Plustek OS1180 - Flat Scanner for Graphics and Documents in A3 Format, Design Suitable for Libraries, Schools or Small Offices - Scanning A3 Documents in Approximately 9 Seconds

I absolutely love this scanner. I have been working to diminish my stuffed file drawers by throwing away what I don't need and scanning what I want to keep. Some of the keepers were newspaper clippings and other larger items that my other scanner couldn't accommodate--other than scanning them in pieces. Thus began my search for a large-format scanner. Is this the best large-format scanner on the market? That depends on your criteria and how much you're willing to spend. Here's why it is the best for me. 1) If you compare the prices of large-format scanners, this is an unbelievable bargain. If you're trying to scan fine art, it may not be what you need. For my purposes of having high-def, clear copies of precious but mundane items, it was a screamin' deal. 2) This has a great user interface and is fairly intuitive and easy to use. It took me a little while (maybe 20-30 minutes) to figure out exactly how everything worked, which I consider not bad at all. It also has excellent instructions. 3) It offers a lot of fine tuning, with options of color/BW, level of definition/dpi, JPG/PDF, etc. 4) I initially couldn't get it to work and was ready to send it back. I called tech support, and I got a human. Not a human after a recorded menu. A real human answered the phone. The kind and knowledgeable tech support rep who answered the phone walked me through troubleshooting, and I discovered a huge, embarrassing, total rookie error. I hadn't fully plugged in the USB cable. The rep was totally kind about it. 5) Most importantly, this scanner creates clear, high-quality scans. Yay! Mission accomplished. (If you found this review helpful, I'd really appreciate if you would click the "Helpful" button. Thanks so much for reading! Liz)

I needed a scanner to transfer my comic pages and art pieces. 11x17 was the minimum i needed. This was the cheapest scanner i found. Received brand new, plugged in and drivers installed. Does everything i need it to and with barely a fuss. Scanning options for JPG, PDF and TIFF? Perfect. DPI resolution options from 100 to 1200dpi? Incredible (See image for example) It's day one and i can imagine this being a part of my work space for the long term (as long as the tech gods smile upon me). The user interface is a little intimidating, but on top of being able to customize scan quality, format, location, and naming convention, i love that i can make my scan automatically open on any program I want (in my case, Photoshop). Two things to keep in mind: 1. If after a few minutes of non use. Your computer might say "scanner not detected". Technically true. By default, the scanner goes to sleep after a few minutes. you can turn this off by checking the scanner utility section and turning off the auto sleep. 2. If your colors look too light or dark, check the gamma. I thought my color art pieces were scanning weird and the gamma was the culprit. I also love that the program has a preview button which has saved me a lot of time by testing the look before i take a real scan.

Installation of software only took a few minutes. I have an Acer intel core 15 with windows 10. Abbyy Finereader 12 Spint made a quick access folder on my desktop so I just click it open to start the software. The scanner is lightweight but takes a lot of desk space and needs to be by both an outlet and your computer. Once the power is on it’s a lift flap to put item to be scanned on the flatbed. You can remove the hinges if needed and they go back in easily. The software feels ancient with limited options such as only 300 dpi or 600dpi. There’s not a lot of adjustment except brightness. There is either black and white, grey, or color. You get the choice of previewing before scanning which is nice and you can place multiple pages into one scan (but you have to place them each on the flatbed individually). You can scan to make a pdf, an image pdf, an image file (mine makes jpegs), word, etc. I’m using this for my scrapbooks which are 12 by 12. I’m making digital files in a pdf format and have made some into jpegs. You lose some of the quality but they look decent. The files start getting pretty large so I’ll probably need a hard drive for back up and storage. I’ve uploaded some of the massive jpegs to Shutterfly. I’ll update on how the prints look considering this is def like taking a picture of a picture the uploading and then printing so we shall see how that looks. Overall I’m happy with the quality and ease of use. It does sound similar to a fax machine at times when it’s scanning. Def not a silent machine. I love the size and capability and everyone in my family is already begging to use it. I’m happy with the price point as well since I priced out a company to scan my scrapbooks and it was 2.99$ a page plus other fees. Ten years of scrapbooks would cost a small fortune so this has saved me a ton. Plus I prefer to have the control even though it’s a time investment. I’ll update with any issues or concerns as I continue to use the Plustwj OpticAlim 1180 scanner. Questions welcomed.

