SAN FRANCISCO, CA – UMAX Technologies, Inc. announced the new AstraNET e5420 Internet scanning solutions, providing professional quality online image processing for SOHO, personal design house, business and prosumer markets. Combining ultra-high 1200 x 2400 resolution with push-button ease of use, the AstraNet e5420 scans images directly to the Internet.
UMAX is packaging this new professional-level Internet scanner with free Internet access service through NetZero, along with a free one-year, ImageOL.com membership that features an online photo album, 50MB of Web storage and a personal Web page. The AstraNET e5400 product line represents the first complete Internet imaging solution for the SOHO and prosumer markets.
The AstraNET e5470 is a companion model that also includes a built-in universal transparency cover (UTC) enabling users to scan slides, positives and negatives up to 4″ x 5″ in size directly to the Internet. With a single touch of a button, both the AstraNET e5420 and AstraNET e5470 allow users to scan directly to a disc drive for storage, to a printer for making copies, to e-mail or to a Web-based personal photo album.
“We are extending our total Internet imaging solutions to the SOHO market as well as to power users at a very attractive price,” said Lynn Lin, product marketing manager at UMAX Technologies. “The AstraNET e5420 and AstraNET e5470 transcend the model of desktop scanning, to Internet image sharing. When combined with ImageOL.com these new scanners provide users with the ability to share their creativity with the world. Its a new way to communicate, providing the ability to share pictures with anyone, anywhere at anytime.”
On both models, four push buttons provide scan, copy, custom and power saving function with a single touch. The AstraNET e5420 features UMAX IIPE (Intelligent Imaging Process Engine) technology, which automatically crops and rotates images and sets color, grayscale or black and white automatically, to provide optimal scans. Both the AstraNET e5420 and AstraNET e5470 scan images at 1200 x 2400 dpi (dots per inch), providing over 4 trillion sharp, vibrant colors with true 42-bit internal color and UMAX Magic-Match color matching for extremely close reproduction of original images. Both also allow a user to scan and reduce or enlarge slides and other media.
Both scanners are designed for “plug and play” use on systems running Windows 98 or later. They are single-pass, flatbed, color CCD scanners featuring a powerful 14-bit analog-to-digital output converter, and an enhanced MTF (Modulation Transfer Function) for brighter, sharper images. The AstraNET e5420 and AstraNET e5470 feature hot-pluggable connectivity through USB (Universal Serial Bus) ports. The included WebLink software allows users to share images with friends and family in their personal online photo album at ImageOL.com.
The scanners will be available in mid-September 2000 for a suggested retail price of $149 for the AstraNET e5420 and $199 for the AstraNET e5470. An optional UTC-5400 transparency cover will also be available for installation on the AstraNET e5420.
