This is an exciting time for Mac owners. As the recent Macworld Expo in New York clearly demonstrated, a steady stream of new and improved USB and FireWire products continue to appear, giving Macintosh customers many more options for expanding the multimedia prowess of their systems. Scanning the Future New scanners, for example, were one of the biggest entries at Macworld, offering new options for bringing text and images into the Mac from both the printed page, photographs and slides. Canon led the way with a quartet of new CanoScan flatbed USB scanners . A little more than an inch high and sporting an expandable lid which allows customers to scan thick materials such as books, the new scanners come in gunmetal, smoke gray and champagne colors.
Different models offer a range of functionality.
For serious graphics professionals, Epson introduced its Expression 1640XL , a flatbed scanner tha can handle larger paper sizes. It offers 1600 x 3200 dpi resolution, one of the highest scanning resolutions available. A FireWire interface can be added at a nominal cost. Small or home office users who like FireWire connectivity will want to check out two new desktop scanners from UMAX Technologies. The Astra 6400 and Astra 6450 both offer 600 x 1200 dpi optical resolution and 42-bit color depth.