Shine Ultra

Great scanner, here's what I thought about it broken down by different aspects: -Packaging Comes in a nice, sturdy box with a handle so you can easily carry it and pack it up in an organized way when you're storing it between scanning sessions. -Software The software it comes with is straightforward and easy to use. I really didn't even read the manual, I just installed the software, plugged in the scanner, and figured it out and started scanning in like 5 minutes. -Functionality How it works is it comes with a black mat, you put your book/paper on it and select single page mode or book mode. Single page mode scans one object at a time, and it automatically crops the page against the black background; there are some finger tabs for holding pages flat and the scanner software automatically makes them disappear. For book mode, it scans two pages at once, and splits each page into its own separate image. I have attached some example scans from this product, compare it to the setup photo I took with my phone - even though the page isn't level, it automatically flattens the perceived curve from the camera snapshot, so you don't need to fiddle with making the pages flat. The cropping and page flattening is great, it just works. When you're done scanning, you can export all the images as various document types such as word/pdf, or you can leave them as images. Of course, you can choose where to save the base images to help keep organized. My wife also uses this in her classroom as a visual presenter where she can put a page underneath and write on it, and project it in real time on her projector. -Quality I have attached photos for black/white mode, color mode, and a final word document export. I should also mention, the export automatically processes the image to identify words and does a great job. I picked a page with tiny text on a 5"x8" book and you can see from my attached images that the camera is good enough even for tiny text, and can accurately translate that into a word document. Note that for some glossy pages, the light can reflect back to the camera and reduce quality, but for matte surfaces and "regular" paper, it performs excellent. -Speed It comes with a foot clicker so you can fully use your hands to flip and position pages without slowing down. Flip the page, give the camera a second to focus, press the foot clicker and repeat. As you scan, you can see a preview image and it's pretty apparent if something went wrong, maybe 1 out of 2-300 page flips or so I find I want to do a rescan which is totally fine for me. Depending on how focused I am, I flip a page every 2-4 seconds, on average maybe 15-20 page flips a minute, so that's around 300 pages in 10 minutes! Which I think is super good. Overall it's straightforward to use, takes good quality scans, exports files well, and scans through books quickly. I am very satisfied with this purchase and recommend this for anyone who wants good, fast scans.

I have used a number of scanners over the years, from built-in all-in-one printer/scanner/copiers, to standalone Fujitsu SnapScan scanners for documents, to flatbed scanners such as the Epsom v600 for photographs. Each of these has been good for its purposes, but each has its limitations. I also have used the CZUR Aura in a small business environment, and was very pleased with the experience I had with the Aura. The Aura I used had the benefit of its own internal battery and an app, so the scanner could be taken to other locations without need for a computer, and was often used in libraries or other locations where third-party documents needed to be scanned. The CZUR Shine is a smaller, more compact version of the Aura. There are not a lot of moving parts - just the dial to control the light, the up-and-down slide on the light stem to raise or lower the camera (depending on how large the scan needs to be), and the arm that moves from vertical to horizontal when you want to use the camera. The Shine does not have its own power source, and must be connected to a computer to operate. It connects using a standard USB-A connector, and has the foot-pedal to take the image, leaving your hands free to position the image, turn the pages, etc. The scanner came with a user manual and a CD with the software. As my laptop does not have a drive, I downloaded and installed the software from their website. The website was easy to navigate, and had the software downloads clearly marked based on model, operating system, etc. Once the software was downloaded, the scanner serial number was needed to activate the software, and it was ready to go. It took probably no more than 10 minutes to go from an unopened box to using the product. The Shine is also packaged in a more reusable and ready-to-transport box than the Aura. The internal packing contains a shaped foam to hold the scanner, the two cables, the thumb tabs, and the black mat. The box also comes with a built-in plastic handle. While it doesn't affect the functionality of the scanner, it does reflect some thought into not only the product, but the packaging to make the device more efficient, transportable, and usable. I always struggled with the Aura and making sure to bring the components, and do so along with notebooks, files, etc. This packaging makes it easier to bring the Aura as a self-contained kit. The Shine also comes with two yellow plastic thumb tabs to hold down the pages of the book. The best part of these tabs is the software is apparently coded to turn those tabs invisible, so that they don't appear on the pages. The most challenging part of using the tabs is getting used to the feel on your fingers, and making sure that they tab doesn't cover any of the material you want scanned. The Shine is the best all-around scanner that I've used. The image quality is outstanding. While it can't keep up with a document auto-feed scanner like a fujitsu, it has a broader, more versatile usage than a document scanner. It also has more versatility than a flatbed scanner, since the flatbed generally requires the item being scanned to be placed face-down. And, none of these scanner options have the ability to scan a book face-up, and remove the curvature of the pages. I still have and use the Epsom flatbed and the Fujitsu SnapScan, but their days of travelling are over. And, when they eventually stop working, they will not be replaced with newer models. The Shine can handle all of the functions those scanners do, in a more compact, and transportable fashion. And, if I had to make the decision to get rid of all of my scanners, except one, CZUR's product would be the one left on my desktop. This is also a great scanner if you want to leave it on a desktop, or need something for a small office workspace. The entire scanner takes up roughly 4x6 of desktop surface, so it can be easily put aside when it's not needed. The scanner will require more desktop for the mat when you want to scan, but it can be easily placed and removed on an as-needed (or not needed) basis.

