Re: Imagewriter II Scanner

[spec@vax2.concordia.ca (Mitchell Spector)]

In article "Howard Nager" <hnager@earthlink.net> writes...

>hey there - I remember at one point seeing ads for a scanner which was put
>in place of an imagewriter ribbon and scanning resemble printing in that it
>would scan line by line...I tried to do a search for one but came up with
>nothing...If you know the name of the scanner or can offer any other help
>please e-mail me at hnager@earthlink.net

    That would be Thunderware's ThunderScan. The scanning mechanism
clipped into the ImageWriter's ribbon cartidge slot and a cable ran
from there, into the DB9 Game port in back of the IIe/IIc/IIc+/IIgs.

    From what I recall, it worked, but generally a poor product. It
took _several_ minutes to do a scan (over 12 minutes or more) and if
it didn't quite come out right, you had to start all over again. You
were also limited in that you could only scan what would fit inside
the ImageWriter (books and magazines were out of the question, unless
you tore out pages). Glossy photos were also a problem, since they'd
slip and ruin the scanning process. Personally, I'd be afraid to scan
anything of value through an ImageWriter, as it would get terribly 
bent, rolled up, and smudged with stray ink.

    A much better scanner is the ThunderScan GS or Quickie scanner
if you can find one. These were hand-held scanning devices and did
a far better job (not too mention almost instantly too). The only
Apple II specific parts required: the interface card and software.

Mitchell Spector
spec@vax2.concordia.ca