UMAX Introduces First Consumer Scanners With Direct-to-Internet Scanning

UMAX Technologies, Inc. today introduced a product to provide customers with a new way to communicate through digital imaging. The new AstraNET e3420 Internet scanning solution enables consumers to easily and conveniently use the Web for image sharing, communication, storage and Web page hosting. Featuring UMAX's innovative scan-to-Web capabilities, the AstraNET e3420 scans images directly to the Internet, eliminating the need to first save the image to a hard drive. The new Internet scanner also comes with free Internet service provided by NetZero and a free one-year ImageOL.com membership, featuring up to 50MB Web storage, an on-line photo album, a free Web page and Web builder, Internet mail and online calendar. By integrating scan-to-Web software and free ISP service, UMAX has created the first complete Internet imaging solution.
UMAX also announced today the AstraNET e3470, a new direct-to-Internet scanner for those requiring a built-in universal transparency cover (UTC). The AstraNET e3470 comes with the same innovative features as the AstraNET e3420 with the added convenience of a UTC, enabling users to scan slides, positives and negatives up to 4" x 5" in size directly to the Internet. In addition to their direct-to-Internet capability, both scanners ship with software to allow users to scan directly to hard drive, to a printer for making copies or scan to e-mail with a single touch.

"With the AstraNET e3420 and AstraNET e3470, consumers now have a direct connection to the exciting Internet image-sharing phenomenon, as well as other Web-based image communication," said Michael Weizer, product marketing manager at UMAX Technologies. "Other scan-to-Web solutions require an image to be saved to the hard drive before being uploaded to the Internet. With direct scanning, free Internet service and the inclusion of membership in ImageOL.com, our AstraNET scanners provide the first total Internet imaging solution."

On both models, four push buttons provide single-touch access to scanning functions, including a convenient power saving function that enables users to turn the lamp off without losing connection to the PC. The e3420 model also includes UMAX's exclusive Intelligent Image Process Engine (IIPE) technology, further extending this scanner's superb ease of operation. IIPE technology optimizes images and text by automatically selecting whether a document or photograph should be rendered in color, grayscale, or black and white. IIPE also assigns the optimal resolution and auto-crops the image as needed, even rotating the image automatically if the original is askew on the scanning bed.

Both the AstraNET e3420 and e3470 scan images at 600 x 1200 dpi (dots per inch), providing over 4 trillion sharp, vibrant colors with true 42-bit internal color and UMAX Magic-match color matching.

The new AstraNET scanners come with NewSoft Presto! PageManager for managing and distributing images and documents and NewSoft Page Type for scanning and filling out pre-printed forms, along with Caere OmniPage LE OCR allowing consumers to convert text images of text into usable text. The AstraNET e3420 comes with Adobe PhotoDeluxe image editing software, while the AstraNET e3470, in addition to the built-in UTC, features Adobe Photoshop LE image editing software.

Both scanners are designed for "plug and play" use on systems running Windows 98. They are single-pass, flatbed, color CCD scanners featuring 600 x 1200 dpi resolution and a 14-bit analog-to-digital converter for true 42-bit color. The AstraNET e3420 and e3470 feature high scan speed and easy, hot-pluggable connectivity through USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports.

The scanners come with a one-year warranty and are now available for a suggested retail price of $129 for the AstraNET e3420 and $179 for the AstraNET e3470.

About UMAX Technologies, Inc.
UMAX Technologies, Inc. is a technology leader in the design and distribution of a full line of imaging products. The company maintains its leadership position in the imaging market with a broad line of desktop scanners and digital cameras. UMAX is located at 3561 Gateway Blvd., Fremont, California, 94538, and is on the Web at: www.umax.com.