August 2000

SCAN STATION:

Scanning with Digital Copiers

By Maria Medina

The latest digital copiers can be mastered by nearly anyone, yet they pack powerful scanning features that let you scan to email, convert documents to Web-ready content or deliver images to network-based document applications.

To discover the latest in scanning from digital copiers, we looked at the ImageRunner 400E from Canon, Lake Success, NY, and the just-released Document Centre 440 from Xerox, Rochester, NY. Once these machines are attached to the network, you can save time and money by turning paper documents into images that can be shared throughout your enterprise and beyond.

We began our testing with the Canon ImageRunner 400E, which starts at $18,060 with copy, print and fax functions. The device copies and prints 40 pages per minute (ppm) at 600 dpi (8.5" by 11" simplex) and it handles originals up to 11" by 17". The standard configuration includes a 50-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) and two 500-sheet (printing) paper supply cassettes.

For advanced scanning, we added ShareScan 2000, a $6,900 option that includes a touch screen display, a CPU with a 6 GB hard drive, an interface board and software licensed for 20 users (additional seats are $125 to $44 depending on volume). This package is well integrated, but you have to take the fax and print functions offline in order to scan. The unit captures 40 ppm at 300 dpi , enough resolution for most OCR, printing and viewing needs (scanning slows to 24 ppm at 600 dpi).

The ShareScan 2000 package from Ecopy (formerly Simplify), Nashua, NH, works with most networks and email systems, and it makes direct use of NT and Novell network directories and Exchange and Notes email directories. This gives you log-in security and eliminates the need to manage a separate user/group database. It also allows emails to be sent from your personal address, with sent items appearing in your folder.

Ecopy's nine-inch touch panel gives you finger-friendly scan and routing menus, and it also lets you preview images before you send. This is a step forward in scanning from a digital copier. You'll know when you have to rescan a difficult document, and you're assured that what you see is what you get.

ShareScan gives you three options: Scan and Mail, Scan and Fax, and Scan to Desktop. When you Scan and Mail, the touch screen displays a key board with convenient "@" and ".com" keys that speed entry of email addresses. With Exchange and Notes, you can select addresses from directories without having to type them.

The Scan to Desktop option lets you route images to inboxes you can set up anywhere on your network. It could be an individual's desktop, a department inbox or an FTP server on the Internet.

Ecopy's ShareScan package also includes MailRoom 2000, which lets you view images, insert notes, highlight, stamp, redact and perform optical character recognition. A drag-and-drop tool lets you import files from other desktop applications. You can also convert images to PDFs, but they're not text readable.

MailRoom 2000 lets you apply index fields and save documents directly into document managment systems including iManage, PC Docs and OpenText. You can also save from the desktop to other applications.

The just-released Document Centre 440 from Xerox competes head-to-head with the 400E. Like the Canon unit, the DC 440 prints and copies 40 ppm at 600 dpi (8.5" by ll" simplex). The SLX model with scanning is priced at $24,750. This includes four paper trays (for up to 11" by 17" paper), a high-capacity 2,000-sheet ADF, a 4.5 GB hard drive and a document finisher with stapling.

This price also includes CenterWare scanning software as well as PaperPort and TextBridge Pro from ScanSoft, Peabody, MA.

The DC 440 scans 40 ppm at at up to 600. Xerox's CentreWare software can Scan-to-File, Scan-to-Email and Scan-to-PC. Unlike the 400E, the DC 440 can continue to print as you scan. Xerox does not offer a touch panel option, so unlike eCopy you can't preview images directly at the machine (though it will print a report telling you how many pages were scanned).

Controlling scanning from the DC 440's 3-inch by 7.5-inch panel was more cumbersome than the Ecopy touch screen. Instead of having all the keys on one screen, we had to switch to a second screen to hit the "@" key.

With the Scan-to-File feature, you can either scan ad-hoc or create a template and pre-set job profiles for common document types or work groups. The templates allow you to route documents directly to document management systems and other applications with up to six ad-hoc or default index fields. These templates can be shared with other Document Centres, but they do have to beadministered separately from the network.

Scan-to-Email lets you send images as file attachments to up to six email addresses, but you can't call up addresses from Exchange or Notes directories, so you'll have to type them by hand unless you have an email template.

The Scan-to-PC option lets you process images at your desktop with ScanSoft PaperPort and TextBridge Pro 8.0. PaperPort lets you enhance, annotate, edit and integrate images with applications such as Word, Acrobat and others. TextBridge Pro lets you OCR image files and convert them to word processing, HTML or text-readable PDF files. This software includes a 25-seat license.

The Document Centre can be integrated with Xerox's FlowPort (enterprise distribution) and DocuShare (Internet-accessible document management) software, as well as with Lotus Notes/Domino.Doc, Microsoft Exchange public folders, Documentum and Optika eMedia systems. A free development kit is available for custom integration.

An ideal digital copier with scanning would combine the best of each of these units. The Xerox CD 440 shines with better standard paper handling and easy scanning directly to applications and repositories with indexing. The Canon ImageRunner 400E with the ShareScan 2000 package is our Editor's Choice because it offers a step forward in scanning convenience. The touch screen gives you image viewing and easy control, and the integration with popular network and email directories eases administration.