I order the CSUR Shine Ultra, and it was fairly easy to use out the box. Of course, it took me a few uses to get the hang of it, and it is very useful. Trying to scan full books is fairly easy, though tedious and the posture to hold it in place is awkward. There is a glaring flaw with the software that I cannot seem to find a solution for: you cannot rearrange the order of picture once uploaded. If the items are uploaded in the wrong order, you must reupload them over again, which is very frustrating. For example, I skipped scanning page 112 and 113 of a novel that is 370 pages and did not notice until the end. My only option moving forward was to discard pages 114-370, upload scans of 112-113, and then upload pages 114-370 again, instead of simply scanning 112-113 and moving them to their place. Why this is not a feature is beyond me, and very frustrating.

5 starts to for two reasons. First, the quality of the product has been great so far. It works like a charm. The packaging is great as well. Second, the quality of customer support. I had some issues with setting it up on second computer, but customer service was responsive and was able to help me solve the problem with a few steps, and now it is working seamlessly on both computers. The size is great for doing larger books and textbooks, and this is way better than attempting to take photos with a phone. The foot clicker (wrong name) is a great time saver, as well. Love this product.

I just got this scanner today and set it up in about 10 minutes. I set up the software and dove right into scanning a Japanese textbook. In the first image you can see the page is a bit warped and the finger cots showed up on the side, but the second scan is much better overall. At first, I would try to fix the bad scans, but after getting through a bit of this 400 page textbook I decided it wasn't worth it and just scanned the book as fast as possible. If I made a mistake or a page was illegible, I would scan a duplicate and write down the page number so I could edit the book later. The biggest pro for me is the time saved. I scanned a massive textbook in about an hour including setup time. I did this with minimal effort and minimal editing of the scans. I exported as a PDF with OCR and was surprised that I was able to search for Japanese characters in the PDF. Honestly, not bad for my low effort and if I really wanted to put in the time to edit, the finished file could look a lot better. Biggest cons is that my hands got pretty tired from holding down pages with the finger cots. Not a dealbreaker for me, but something to be aware of. Another minor con is that the software had very little instruction, as some other reviews have said. But again, not a big issue for me, since I just started scanning away. After I finished I noticed there were batch editing options for all scans, as well as manual adjustment options for pages you're unhappy with. I think overall the takeaway here is that the quality of your scans reflects how much time you put into scanning and editing. I'm satisfied with my results as long as I can read them, but for those that want to make it look like a legitimate e-book, I'm sure you can, given more time and effort.

