24 bits and what do you get? Eight affordable color scanners for PCs and Macs

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.

Computer peripheral equipment, not elsewhere classified, Product/Service Evaluation, Color, Image scanners, UMAX Technologies Inc., Epson America Inc., buyers guide, Everex Systems Inc. Abaton Div., Howtek Inc., Microtek Lab Inc., La Cie Ltd., HTK, Image Scanner, EVRX, Top Rating, Product evaluation, Advanced Vision Research Inc., Prime Option Inc., Abaton Scan 300/Color (Scanning device), Advanced Vision Research AVR 3000/CL Plus (Scanning device), Epson ES-300C (Scanning device), La Cie Silverscanner (Flatbed color scanner), Microtek Lab ScanMaker 600Z (Scanning device), Microtek Lab ScanMaker 600ZS (Scanning device), Prime Option Phovos-300C (Scanning device), UMAX Technologies UC300 (Scanning device), Howtek Personal Color Scanner (scanning device)

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The PC page layout personality profile quiz

Article Abstract:

Questions relating to hardware, type of document, working style, frequency of publication, technical savvy, typographical precision, editing text, fonts, editing graphics, color, graphics file formats, networked workgroup, add-on utilities and file exchange are addressed to help users choose between Aldus PageMaker and Xerox Ventura Publisher page layout programs. Aldus Corp's $795 PageMaker requires an IBM PC AT or compatible, DOS 3.1 or later and 640Kbytes of RAM. PageMaker is easy to use, is best for short documents with varying design elements and simulates a designer's drawing table, allowing users to 'paste up' each page. Xerox's $895 Ventura Publisher and its $595 Professional Extension require an IBM PC/XT or AT, DOS 2.1 or later and 640Kbytes of RAM. The more difficult Ventura, geared toward automated production with user-specified design formats, is best for long documents.

Prepackaged software, Usage, Xerox Corp., XRX, Design, Computer graphics, Layout, User Survey, Aldus Corp., Ventura Publisher (DTP software), Aldus PageMaker (DTP software), ALDC

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Plug and play: Dream or reality?

Article Abstract:

Six "plug-and-play" desktop publishing turnkey systems are reviewed for under $10,000: Cordata's Intellipress; Hewlett-Packard's HP Vectra Publisher; AST Research's AST Premium Publisher; Avnet's ACTI 4-5-6; Kaypro's Extra Extra; and Canon's Express Desktop Publisher. Manufacturers use the term "plug-and-play" differently. Every turnkey system evaluated provides an IBM PC AT-compatible computer; a monochrome EGA-compatible monitor; and a mouse. The Hewlett-Packard HP Vectra Publisher is the only system that does not include a laser printer. Avnet's $9,456 ACTI 4-5-6 receives the highest rating, because of its price and booting ease. The major criterion when testing these systems was time required to set up (from unpacking of boxes to viewing the first screen).

Computers, peripherals & software, Hewlett-Packard Co., HWP, Avnet Inc., AVT, Canon Inc., CAN, Computer Systems, evaluation, Turnkey System, AST Research Inc., Cordata Technologies Inc., Kaypro Corp., KPRO, ASTA, Cordata Technologies Intellipress (Computer), HP Vectra Publisher (Computer apparatus), Avnet ACTI 4-5-6 (Computer apparatus), Kaypro Extra Extra KDTPD-286 (Computer apparatus), AST Research Premium Publisher (Turnkey system), Canon Express Desktop Publisher (Computer apparatus)

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