Frequently Asked Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Is my scanner 24-bit or 30-bit?

What resolution should I scan at?

Why do my images look blotchy or blurry?

Is the light supposed to stay on all of the time?

Does Mustek make a PCI SCSI card?

What are the latest drivers?

Why doesn't the Windows 95 Add New Hardware Wizard find my scanner?

Where is my scanner icon?

Where are the scanner manuals?

Does magic calibrator work in Windows 95?

Where can I get updated Macintosh drivers?

Do you have Windows NT drivers?

Is my scanner 24-bit or 30-bit?

If the box your scanner came in says 30-bit, then it is a 30-bit scanner. 30-bit color yields a possibility of 1.074 Billion unique colors and 24-bit color yields a possibility of 16.77 Million unique colors. Current video card technology only allows your monitor to display 24-bit color images. The main reason for this is that the human eye is not really capable of differentiating between all those ranges of color, so the computer industry chose a good margin for error. What this means to you is when the image is scanned, it is scanned in 30-bit color. Then the scanner engine analyzes the colors and determines which of them is the best choice and sends 24-bits of color information, per pixel, back to the computer. There are not a lot of adjustments available, nor should any be necessary, as the scanner's color table is optimized to a number of color matching systems to provide the best possible color output at default settings. Because of the video card technical limitations, image editing software only supports 24-bit file formats. For a more detailed explanation, read the documents listed by Understanding Scanners.

What resolution should I scan at?

You should scan at the resolution of your output device. If scanning for Web Pages, the output device is a computer monitor which has a resolution of 72 DPI. So scan at 72 DPI for the Internet. For a detailed tutorial on Internet Graphics see the Internet Graphics Tutorial. If scanning for an inkjet printer, scan at 1/3 of the resolution you will be printing at for color images. If scanning in greyscale or line art, use the full resolution of the printer without dividing it by three.

Why Do My Images Look Blotchy or Blurry?

If your scans are looking bad on screen, but printing out satisfactorily, it could be your video driver that is causing the problem. Try some different resolution and color settings in the "Display" portion of your control panel (after first making sure that you have the proper driver disks to restore your system to the original settings). You should be using a driver that provides 16+million colors, and a resolution of at least 800 x 600.

Is the light supposed to stay on all of the time?

If your scanner attaches to a SCSI interface card (Except the 1200 SP Pro), the light is supposed to stay on all of the time. The Mean Time Between Failure for the scanner lamp is 35,000 hours. That's 4 years if left on continuously so don't worry that it will burn out sooner. Here at Mustek, we leave them on all day and turn them off at 5:00 when we leave. If your scanner is a Plug-N-Scan Page Color or Plug-N-Scan 600 II EP, the light most likely shuts off after a few minutes of non-use, however, the early models had a continuously lit lamp. If you have the new Paragon 1200 SP Pro, the lamp will shut off after a few minutes of non-use.

Does Mustek make a PCI SCSI card?

Mustek does not make a PCI SCSI Card. For the time being, you'll need to use the ISA-type interface card we supplied. A solution may be found, however in our new line of Parallel Port scanners. Check out Products Section for details on this branch of our product line.

What are the latest Drivers?

Simply downloading and installing the most recent driver may solve many installation problems. Click here to go to the Drivers Page.

Why doesn't the Windows 95 Add New Hardware Wizard find my scanner?

When you run the Windows 95 Add New Hardware Wizard and tell it to detect new hardware it will not find the Scanner or it's interface card. The only exception to this is the new Paragon 1200 SP Pro. When detecting new hardware, Windows 95 has a standard list of items and components it checks for. Scanners are not on that list of items because Microsoft did not write Windows 95 to look for scanners. We'd like to see that change as much as you would. If Bill Gates is your friend, put in a good word for us! Windows 95 does look for certain SCSI interface cards, however. The Paragon 1200 SP Pro comes with an Adaptec 1502P SCSI card. Windows 95 will detect this card when you boot up after installing the card.

Where is my scanner icon?

Scanners do not have icons. The scanner is accessed from within a Twain Compliant software application. The ones that ship with Mustek scanners are iPhoto Plus and Picture Publisher. Each of these programs has an Acquire command on the file menu. The Acquire command makes the scanner operate.

Where are the scanner manuals?

If your scanner came with a Scanner Solutions CD, the manuals are on the CD. When you install Scanner Solutions, it gives you an opportunity to install the manuals on your Hard Disk. You must put a check mark next to the Scanner Application Manual Files or they will not be installed. They will be listed on your Programs Menu under Mustek Scanner Solutions. When you click the icon for one of the manuals, the Adobe Acrobat Reader will start and load the manual file. You can then print the manual or read it online.

Does Magic Calibrator Work in Windows 95?

The currently shipped version of Magic Calibrator runs only in Windows 3.x. It would be best to disregard the software if you have Windows 95 as it may pose problems for you. If you have already installed the program in Windows 95, delete it and re-install your Twain driver. The Magic Calibrator program, although included as an "extra" with your scanner, is primarily intended for calibration of your monitor and printer. The scanner driver already
has a calibration map built into it, so there's generally no need to calibrate the scanner itself. The target image is only used to create a scanner profile. Mustek has already done this for you so the profile is already included with Magic Calibrator. This is why the target image is not included with the scanner.

Where can I get updated Macintosh drivers?

Macintosh users have reported many difficulties downloading software updates. This is due to features in the Macintosh Operating System. For this reason, Mustek USA does not include MAC software on our download pages. If you need a driver update, contact our Customer Service Department and we'll be happy to mail it to you.

Do you have Windows NT drivers?

Mustek does have Windows NT drivers available for download from our Mustek Taiwan Web Page. Mustek USA is unable to provide Technical Support for Windows NT at this time. If you experience difficulty with an NT driver downloaded from our Taiwan Web Page, you should send e-mail to ted@scanner.mustek.com.tw requesting help.