November 2000

SCAN STATION

Scan and Distribute Via LAN, Email & Fax

By Maria Medina

When the computer science teachers at Pomona High School, Pomona, CA, want to distribute homework that originates on paper, they make it available electronically using TangoScan, a scanner-sharing solution that lets you distribute images quickly and easily.

Developed by WayTech, Irvine, CA, TangoScan is a hardware/software combo built on a five-button control box that sits next to your scanner. The device is connected (via USB or serial port) to a networked PC to which the scanner is attached, yet this workstation doesn't have to be dedicated solely to scanning. This central PC acts as a server, but TangoScan's scanning and distribution functions are handled at the control box.

Users select their TangoScan client ID at the control box to route scanned images to their desktop. Using the TangoScan client software you can view, edit, save, print, email, fax or drag-and-drop images into third-party applications.

The client software is intuitive, and you can use it to set up "tasks" with pre-set scan and distribution settings. Let's assume you have a document that you would like to send to internal recipients on the LAN as well as to outside recipients via email or fax. You would use the client software to select the scan settings, LAN recipients, email addresses and fax numbers. When you're ready to scan, you select your client PC from the control box; TangoScan automatically distributes the images using the chosen settings.

Quick Scan Product: TangoScan Supplier: WayTech Development Irvine, CA 949-859-5580 www.waytechinc.com Description: A hardware/software combo that supports ad-hoc workflow and distribution of color, grayscale or bitonal images via LAN, email or fax. Built-in workflow and editing features including OCR. Price: $495 for 10-user license, $125 per five additional licenses. Strengths: Control box simplifies scanning while scanning software provides easy scan and distribution settings for LAN, email and fax. User-friendly software includes messaging tool, image editing, OCR and easy integration with popular desktop applications. Weaknesses: TangoScan client software must be installed on each user's PC. Lacks image viewing at scan time. TWAIN only - no Kofax or ISIS support.

Much like a copy machine, the control box has a green Go button that you press when you want to scan and send documents. The other buttons let you choose tasks and select image settings and TangoScan clients. TangoScan supports TWAIN drivers for bitonal, color and grayscale scanning up to 600 dpi in common formats including TIFF, JPEG and BMP. The control box also supports bitonal or color copying, allowing you to select image and quantity settings and then send files directly to a printer.

To deploy TangoScan in a workgroup environment you install the client software on each user's computer. The software provides an inbox, folders and an instant messaging tool that lets you notify users that you're sending a document. If the client software is open the images will pop right up on the screen. The messaging tool is handy, but there is no automatic alert function to let users know they have images waiting in their inboxes.

If you wish, you can edit images before you send them using TangoScan's user-friendly ActivePage software. ActivePage lets you control image brightness, contrast and gamma, and you can zoom in, rotate, deshade, despeckle, crop and apply OCR. ActivePage also lets you drag-and-drop images into third-party tools like Word, PhotoShop and HTML/PDF conversion tools.

To send email, the TangoScan client workstation must have a connection to an SMTP (Simple Mail Transport Protocol) email server. The software has its own address book, but it can be synchronized with existing Microsoft Outlook address books so you don't have to re-enter email addresses. You can email images as attachments or import OCR results into simple text messages. Faxing requires TangoScan's built-in fax server program, which can be installed (along with a required fax/modem) on the server PC or one of the TangoScan clients.

TangoScan is priced at $495 for 10 users, with additional licenses sold in groups of five for $125. There are a number of other distributed scanning alternatives. Acrobat Messenger ($1,499) from Adobe Systems, San Jose, CA, is a software solution that turns a scanner and NT server into a dedicated scanning kiosk (see our review "Scan to Email or Straight to the Web," June 2000).

The Digital Sender 8100C (covered in the same review), from Hewlett Packard, Palo Alto, CA, builds a scanner and a server into a $1,300 stand-alone device that works like a fax machine.

TangoScan is a simple ad-hoc workflow solution that lets you capture and distribute paper-based information. The control box is easy to operate, and the ActivePage software lets you edit, perform OCR and link to third-party applications for more sophisticated image manipulation and file conversion.