I was surprised that since this scanner is listed as being for both PC and Mac, that the only included disc is for Windows. On PlusTek's website, I downloaded the Mac software for the OpticSlim 1180 scanner, which turned out to be a required driver for Mac, bundled with a user application called MacAction. You don't necessarily have to use MacAction, but you do have to run the installer anyway, in order to get the scanner driver installed, which only happens concurrently with the installation of MacAction. The MacAction user interface felt like running test software that hadn't been finished, but I found that an alternative called VueScan has a much more detailed, polished, and intuitive layout -- however there is a one-time license cost if you decide that you are going to use VueScan. The VueScan support technician helped me figure out that my 6-year-old iMac needs a 32-bit version of the VueScan installer instead of the 64-bit version. It works beautifully, and I've since run the first incremental upgrade that came out afterward, and it still works perfectly. I scan a lot of printed items such as magazines, which require a good Descreen option. I found that selecting 600 DPI in VusScan yields gorgeous Descreened results, and of course the scan can be saved afterward in Photoshop or other editing software if I need a final resolution other than 600 DPI. If you decide not to use MacAction, you may be annoyed that it added itself to autostart on your Mac every time that you power on, restart, or logon. To remove that autostart, click on System Preferences (the gear icon on the Dock) and then click on Users & Groups. Click the Login Items tab near the top of the dialogue box, and then you can click to highlight the startup item and click the minus sign to remove it. I think that PlusTek would get a ton of more sales and positive reviews from Mac owners if they could make a licensing arrangement with VueScan and include a Mac installer disc with their scanners.

Update: Waste of money. Starts out fine, but craps out on you quickly. I can't use it for my art, photos, anything, and it's been that way for a long time. DO NOT BUY THIS SCANNER! Buyer beware! I like that I can scan larger images; but, attached are differences in scanners. The lighter copy is from an HP Envy Pro 6400 series, and is more true to the actual photo. The darker image came from the Plustek OpticSlim 1180. I saw that someone else said darker scans aren't true; but, here I present evidence as I scan in a photo of my uncle killed in Vietnam. Does anyone know the secret to using the Plustek for clearer, real images? Even artwork comes out dark. UPDATE: 8/17/2022 - I've tried to figure out how to get it to scan the way it did when I first got the scanner. Originally, colors were vibrant, black and white images were clear, black-and-white line art was clear - now, it's dark and looks distorted when trying to fix it. Dropping my rating down to 1 star because the maker hasn't even contacted me to tell me what to do about this. Save your money, keep looking. Or, find another scanner and pay a bit more for something that should work better and longer.

I haven owned this for about 8 months. I have literally scanned thousands of items now. I resell old documents so I have put a ton of different stuff through this. In general, it easy to use assuming you don't need to make adjustments. Quick 1 button scan. Colors are not exact but good enough for the most part. If you need to tweak, good luck. It's not intuitive. After scanning thousands of items, there is a pattern of not scanning certain colors. You will simply get a "generic error" pop-up and it won't scan it. It will not scan documents that are certain shades of purple, blue, browns, gray, and some blackish/white docs. So when it detects these shade, it will not scan the entire document. You'll get a generic error and a really bad black and white scan that is not usable in any way. Frustrating. Support and online documentation is non-existent. If there was a larger-format scanner in this price range I would try that instead. Couldn't find one. I gave up trying to find an answer to this problem and just scan them on another scanner now.

First off, this thing is a bit big - well, it has a big footprint - but it is very thin & light, so it's easy to stash out of the way when not in use. Works great on a Mac (M1-2 & Intel). Reasonably fast, good colour accuracy, does 1200dpi. A magnitude less expensive than anything else comparable. Need to scan larger documents? Get this scanner and you're all set.

Excellant product, well worth the cost