Agfa's ScanWise Software Takes the Complexity Out of Scanning

WILMINGTON, Mass.--Agfa Corporation's Desktop Products Group has simplified the scanning process by enabling consumers to scan documents and photos just as easily as they would use a photocopier or fax machine. ScanWise, a revolutionary scanner interface designed for the SoHo and consumer world, dispels the myth that scanning is a complicated procedure best left to professionals. Users can scan a wide range of originals and incorporate the images or text into documents, emails and presentations -- at the click of a single button.

Image formats, scanning and output resolutions can all be pre-determined by the ScanWise software, to leave users with few technical details to worry about. The technology from Agfa's ColorTune(tm) (color management software) and PhotoGenie(tm) (image enhancement technology) have been built into the ScanWise software to automatically enhance both the color consistency and the image quality of the resulting scans and give impressive results.

What sets ScanWise apart from other scanning software is the level of automated control, which ensures optimum quality without the need for user intervention. The software is able to detect the exact nature of the original and distinguish between color or black and white, texts and images and then select the appropriate scanning mode. ScanWise also detects misalignments of originals and rotates the scans to correct this.

In the U.S., ScanWise will ship with the Agfa SnapScan 1212 series - including the SnapScan 1212p in mid May. Current SnapScan customers will have the opportunity to download the new scanner driver via the Agfa Graphic Systems Web site (www.agfahome.com) at the end of that month.