Canon CanoScan N1240U Flatbed Scanner

Although the CanoScan stands just over 1 inch high, its unique Z-lid extends easily to make room for thicker originals such as books or magazines, while the single-cord USB connection (cable included) keeps desktops free from clutter. The USB connection also powers the scanner, so no bulky AC adapter is required.

Operation is a snap, thanks to dedicated one-touch buttons for scanning, copying, or e-mailing photos. The N1240U is compatible with both Macintosh and PC systems, and it comes with a one-year limited warranty and Canon's convenient Instant Exchange service.

Product Description
Impressive. Spectacular. Remarkable. There are many ways to describe this truly affordable scanner that delivers outstanding 1200 x 2400 dpi resolution scans. It's called the CanoScan N1240U scanner, and when you consider its numerous innovations that make scanning fast and easy, you will have no doubts to choose this amazing machine.The N1240U scanner is just over one inch high and uses a single USB cable for power and connection to any compatible Mac or PC. What's more, its three external buttons allow you to scan, copy or e-mail your images in just one step. You can even burn complete photos onto CDs with ease. So it's easier than ever to take advantage of this scanner's superb 48-bit scanning with the color depth and brilliance of more than 281-trillion possible colors. Of course, its dramatic metal finish makes this performance scanner look incredible wherever you put it. The accompanying stand allows you to stand up the N1240U scanner on your desk, and still use it to scan at any time. Canon's advanced Z-Lid Expansion Top will forever change the way you scan bulky items, such as books and magazines. Other scanner covers lift only at an angle and become uneven and awkward when scanning anything that isn't completely flat. The N1240U scanner cover includes a special expansion hinge that lifts vertically and lays flat to create the space needed for bulky items, and to help ensure clear scans.

Installation was a snap, simply throwing in the CD provided by canon and following the easy on-screen directions. I did need to visit canon's web site to obtain Windows XP Drivers, but that may not be an issue now that Windows XP is more of a mainstream product.

The Scanner comes with enough imaging software to handle all of your scanning needs. The buttons built onto the scanner make scanning, copying, and e-mailing pictures too easy! It's like adding a copy machine to your home or office.

The scanner is incredibly small, maybe only an INCH thick! It's completely USB connected AND powered, which means that one very small cord is all that is coming out of the scanner.

The photo quality is absolutely phenomenal -- Paired with my Canon Printer and photo paper, it's able to reproduce *identical* duplicates or enlargements of most ANYTHING I scan.

I recommend this scanner, wholeheartedly, to anyone who's looking to invest in one. The price is WELL WORTH IT. Don't settle for a cheap imitation! :)


Amazing   December 1, 2001
Boris Bangemann (Singapore)
41 out of 41 found this review helpful

This wonderful piece of technology really makes life easier! You can install it on your PC in a couple of minutes simply by following the instructions. It comes with a photo-editing software that you can use without consulting a manual. The digital pictures are crisp and the colors are nothing but stunning. The software makes it easy to scan photos at a high resolution and save them as files with a lower resolution if you want to email them to friends and relatives, or upload them onto your webpage.

If you are an old-fashioned photographer who is not yet fully convinced of the quality of digital photos, but you nevertheless want to use the internet to send photos, this scanner is an excellent choice.


Awesome. Jaw still on floor.   February 9, 2002
Babycakes (Baltimore, MD USA)
30 out of 30 found this review helpful

Like another CanoScan poster here, I too have a pretty bad case of USB Peripheralphobia. My USB ports have been crunchy at best. But this Canoscan N1240U scanner was ridiculously easy to install and use. From plugging in the cable to popping in the CD-ROM and loading the software to scanning my first photo, elapsed time was about six minutes--and that included a restart. The scan was ridiculously simple--a little slow, but hey, my home office is not a service bureau--and the images are STUNNING. A host of image-editing tools are available within the scanning program, PhotoStudio. The scanner also came with Adobe Photoshop Elements and OmniPage OCR software. A separate CD-ROM is dedicated to Windows XP users.

I am thrilled to death with this product. And with the new lower price, don't pass it up! I did a good deal of comparison shopping on this model, and the best price is right here.


Phenomal scanner for the price   February 8, 2002
Jason R. Tibbetts (Falls Church, VA USA)
30 out of 30 found this review helpful

This scanner can't be beat, in terms of features, price, and quality. I'm not a graphic designer, but the quality of the scans is -far- better than what I've seen from my previous scanner (the infamous Umax Astra). It's faster, it's much more compact (I keep mine stored vertically behind my LCD monitor), and the fact that it's USB-powered is a plus, not a minus, in my opinion.

What Canon doesn't capitalize on is the -software- that's bundled with this unit, even though the software is its best feature. You have to look closely at the specs for this model and the Canon N670U to see that for the extra $100, you get not only higher resolution, but a full copy of Adobe Photoshop Elements. If you've ever used Photoshop LE, it's hard to imagine how much better Elements is. It can even scan multiple images on the scanning bed; it figures out where the picture boundaries are and creates a separate working copy for each. This is an incredible time-saver.

My only gripe with this scanner is that it doesn't come with OS X versions of the software, but that may be less Canon's fault than that of its software vendors (Adobe is particularly sluggish in this regard).

I've recommended this scanner to almost everyone that I know. Throw out that Umax and get this!


Small, lightweight, and excellent quality   November 29, 2001
Eric Young (Mercer Island, WA USA)
28 out of 29 found this review helpful

This scanner produces excellent quality images. Personally, I've found the 300 DPI setting ideal -- anything above this produces enormous files, and I just end up reducing the file size.

The best feature is the "Multiple Photo Mode" which allows you to scan multiple photos at once, and they are all automatically sized and imported into your image application (Photoshop in my case). This saves me a huge amount of time.

Just be careful to keep the dust out of this scanner, as it tends to show up in the high resolution images produced by this guy.

Oh yes, and you better have 128Mb or RAM or more.... I'd recommend 256Mb if you are using Photoshop.