The principal selling point for VueScan is the fact it works with hundreds of scanner models, even those long abandoned by the manufacturer.

That makes it an essential purchase if it's the only way to get your trusty model working in Snow Leopard, potentially extending the life of your scanner for years to come (but only if you purchase the Pro version; the Standard edition only offers free updates for a year).

But that's not all. This isn't some belt-and-braces fix solely for older scanners. VueScan trumps the options found in Snow Leopard or low-end scanning software with a powerful feature set wrapped up in a user-friendly interface.

Version 9 has overhauled this further to create a larger preview window, allowing you to view your potential scan up close. Any adjustments you make are also instantly shown here, giving you an accurate preview of what's to come the moment you hit Scan, ensuring you get better results more quickly.

And don't be fooled by the frankly simplistic scanning wizard provided. A powerful feature set is revealed in a series of tabs, including a set of colour-correction options to die for.

There's even basic OCR functionality, while Pro users get to create raw scan files and work with ICC profiles, making VueScan worth checking out if you're frustrated by the limitations of your existing software too.

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