solution. I am a tweaker.... everything IS installed properly and up to date. The Canon website is NO HELP. I'll un-install and re-install, as recommended, and will get the same error for hours on end, more re-installs, USB re-installs, all related software un/re-installed, registry cleaning, etc... NOTHING works! Some time ago, while still under warranty, Canon tech support, having exhausted all possibilities, decided it was a "rare flawed hardware" problem.... so they sent me a new N1220U scanner in exchange... ha! I got the same errors with the new one until it finally worked after more tedious tweakings by me... alone. How it was resolved is still a mystery to me. It worked OK, for a little while... about a year. It scanned well that is until, as is the case now... I simply have to walk away. The dreaded TWAIN error has appeared out of nowhere again and I am simply tired of trying to fix it. I will NEVER again buy another Canon product out of principle. I will gladly throw this piece of junk away after crushing it in my bare hands later on this week.
My recommendation: Buy yourself a different scanner! ANYTHING would be better than this! If I could rate this with 1/2 a star, I would.

This scanner is absolutely unbelievable. When it came out of the box, I was surprised to see that it really is just slightly larger than a pad of paper. Following the very simple directions, I plugged it into my USB port, ran the included software CD, and that was it - I was up and scanning in maybe 10 minutes!

The scans themselves look terrific, even at 75 dpi. When I scanned one picture at the maximum resolution (1,200 x 2,400 dpi) just to see what it would look like, it almost came out too well - it picked up my fingerprint and an eyelash on the glass!

With limited space on the computer desk, I especially like the stand that comes with this scanner, allowing you to store (and to actually scan with) the unit on its side, like a thin paperback book on your shelf. The software that comes with it is excellent as well - it includes Adobe Photoshop 5.0 Limited Edition, Omni Page Pro (for optical character recognition, to turn your scanned documents into text files for use in your word processor), and Photo Studio. All work seamlessly with the scanner, popping up automatically just when you need them.

Other great features about this scanner include the fact that it does not need its own power source (it gets its power from the USB plug), and that the lid is hinged in such a way as to allow you to scan thicker objects and books. The price is terrific too, being a good bit lower than that of many other bulky scanners offering much less resolution.

A few days ago I did have to call the Canon Customer Service number once, at midnight (I was surprised to hear a real human answer the phone). A nice Customer Service rep helped me very quickly. He didn't even laugh when I discovered that my problem was that I had accidentally knocked loose the USB plug connecting the scanner to the computer! (Uh, must've been the cat....) :)

It is a very nice surprise in this day and age when you feel that you actually get more than you pay for. Thank you Canon!

I thoroughly researched scanners before I selected the CanoScan N122OU. Several brands and models included the high resolution output which I need for my photography hobby work, but the deciding factors for this model for me were:

1) It is very thin and lightweight -- PLUS it stores vertically on my desk.
(My older scanner was heavy, big, and took up LOTS of room.)
2) I had confidence in the Canon brand - and still do.

Having made the choice, I have had no regrets. It has been easy to set up and use (I can even use it while it is in its vertical position - quite a handy feature that I didn't realize it offered when I was making my selection.)

I am pleased and would recommend this to anyone needing a high quality, easy-to-use and easy-to-store scanner.

After reading other folks' reviews on scanners and seeing all the problems they had with cheap ones, I decided to spend a bit more for something better. It was a good decision: the CanoScan D1250U2F has exceeded my expectations.

Software and hardware installation was straight forward, and the documentation is clear and simple. An important factor in my decision to buy the Canon was its inclusion of Adobe Photoshop Elements -- it is very intuitive software, powerful, and it interfaces well with the scanner.

Color rendition is excellent, and scanned photos appear well-balanced and clean. On my computer (running Windows XP, 1.8GHz, 384MB RAM) scanning at moderate resolutions is reasonably quick and downloads are prompt, even though I'm running with the USB 1.1 driver and not 2.0. Scanning a 3x5 photo at 600DPI takes about 15-20 seconds, maybe 10-15 seconds at 300DPI. A lot of that time is the scanner "adjusting the lamp" before the actual scan.

The film and slide scanning apparatus is easy to use and produces passable results. The images can be contrasty and the colors somewhat subdued, but in this price range I don't expect professional slide scanning. At 2400DPI it makes an image fairly close to the resolution of the film and is certainly good enough for most email-the-photo and web publishing applications.

The scanner also comes with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which works, although I did not find it intuitive. Also, the OCR software makes some bizarre decisions, especially concerning spelling correction, and seems eager to take control of the scanner, initiating scans at unexpected times.

