Review of HandyScanner 64 - use it freely, give credit to Fresno Commodore User Group
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HHANDYSCANNER:
A New Way to Grab Graphics
by Dick Estel
The graphics power of computers is well known. Every computer brand has a number of paint and drawing programs to create computer graphics. And programs that let computer owners use and manipulate graphics (such as Print Shop and various GEOS programs) have proved extremely popular.
Inevitably computer graphics fans will see images from paper sources that they would like to get into the computer. This calls for a method of digitizing--converting the hard copy image to a series of instructions the computer can understand and display on the screen.
Until recently the only digitizers available for the C64 and C128 have been video based, using a camera to photograph either a "live"`scene or an image from paper, and converting it into bits and bytes via a dedicated software program. As far as I know, the only two such items for Commodore users have been Video Byte II and ComputerEyes. People who have seen the results of these programs have said they leave a lot to be desired.
Another method has been to use a scanner, a device that is passed over an image on paper to convert it to digital format. Since there have been no scanners for the C-64, those with access to the right hardware have used scanners for other brands, with the resulting picture being converted to Commodore format using still another program.
Now at last a scanner is available for the C64. It's called HandyScanner, and it has been in use in Europe for several years. It has been marketed in the U.S. for about four months, and I have collected reviews and comments from several users, including myself and fellow user group member Ken Brown.
In the words of one reviewer, the scanner looks like a "mouse with a thyroid condition," with the tail going in the other direction. It comes with an interface that plugs into the user port, and a power supply.
In use the scanner is moved slowly and steadily down the image you want to scan. The size of the area you can scan is about 2 1/2 inches wide. The length depends on the degree of enlargement, and runs from about 3 to 5 l/2 inches. When scanning is completed, it takes the program about 10 to 20 seconds to display it on the screen. It can then be edited and otherwise manipulated with a drawing program that is part of the package. A conversion program to change the image to GEOS format has been created and is available on Q-Link, as well as our library and BBS.
Due to the limited size of the scanned area, many images have to be pieced together after they are scanned (and saved separately). This can be accomplished using the HandyScanner software, but I have found it more convenient so far to do this in the familiar environment of GEOS.
Images can be reduced or enlarged in a range from 30% to 300% of the original. Enlarged scans produce the best results.
There are some definite limitations on the quality produced by different source material. Line drawings such as pencil or pen and ink sketches will look as good as or better than the original. Photographs or half-tone type images (newspaper and magazine photographs) are another matter. It is extremely difficult to get a good image from these sources, which is a severe minus in my opinion, especially since the advertising indicates that photos can be used. I believe that further experimentation will lead to a way to get acceptable if not great results with photos.
Overall however, I am delighted with my scanner, and I have already filled up several disks with scanned images. This allows the creation of an extensive clip art library, customized to the user's needs. My long range plans include creating an illustrated family tree by scanning various family photos. I'll report on the results of this project in the future.
Meanwhile, here some comments from other users:
@John Brown:
The scanner comes with four controls, three of which you can adjust.
1) contrast switch
2) brightness switch
3) capture settings switch
You can reduce the bitmap screen by one half, very quickly transforming a
big scan into a clearer, condensed image. You can preview the whole 640 x 400 or 640 x 800 area on screen at one time. This is accomplished by reducing the bitmap to a fair approximation of what the virtual bitmap will look like printed out. Of course, you lose the finer details but it is good enough for viewing the general layout and for placing graphics recalled from the disk.
The manual was translated from the German language. It is extensive and the editing is adequate. The manual needs a better indexing system and a clearer, more precise English translation would be helpful. These faults certainly would not keep me from buying the product as the software can easily be used without even reading the manual. A good manual is needed though to get the most from any software, so an improvement is in order here.
(excerpted from an article by John Brown, Parsec Inc; downloaded from Q-Link)
@Terry Morgan:
Having not seen the back of my computer for years, I automatically reached around and plugged the scanner cartridge into my game port by feel (after all, that's where all other cartridge-like things go, right?). Wrong! Nothing worked right. I frantically EMailed a friend on Q-Link who had also purchased the scanner. After carefully reading the manual (when all else fails, read the instructions) I found out that the USER port is the same port where my modem goes - not the GAME port! Ah ha! Now the device worked perfectly. (Ed note: The review in RUN magazine includes a photo showing the device plugged into the CARTRIDGE port.)
Speaking of software, the Handyscanner comes with an excellent drawing program. In the program you are not confined to the screen window, but can scroll around like in geoPaint. The program is fairly sophisticated and would take another review all together. Before the GEOS converter was available I managed to convert my scans to geoPaint through a painstaking process using "Bitmap Buster" from Compute's Gazette and "Import Runner" from RUN's GEOS Powerpack II.
How do I like it? I LOVE it! At last, I can create personal clip art libraries equivalent to or better than what is out there now for the C64. A nice piece of art in the newspaper becomes mine with a few minutes' work. I scanned the front cover of my husband's THOR comic book and it looked pretty good!
(Downloaded from Q-Link; originally published in the newsletter of the Huntsville Alabama Commodore Komputer Society (HACKS))
@ Ken Brown:
I'm really happy with it, but the manual is worse than I expected. I had some problems saving images correctly until I conferred with another user. You can spend all your time working with the scanner...I have a dozen books of clip art and I've barely scratched the surface...You should use very little text and just show a lot of pictures.
(Paraphrased from several conversations with Ken)
(from THE INTERFACE, newsletter of Fresno (CA) Commodore User Group/64UM, March 1991)
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