Umax Astra 2000U Flatbed USB Scanner (PC/Mac)

by UMAX

Product Details

Product Manual [1.89mb PDF]

• Shipping Weight: 12 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00000JGPU
• Item model number: 2000U
• Average Customer Review: 2.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (18 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank:
  • #39 in Electronics > Camera & Photo > Printers & Scanners > Flatbed Scanners
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: September 4, 1973

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

With driver software that makes the scanning process easy and a USB interface that makes setup simple, the Umax Astra 2000U offers hassle-free scanning. This scanner also includes a comprehensive software bundle for editing and managing your images.

To set up the Astra 2000U, we followed the included quick-start guide. We connected the USB cable from our PC to the scanner and the AC adapter cable from the scanner to the outlet, dropped in the CD-ROM, and followed the Umax setup wizard. The software setup process, although automated, was lengthy, taking about 15 minutes.

To test the Astra 2000, we started an imaging application on our PC and used its Scan command to scan a magazine photo. The Umax VistaScan driver software started automatically and, after a short delay while the lamp warmed up, showed us a preview scan. (VistaScan consistently waited for the scanner's lamp to warm up even after the lamp was already warm.) VistaScan has Beginner and Advanced buttons at the top of its window; the Beginner screen includes icons for color photos, printed material, text, line art, and Web images. We selected the working area on our preview scan and clicked the Color Photo icon for a final 300-dpi scan, which took 45 seconds. VistaScan automatically exported the image to our graphics application. The image had an unsightly moiré pattern, so we repeated the scan using a magazine descreening option. The new scan took 110 seconds and showed a significant improvement. A third scan at 600 dpi took 125 seconds but looked only marginally better than the first scan.

To test optical character recognition (OCR) abilities, we scanned a single page that contained two columns of text plus some line art. The scan took about 50 seconds, including OCR translation. Caere's OCR software ignored the line art and created a two-page document with a single column of text, which it then exported to Microsoft Word. The two-page formatting was unexpected, but the interpreted text was correct and the OCR software did a decent (though not perfect) job of recognizing fonts. You'll want to explore the well-chosen bundled applications, which are designed more for home use than for business.

Pros:

• PC and Mac compatible
• Easy hardware setup
• Detailed printed owner's manual

Cons:

• Lengthy software setup

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars 2000u out of box failure with no customer support, April 13, 2000

By 

Ted Judd (Boise, Idaho) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Umax Astra 2000U Flatbed USB Scanner (PC/Mac) (Office Product)

I have tried repeatedly to get the 2000u to work to no avail. More calls to Customer Support than I can afford. After asking for a manager I was told my problems were common, if I wanted them to check out the scanner (since phone support could not figure it out) I had to send back the scanner at my expense and they would determine whether or not to repair, refurbish or replace the scanner. The final gotcha was that I had tried for over three months to solve the problems by phone and was now out of warranty and they refused to even look at it if I did send it back. Buy ANYthing else.

21 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Well, it can sorta scan!, November 18, 1999

By 

L. Garcia (Denver, CO USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Umax Astra 2000U Flatbed USB Scanner (PC/Mac) (Office Product)

I was hoping to get a wonderful scanner to put pictures of my kids on our webpage. Pictures look blotchy and the OCR is horrible. I would suggest saving up for a higher end model.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Umax Astra 2000U, January 4, 2000

By 

Doug Farrell (Torrance, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Umax Astra 2000U Flatbed USB Scanner (PC/Mac) (Office Product)

The scanner has never scanned since new. I can understand a unit being shipped factory without firmware. Mistakes happen. But the Umax customer service is just plain lousy. The "Get them off the phone" and "don't answer e-mails" policy is an insult. I'll pay a little more and by an office HP.