ScanExpress A3 USB Digital Scanner Tabloid Sized Scanner with Powerful USB Connection

User Reviews about Mustek Scan Express A3 1200 Pro USB Large Format Scanner

I purchased this scanner about 3 years ago, and it has lasted me since, survived 5 moves (none of them kind), 3 different computers (ditto), and while the glass appears to have colored a little it shows no damage to the final scan qualities. This is impressive for an electronic item bought solely on it's price point.
Like all things it has positive and negative aspects, but I cannot stress strongly enough that it is a great scanner at a reasonable price that just happens to have some quirks that you will become accustomed to working around. Getting used to it isn't about a learning curve so much as just experiencing what it can and can't do and going from there.
It does continue to beat the pants off or scanning small segments and piecing them together digitally...and the PRICE...it is good!


In Depth:
While the bed of the scanner is bulky like an early model home flatbed scanner, the top is relatively slim and light, which I know was not the case with some of the other A3 size models available at the time I purchased this, I like that it doesn't have a bulky hinge or arm on the lid. For the size it has a relatively compact footprint, and can fit on a standard table if not your desk, and could certainly fit on a side/end table. It is a bit annoying that the model I purchased has a black lining on the lid so if you want to scan something semi transparent, back it with a white cloth or pieces of paper. The noise is a bit off putting the first time you use it, once again like the scanners of yesteryear, but it is sort of nice to know it is done from across the room when the sound changes. Yes it is slow...it functions like an old school scanner, but it will function. Did I mention it was loud yet? Yeah I did, and it is...

The maximum resolution I seem to actually be able to get out of it is 301.24 dpi, which is not terrible, and if you do any sizing before sampling down to minimum print resolution I see no problems in my black and white line art. I don't make a habit of resizing final color art work so no comment there. I recommend scanning on color settings at all times for best resolution and clarity, I was not impressed with the black and white setting, but have never tried the grayscale.

It was not terribly hard to install on windows XP, but do not expect it to function with plug and play. You will be installing it for a while and you will have to enable, if not use, the bear claw direct scan tool box. You will need patience and good trouble shooting skills, but the only real errors on install will be selecting or hunting down proper drivers for your OS. If you upgrade to a new version of your photo editing software of choice once you have this installed you may want to consider reinstalling the scanner as it won't update it's program association automatically (from photoshop 7 to CS1). You may also run into a problem on CS3, where attempting to import directly from the scanner will cause the program to quit, I have this issue randomly and cannot resolve it, but the scan interface included is simple and easy and will just save a .bmp file to your folder of choice to open at your pleasure. I do this as the default choice now.

The real issues I have with the scanner are first that from the beginning it omitted areas of image in about the 1/6" area toward the front lip of the scan bed. Not such a big problem for comic pages where you have a bleed or margin area, but I have had to scan some text documents multiple times if the page slips into this area while closing the lid on it. The second is that it can only scan between 27-32 different things, before needing to reset it's program and/or your computer, I thought that it was the fault of my first computer (rather old) but the problem has persisted on my newer models...it is just something you have to live with, but it is annoying that it doesn't keep up on large orders, as it were.




All that said, I really love the scanner, despite some of the annoyances it does reduce the time of scanning large items to a fraction of what it once was, and if used as a combination with other tools is an invaluable resource. Frankly it is hard to imagine living without it at this point. For the price I'd buy it again...but I don't have to since it has out lasted two computers so far. -- Can't Beat it for the Price

For anyone, artist or otherwise, that needs a (nearly) 11x17 flatbed scanner but isn't willing to pay a ton of money, this is the way to go. -- Great for the price

This scanner is easy to connect to any computer, but, for what I bought it for, the software isn't exactly intuitive. It didn't take too long to figure it out, but it did take longer to find several of the functions/features than I thought it should have. However, its made well, and once I found all the functions I needed it worked well! -- Could be improved but works well