A New Value in Production Scanning

by Doug Henschen

• High Speed Document Scanners (PDF, 21K)

High-volume document imaging demands more than speed. To get through tens or even hundreds of thousands of documents per day, you need usable throughput. Speed and throughput are closely intertwined, but the latter measure starts with the scanner's page-per-minute speed and then subtracts factors such as document prep, jams and double feeds, equipment downtime and, most importantly, usable image quality.

The difference between speed and throughput is all too familiar to Stacy Bellis, imaging manager at H.A. Berkheimer, a tax processing firm and service bureau in Bangor, PA. "Our current productivity is about one quarter of where we want it to be," she says. "We have so many rescans I have to account for a lot of extra work."

H.A. Berkheimer scans from 30,000 to 250,000 pages per week. Over the last four years, the company has relied on a pair of 100-page-per-minute (ppm) scanners, but Bellis says actual throughput has averaged less than half the rated speed. Hoping for better results, since July the company has been testing the i840, the top-of-the-line model in Kodak's just-released i800 series.

"In our testing with the Kodak, our productivity was three times higher because we did not have to rescan," Bellis says.

In our own tests of the i800 series we found much to like, starting with image quality but also including flexibility and value. The product family starts with the i810, a bitonal model that scans 97 ppm/194 images per minute (ipm — portrait scanning is at 200 dpi) and costs $55,000. The i820 also scans in 24-bit color at the same rated speed and costs $65,000. The $75,000 i830 and $85,000 i840 scan 129 ppm/258 ipm, the latter with color support. All four scanners deliver bitonal resolution up to 400 dpi. Maximum color resolution is 200 dpi in the i820 and 300 dpi in the i840.

Part of the value in the i800 series is the list of standard features, which includes Kodak's Perfect Page processing (with auto deskew, auto crop, border removal and dynamic thresholding), a prescan endorser, a patch code reader, TWAIN and ISIS drivers and a spare set of rollers and user-replaceable treads. Another value stems from the fact that all four models derive from the same basic scanner. If you want faster scanning or color support, Kodak field service personnel can upgrade you from any lower model to any higher model with a simple change of firmware and a few processing boards.

Because the i800 transport is 12 inches wide, Kodak promotes the landscape scanning speeds: the i810 and i820 scan 120 ppm/240 ipm, while the i830 and i840 scan 160 ppm/320 ipm. With today's fast computers, companies needing maximum throughput can rely on host software to rotate images without slowing the scanner. This is also true for many competitors, but transport and image processing issues prevent some models from matching these speed or resolution levels.

While speed is important, high throughput is impossible without good images. Image quality is crucial in automating indexing and data collection with recognition software. The i800s rely on a proprietary four-channel CCD with red, green and blue arrays as well as a grayscale luminance array. The CCD not only supports electronic color dropout and Perfect Page processing, it enables the i820 and i840 to deliver color and bitonal images simultaneously without slowing the scanner or compromising image quality. This "dual stream" output can be used to capture bitonal images for OCR and ICR as well as color images for data entry or customer support.

In our tests on the i840, we saw top-notch image clarity. Bitonal images delivered sharp detail and highly readable text down to tiny four-point type. Perfect Page processing made the most of even the worst documents for best-possible bitonal images. Color images were equally pleasing, offering deep, rich hues, sharp detail and bright, uniform backgrounds — a combination that is difficult to achieve at production speeds. Perfect Page processing applies here as well, providing auto crop and deskew for color images.

We were also impressed with the i800's flexibility. You can capture any combination of color and bitonal images at any combination of resolution settings. You can capture up to two image zones on each side using different settings to capture, say, a signature or a particular data field at a higher resolution or in color. You can also specify different TIFF formats and JPEG color compression levels.

Another crucial factor in throughput is the transport's reliability and ease of use. The i800 starts with an adjustable auto document feeder that can be set for right-edge, left-edge or centered document feeding and five preset elevations for batches up to 1,000 pages. The ultrasonic double-feed detector caught every combination of taped-together pages we could throw at it, including two sheets of onionskin, two sheets of cardboard and one sheet of cardboard taped to one sheet of onionskin. Sensitivity can be adjusted to avoid false readings from items such as adhesive labels.

The i800 series provides easy access to to clear jams, but according to Dave Pribulka, a technician at HA Berkheimer, that's not something often required. "The scanner has handled a variety of documents very well and very consistently," he says, adding that the company has tested everything from 3.5-inch by 4.5-inch tax forms to 11.75-inch by 16.75-inch glossy journals. "Our last jam was two months ago, and we've had hundreds of thousands of scans since then that were trouble free."

Among the few shortcomings of the i800 we discovered is the five-button operator interface, which is less than intuitive and does away with the programmable document mode keys on Kodak's old 9000 series scanners. Kodak says host/driver conflicts and improved software have led it to rely on host applications to provide preprogrammed settings for specific document types such as claims, tax forms or correspondence. Three programmable keys on the interface permit overrides such as skipping imprinting or reinitiating address increments.

Another possible drawback is the lack of grayscale output, particularly on the bitonal-only i810 and i830. While all four models capture in grayscale, Perfect Page processing renders black and white images. Companies desirous of a better alternative to bitonal will prefer JPEG-compressed color images, which aren't much larger than TIFF grayscale images.

One weak link for Kodak is the lack of pocket sorting options, a feature available through both BancTec and IBML. Challenging Kodak on price will be Panasonic and Fujitsu. At press time, Panasonic had just launched the 97-ppm/174-ipm KV-SS905C, while Fujitsu expected end-of-November release of the fi-4990C, a 90 ppm/180 ipm model (69 ppm/135 imp in color at 200dpi) priced at $29,995. We haven't tested these models yet, but Kodak says it will compete on image quality and the reliability and durability of its paper transport. Panasonic and Fujitsu would likely counter that they offer six-month and one-year warranties, respectively, versus Kodak's 90-day warranty.

Kodak has long held a commanding share of the high-speed production scanning market with its venerable 9000 series. The i800 series is a worthy replacement, offering color scanning, state-of-the-art image processing and a valuable combination of standard features at a lower price than the original 9000s. The innovative CCD and advanced image processing will go a long way toward eliminating rescans and improving image automation, addressing an important, ongoing cost factor. Our own tests and testimony from beta users convinced us to name the i800 series a Product of the Year for 2001.