Mustek Bearpaw 1200 Scanner

This is my first scanner, so I haven't much to compare it to. I picked it up to use mostly for scanning items to sell on eBay.The resolution, in my opinion, has been great. I've been using the default resolution setting (which isn't the highest) and the scanner has been producing images with file sizes up to 5 megs. More than enough for eBay images! It also came with OCR (optical character recognition) software that will supposedly scan a text document and convert it into a Word/Notes document. I've yet to use this, but seem to recall another reviewer saying that it wasn't working as advertised.The scanner could be smaller. I've seen a Canon unit that was about half as thick as the BearPaw. And I always hate it when a product, whether software or hardware, alters or adds programs that aren't necessary for running the product. Especially my 'startup' folder. In the case of this scanner, it added another copy of Adobe Acrobat Reader 4.0 into a different directory than C:\program files\adobe. So I had two copies of the Reader program and uninstalled one of them. I hope that didn't mess up the OCR software program since I haven't tested it yet. And the Photo Express program that it comes with will start automatically whenever you scan something. This became annoying since I feel more comfortable using Photoshop for image editing. Total programs uninstalled: 2.Overall, I would recommend this scanner for someone looking for an entry level unit. It should suffice for most duties and then some. And the price is right. Just be sure to go the manufacturer's site and download the latest drivers. The packaged ones didn't work for my system (AMD K6-2 proc. running W98). Hope this helps.

Scanner was pretty easy to set up, but we had some trouble with it crashing our operating system (MS Windows), so I had to email Mustek to get a fix. They were quick with a reply, that took care of the problem, but it is always frustrating when these things don't work perfectly when you get them.My other complaint is that the scanner only works with the programs that you need to install for the scanner -- and they aren't the popular programs that you already have installed, so you need to have more clutter on your desktop and need to remember what directories you have your files stored in.On the positive side, the scanner now works very well -- is easy to make adjustments to images, and the quality is half decent.All in all, it was an OK purchase, and we probably 'got what we paid for'.It is a good 'first scanner' for people who want to dabble with scanning and image manipulation.

Used it extensively until the day it broke. No longer produced, but I am able to continue using the editing software that is much simpler and to the point than some of the other stuff on the market.

I bought this as a gift for my fiance's X-mas Gift(he is a computer technician) and he somewhat liked it but hated the fact that it was hard to change the language from french to english and get it to set up. So far he has only used it once because it takes up so much space on his computer but overall it is ok

This is a "decent" scanner for the beginner. I am no "D" person, meaning I am NOT of this digital generation, it took me only about 20 minuted to instal both the drivers and the Hardware. The USB port is the greatest.They also provide you with the power outlet.The software is extremely weak, to say the least. As we all know, your system is as good as your software. Their Tech support does not have an 800# and their web page is no help. This should not be the only scanner in the house or office.

I have to admit, my uses for a flatbed scanner are limited, but what a marvelous piece this is! It operates flawlessly, the software is easy to use (it has to be because the manual is almost useless) and the quality of the scans is great. I compared the quality of pictures that I scanned with the Bearpaw and the quality of the same picture scanned through my H/P Photo Smart scanner and it's tough to tell them apart. The difference is not having the editing capabilities in the Bearpaw that are in the H/P. But that doesn't matter to me, since I didn't get this scanner for scanning pictures. I got this scanner mainly just because I wanted a flatbed scanner. It was about the only piece of hardware I didn't have connected to my computer. I use it mostly for scanning pictures that are too large to fit into the H/P and for scanning documents into Word or Excel and here's where the problem lies. The Text Bridge and OCR software that comes bundled with the scanner leaves a lot to be desired. The Text Bridge program is basically a trial version and isn't very accurate. It fails to recognize a lot of the text, so a lot of time is spent fixing the document once it's scanned. That promted me to install Pagis Pro which has a full version of Text Bridge on it (along with some other applications). That was to no avail as well. The scanner wouldn't scan a document at all..text, picture, or anything else. So I then downloaded a differnet driver for the scanner from Mustek which made the scanner work in the Text Bridge function, but the image functions disappeared. So after uninstalling EVERYTHING, I started over with reinstalling the scanner software and Text Bridge Pro (not the Pagis version with all the other fluff). Now everything works and I'm a happy camper!For the money, this baby's a great buy. Scanning times are relatively fast, you can fax, copy, and e-mail right from the scanner using the scanner controls. One button operation most of the way. For less than a hudred bucks, this is a super deal.