Aside from the puzzling OCR software, if I wanted to be nit-picky I'd say the lid hinges are a bit flimsy, and the buttons on the front of the scanner are pointless. In my opinion it would be a better product if they removed the buttons from the front and put a power switch on the back. But that's all just nits... The scanner does a great job overall.

After returning from vacation, I wanted to scan some pictures to send to my family, but I discovered my old HP scanner had finally died. Without doing a lot of research (something I usually take pride in) I bought this scanner and have been very impressed. In less than 10 minutes I had this baby up and running. I have a 1ghz processor, 512 megs of Ram and USB 2.0. This puppy is working like a champ.

I found the software exceptionally easy to use, but I bypass most of it and use the Adobe Elements (which is included). I was already familiar with Photoshop, so this turned out to be the quickest and most convenient way of doing business. The other programs have a lot of bells and whistles, but I'm afraid they're really wasted on me with the exception of the OCR and the film scanning functions. To the reviewer that complained about the "crippling software" problems, here's what I suggest: go to page 12 in the Quick Start Guide and follow the instructions for scanning photos with the Adobe program. I think you'll find this much easier than pushing buttons or messing with any of the other software.

Anyway, this is a fine scanner at a great price. This thing is a monster compared to my five-year-old, bulky HP and I paid less for it. My photos have turned out beautifully at various sizes. Since I post most of my pics on the web, quality compression is a major factor and even the 75dpi pictures look vibrant and clear. Advanced users will be able to get a lot more out of it than I will, but entry level users with a little patience will also be satisfied. I know I am.

This is my second Canon Scanner, The other one was the little skinny one, I dont remember the model number, lasted for years and gave me excellent service.
Bought the 1250U2F today, had it set up in notime, tried the first scan, was not so great, realized I was scanning a photo at 75 DPI, corrected this, results, typically Canon,excellent.
The setup looked a bit glitchy, I was warned by Win. XP home there was something on this device with a logo problem and that if I continued the world could come to an end, I continued, I was then warned that this was a USB 2 scanner and it will not work with, USB 1, I continued, finished, started scanning, not a glitch, all is well. Have not tried to scan film or slides, will do that during the week, this is a very neat scanner, I couldnt be more pleased.
I did notice that on some of the reviews, some people thought that competitive machines were faster, they probably are, but, this one works so well, a few more seconds makes no difference.
I am a totally pleased customer

I bought this printer because I travel a lot. The first time I used it, it printed only half a page. After repeated requests for help, I got it to print --- quit working almost exactly to the date that the warranty ran out. Canon not helpful at all. I am looking for another portable printer but it will not be a Canon.

I am in search of a handy printer which has a print quality and speed like laserjet printer to print only four lines on a bankers cheque.I found this product while browsing but do not know about it.Does this is worth for printing cheques ?

This is a great little printer. It is a little slow but its quality is great. It is quite small and compact, perfect for a traveling business man. All in all this is a great printer.

On the go, I frequently need to print out documents, be it invoices, reciepts, e-mails, etc etc so I decided to purchase this product. Words cannot describe my feelings toward it, I use it soo much with the laptops I don't know how I lived without one before. Installation on Windows 2k, and ME was flawless, both using the Fast IrDA.

The printer is just the perfect size to slide in to my briefcase, and adds little weight. It's battery operation is really what caught my eye, it says you can print about 100 pages with a full charge, but I think its a bit less than that. However, the battery takes little time to charge.

I was not aware it would come with as much ink as it did, came with 2 color cartidges, 1 black (small), and 1 black (large), as well as two trays that they are held in. The Fast IrDA is such a fabulous thing, wireless printing all the way. I decided to purchase a USB cable, its much easier some times using the cable then the IrDA (Infared) port. The quality of the documents is fantastic, matching (and beating!) my desktop printers at home. The speed is good, considering this is a portable printer. The only real drawback is that it is a single sheet feed printer, unless you buy the paper loader, which I will surely do! This is THE BEST portable printer I've found on the market, it is well worth the money.

This is a small update, I've been using the printer for about 5 months now, and everything has gone smoothly. I purchased the auto-sheet feeder from Canon (directly, from their web site) and it performs just like a normal desktop printer would! I'm still loving it.

I needed a printer to go with my Notebook and this one filled the bill. It isn't cheap but you seem to get what you pay for. When at home, adding the Auto Sheet Feeder makes it as convenient as a stationary printer but with a smaller footprint. Highly recommend this one for the Notebook users.

I JUST BOUGHT THIS PRINTER FOR MY LAPTOP.
IT WAS VERY EASY TO INSTALL AND EASY TO WORK WITH. THE PRINTING IS GREAT, AND QUICK FOR A BUBBLE JET. THE COLOR IS VERY GOOD.