Apple OneScanner - Apple Computer Inc.'s scanning device - Hardware Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, Feb, 1992 by Steve Morgenstern

The Apple OneScanner is run-of-the-mill machinery, but there's plenty of sizzle in the software, Ofoto, available exclusively with this scanner.

You'll find the same set of specifications for the Apple scanner as you'd find on a host of scanner currently on the market--256 gray-scale capability, 300-dpi resolution, originals up to 8.5 by 14 inches. And many competing models cost significantly less than Apple's $1,299 list price. But here's a little ease-of-use scenario that is sure to tempt anyone who's ever fiddled with clumsy scanning-software controls.

Set up the scanner and install the software (a 10-minute process). Start up the Ofoto scanning program and tell it which printer you'll be using. Then toss your original onto the scanner bed. Don't worry about getting it straight. Just toss it. Now hit the Autoscan button, sit back, and watch.

The Apple prescans your original and figures out whether it's a photograph or a piece of line art. It then determines the appropriate settings and scans the image. The program automatically straightens the image for you if necessary. Then it crops any unnecessary white space. Voila! You're ready to save the image to a file or print it out. Printed results are so good that it's difficult to improve on the custom settings determined by the software. And when the scanner is teamed with one of the new Apple LaserWriters (the IIf or IIg) with their PhotoGrade image-enhancement systems, the results are the closest to phot-quality reproduction I've seen from a desktop printer.

Of course, there are times when you will want to maintain manual control of the scanning process (when you need just a section of an image, for example, or want to adjust for a poorly exposed original). The controls provided by Ofoto are fine for cropping, sizing, sharpening, and hand-rotating your image (the rotation tool is particularly impressive). If you really want to get into gray-scale photo editing, though, you'll still need a program suited to the purpose, such as the Adobe PhotoShop or Aldus Digital Darkroom.

Calibrating the software to match your printer is handled very neatly indeed, with a simple step-by-step process that makes a substantial improvement in your final result. And a separate Hypercan program is provided if you want to scan images directly into HyperCard.