Two years ago I had the opportunity to receive and review a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner for CraftCritique.com. Couragent, the creator of the Flip-Pal mobile scanner, are now proud sponsors of the National Breast Cancer Foundation and have a special price of $159.29 (regularly $176.99) on their brand new Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Pink Bundle until the end of October, National Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

I thought this was a great time to re-publish my original review of the Flip-Pal in conjunction with an awesome GIVEAWAY sponsored by the company. Read to the end of the blog post for info on how to enter to win a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner Pink Bundle!

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FLIP-PAL REVIEW:

Years ago, I worked for an art magazine, and scanning fine art images was a big part of my job. Since I had access to a professional grade scanner at work, I never got around to purchasing a scanner for home use. Since nearly all of my photography is digital, I mostly got by without one, but there were always instances when I wished I could scan an old photo or an illustration. It just never seemed worth it to go buy a huge, desktop scanner/printer combo for just a few projects or photos. It was a constant conundrum — I wanted to scan things, but I didn’t want to own a bulky scanner that would just take up room on my desk.

The Flip Pal Mobile Scanner solved my conundrum! The Flip Pal is a mini, battery-powered scanner that you can take anywhere. It is approximately 10 inches wide, 6.5 inches tall, and about an inch thick. It weighs about 1.5 pounds. It comes pre-loaded with batteries and a 2GB SD memory card. All you have to do to start scanning is take it out of its packaging. You don’t need to hook it up to a computer or plug it in; just switch it on, and press the scanning button! Magic!

The Flip Pal also comes with a simple instruction booklet and a handy thumb drive “SD to USB converter” that you can use with the SD card to load the scanned photos onto you computer. The thumb drive also contains special Flip Pal photo software that runs on Windows computers and can help you edit photos and stitch together large photos from multiple scans. However, I use Mac computers, so I was not able to access the software. Instead I used iPhoto and Photoshop to easily edit all my scans. [UPDATE: The FLlip-Pal Toolbox software is now Mac + PC compatible.]

I got married long, long ago in the age of analog photography, and for years I have been meaning to scan some of my wedding photos. A perfect project to test out my new Flip Pal!

The scanning surface is 4 x 6 inches and can scan at a 300 dpi or 600 dpi resolution. Three hundred dpi is a standard print resolution, and scans made at that size can be printed at their original size. Scans made at 600 dpi resolution can be successfully printed up to twice their original size. Many professional scanners work at much higher scanning resolutions, but for nearly all hobby and craft purposes, 600 dpi is plenty large. Plus, each scan is very fast! I scanned over 80 wedding photos and didn’t even use up half of the battery power!

Each scan is displayed on the scanner’s small screen after it is completed. The digital display helps you make sure you positioned the scanned item correctly and allows you to review all of the scans you have made during a session.

Another great feature of the Flip Pal is that you can remove the cover and “contact scan” larger pieces or things that will not fit under the cover. Once the cover has been easily pulled off, you can flip the Flip Pal over and scan… well, really anything!

The clear back allows you to position the scanning surface correctly. I scanned a few of my large wedding photos and also a few older photos that are affixed to a scrapbook this way.

It was incredibly easy to import the scans onto my computer. You simply put the SD card into the USB converter and plug that into your computer. Then, you can import photos just as you normally would off of a digital camera. If you have an SD slot on your computer, you can use that instead of the USB converter. I imported my scans into iPhoto and did a little bit of cropping and editing. The whole scanning process was completely user friendly and easy.

I am thrilled that I finally got some of my old photos scanned, including the two above of my grandparents. I love my new Flip Pal!

Pros:

  • Small size makes it completely portable and easy to store.
  • User friendly and extremely easy to use.
  • No set up – simply open it up and start scanning!
  • Patented flip-and-scan technology – literally flip it over and scan anything!

Cons:

  • The included Flip Pal software only works on Windows computers.

    The software now works on both Mac and PC.

  • The scanning surface is small – 4 x 6 inches.
  • Maximum scanning resolution is 600 dpi – some projects may call for a higher res.

Required Disclosure: I was given this product at no-cost for review purposes.

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NOW FOR THE GIVEAWAY!

Flip-Pal will be sending one of their new Pink Bundles — which includes the scanner, a carrying case, and a special Breast Cancer Awareness scanner cover — to one lucky Swap-botter! To be entered in the drawing to win this great prize, please comment on this entry with your answer to the following question:

How would you use a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner?

Please include your Swap-bot username and email address with your comment. The giveaway will be open for entry through October 31st. The winner will be chosen and announced by November 2nd. The Flip-Pal Pink Bundle prize will be sent directly from the Flip-Pal company. By entering this drawing you agree to release your shipping address to them if you win.

Good Luck!