Acer PrisaScan 1240UT

The AcerScan Prisa 620UT (see Labs, issue 66, p124) impressed us with its all-round quality and competitive price, scooping an Honourable Mention award in our Labs group test. However, in terms of high-end features and performance, we've yet to see anything near the value of the Epson Perfection 1200PHOTO (see Labs, issue 66, p128), which has dominated our A List for over a year. But Acer's PrisaScan 1240UT boasts 1,200ppi optical resolution, a transparency adaptor and professional looks to match, so it will be interesting to see if the extra cash is worth it.

The USB interface made for easy installation, as did the above-average adaptor cable length. However, the supplied Ulead PhotoExpress 3 SE is a predefined action program, which will frustrate more experienced users. Comparatively, the Epson comes with Adobe Photoshop 5 LE, which is worth considering if you don't have a high-end photo-editing package. That said, the MiraScan TWAIN software offers some advanced features if you look behind the icons.

With the Acer's 1,200ppi optical resolution, we expected some great results and we weren't disappointed. The overall score of 1.12 is not only better than the Epson's 1.09, but it's also not far off the highest score of 1.16 from the Canon CanoScan FB1210U (reviewed issue 71, p178). It was the colour accuracy tests, however, that really brought out the Acer's true colours, with our lowest error rate yet at 1.98. This was far below the previous record of 3.13 from the Agfa SnapScan Touch (see Labs, issue 66, p126). However, it's worth noting that while some colours recorded an almost perfect Labs value, red and blue hues tended to appear darker than they should have, although still more accurate than the majority of the competition.

The signal-to-noise ratio tests were slightly less impressive, but we've been spoiled recently by the stunning results from the Canon CanoScan FB1210U. The Acer's ratio of 76.6 is still above most of the competition, and would have been fifth if featured in our issue 66 Labs.

Amazingly, for the price, a transparency lid is included - though the build quality is questionable, with rigid, plastic catches that may fray or break in time. The unit's results were superb, though, and lacked the problem of dark shadowing evident in normal scans. With the Acer's fantastic optical density rating of 2.8D, transparencies were bright without being over saturated and colour scans were highly detailed.

Unfortunately, though, this isn't the speediest scanner we've tested. A full-size A4 scan took 17 minutes, 40 seconds at its full optical resolution, and an 8 x 10in colour photo similarly took 13 minutes to scan.

Overall, the PrisaScan 1240UT is another impressive offering from Acer, demonstrating amazing performance without compromising on features or price. The only issues are speed and the slightly frivolous software bundle, and these are forgivable considering its price of £170. This is £39 less than the Epson Perfection 1200PHOTO, which it out-performed in terms of resolution and colour accuracy. With a transparency unit as well, the Acer packs in more than most with great performance at a good price.

Author: Kenneth Henry