I recently purchased this scanner on Amazon and test scanned a few flat pages (printed documents, some with images, some without images) to make sure it could work for my needs. I downloaded the software from the website. Installation was quick and easy. Everything is pretty self explanatory: just hit Scan and it’ll take you to the document camera screen where you can position the page as you need it and adjust the color and type of scan. Scanning can be pretty quick. It won’t close the screen automatically or notify you when it’s done, so you have to pay attention to an icon on the left of the screen, then hit Back when you are done scanning. When you get back to the main page, you’ll select the icon on the right of the scan you want to look at/ work with. On the left you can save the file in different formats. I’m very happy with the Searchable PDF function, but impressed by how it saves the documents to Word. I had several pages with images and text above/ in between some drawings. When I saved these as a Searchable PDF, some of the text in between drawings didn’t get recognized. However, when I saved the same document to Word, all of the text got picked up and put into text boxes. That being said, I had scanned another page that was a printout of a document I had typed up in Word. I had assumed the scanner software would be able to replicate the page as it is when it saved it as a Word doc, but the margins were off and the text font and size were different. You win some, you lose some. All in all, very happy with this scanner and confident it will work for my needs.

I purchased this scanner with high hopes after researching it as a solution for digitizing a large book (approximately 900 pages). The product promises seamless, high-speed scanning, but the reality fell far short of those claims. From the very first few pages, I ran into serious problems. The automatic cropping was inconsistent and random, cutting off portions of the page with no reliable pattern. Image quality was noticeably poor, with results that I would not consider acceptable for any archival or preservation purpose. For a device marketed around speed and accuracy, neither was present in my experience. Scanning a book of this size requires a scanner you can trust to deliver consistent results from page one to the last. This product could not even get through the opening pages reliably. The time I lost troubleshooting basic functionality completely defeated the purpose of buying an automated scanning solution in the first place. I returned the unit and would not recommend this product to anyone hoping to digitize books, documents, or archival materials at any meaningful scale. Save your money and look elsewhere.

First, I wasn't convinced that these scanners were that great, but I was completely proved wrong as soon as I took this device out of the box. The packaging is meticulously arranged, exhibiting quality in every way. I downloaded the drivers in no time and as soon as it was plugged it powered via the usb connection, a thing I find very useful, since you don't need extra adapters. Im using it to scan my stamp cover collections and it goes waaaay faster than a flatbed scanner. Had to adjust the quality of the scans to high, to get maximum detail. The auto cropping works like a charm and I went through a stack of covers in no time. This certainly can be used in many non traditional ways. I found out that I could scan my Hot Wheels collection in no time, to keep record of what I have. Also I can scan large maps, prints, just about all those things that won't fit a regular flatbed scanner. I would really recommend this device to those that need to scan unusual documents. It's very useful, easy to use and produces great output. It's not that big and being folded won't take too much space in your desk. But when used, to get optimal results, make sure you have a decent space to unroll the black mat, for optimal results.

Super easy to use. Decent quality product. Can scan the book fast unlike the multifunction printer.

Easy to use, very clear image

ممتازة

I paid £210.98 for a source of light. First thing, the provided CD-ROM didn't work, whirring and grinding something awful as if burning to disc. I removed that and decided on downloading the software from the website. Probably safer. Did that, hooked up the machine, followed the instructions, 'looking for device...' Device could not be located. I followed all the steps to see if it could be found, but no. The scanner felt flimsy to me and... empty. No sound, no nothing. Cold to the touch. Like, you know when something's dead, including hardware, it loses its warmth, its heat, the light goes out, there's nothing there. It was like that. It didn't feel like there was anything in it (or to it). An expensive torch, headlamp for a bridge troll. Of course I'm on a deadline so this was really helpful (SARCASM) - overseas delivery wait and then the faff of the return. Obviously I'm returning it for a refund. I'll replace it with something at a fraction of the price that I bet will work just fine.

Scanner excelente. Atendeu minhas expactativas. Consigo digitalizar livros e documentos para uso pessoal: com precisão e eficiência. Antes de conprar, fiz uma longa pesquisa e cheguei a conclusão de este modelo era o ideal para mim: e valeu a pena. Por meio de um PDF-editável, consigo localizar pavravras-chave, termos específicos que me ajudam nos estudos. Recomendo muito.