Article Abstract:
A review and comparison of eight color flatbed scanners under $2,600 for Macintosh and IBM PC-compatible microcomputers concludes that Microtek Lab Inc's $1,995 ScanMaker 600Z for the IBM PC and $2,195 600ZS for the Macintosh are the outstanding units. The scanners reviewed featured 24 bits per pixel for a maximum of 16.8 million displayable colors, either one-pass or three-pass (once for each primary color) scanning, 8.5-by-11.7-to-14-inch scanning area, 300-dots-per-inch (dpi) resolution and SCSI, parallel and/or serial ports depending upon the host computer. Evaluations were heavily weighted for image quality and the type and number of controls provided by the scanning software. The Microtek scanners provided outstanding image quality in terms of color and definition and claims 600-dpi scanning resolution. The other reviewed scanners are Abaton's Scan 300/Color, Advanced Vision Research Inc's AVR 3000/CL Plus, Epson America Inc's ES-300C, Howtek Inc's Personal Color Scanner, La Cie Ltd's Silverscanner, Prime Option Inc's Phovos 300C and UMAX Technologies Inc's UC300.
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Article Abstract:
Representative models of low-cost color printers priced between $3,000 and $6,000 are tested. The printers use three different printing technologies. The thermal wax printers use wax ribbons and a heated printhead that melts the wax onto the paper. Inkjet technology printers spread ink of different colors through tiny holes onto the paper. Printers based on bubble-jet technology squirt tiny bubbles of ink onto the paper. Such low-priced printers make tradeoffs with regard to speed, memory, networking capability and Postscript capability. Each type of printer produces output of a different quality. Wax transfer output is preferred by most users, since the colors are deep, rich and glossy. The cost per page is high for wax transfer printers. Inkjet and bubble-jet printers use only the amount of ink they need per page, but their output is typically more dull than that of wax transfer printers.
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Article Abstract:
Six low-cost, easy-to-use PostScript laser printers are evaluated. Hardware That Fits' $1,995 RealTech Laser printer received the highest rating - four and a half stars - of the printers evaluated. The efficiency of RealTech's design matched its high performance. It was the fastest of printers tested and the output it delivered was impeccable. Microtek Lab Inc's $1,995 TrueLaser MTP-306, four stars, boasts 'almost frightening' speed and performed well across in all tests. Its image quality was very good, though a bit dark, and full-page halftone and PostScript illustrations were nearly as smooth as RealTech's. The Printer Works' $1,295 LX-29000, four stars, is the cheapest printer of the bunch but prints the cleanest text and sharp, smooth graphics. Other printers evaluated include Abaton/Everex Systems' $1,995 LaserScript, Okidata's $1,999 OL830 PS and GCC Technologies' $1,599 BLP Elite.
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