April 2002
USB Brings Scanning to Business Users
by Doug Henschen
With more and more options for scanning to the Web, scanning to email
and distributed capture, it only makes sense that there's growing demand
for smaller, more affordable scanners that can be deployed throughout
the enterprise. Enter the "workgroup" scanner category, which ranges
from 10 to 20 pages per minute (ppm) with prices usually less than
$2,000.
"The workgroup category has the highest growth rate in the document
scanner market," says Susan Moyse, industry consultant at InfoTrends, a
Boston-based firm that tracks scanner shipments. The firm estimates
workgroup sales reached 21,500 units in North America in 2001. "Our
projection for the next five years [for workgroup scanners] is a
41-percent compound annual growth rate."
Fujitsu dominates the workgroup category, but it's no surprise that
other manufacturers want a piece of the action. The latest incursion
into the workgroup market comes from Pleasanton, CA-based Visioneer,
which is moving up from the consumer flatbed market.
Quick Scan
Vendor: Visioneer, Pleasanton, CA
www.visioneer.com
Product: 9650i USB
Strengths: Low price, USB connectivity, good color image quality. ISIS and Kofax-compatible TWAIN driver available through the "i" model sold through resellers (call Visioneer for details).
Weaknesses: Minor skewing could be reduced with a longer feed tray and guide rails.
Price: $699
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Priced at $599, Visioneer's 12-ppm 9650i USB is a simplex flatbed
scanner designed to be easy on the enterprise. With its low price, the
9650i is easy to buy by the dozen for deployment in multiple departments
and remote offices. With the scanner's USB connectivity, installation is
plug-in easy for the most untrained user, without the complication of
SCSI boards and cables. With TWAIN and ISIS drivers, the 9650i is easy
to match with existing scanning applications.
Our tests were performed with a 9650 USB, a TWAIN-only model offered
online and via mass retailers since last November. Visioneer created the
"i" model strictly for distribution through resellers, many of whom are
experienced in deploying distributed-scanning systems.
You won't need a reseller's help to install this scanner, but USB
does require Windows 98/ME/2000 or XP. And when I tried to install
through the docking station of an older Win 98 (pre-second-edition)
laptop, the results were less than pleasing, with long scan times and
glitchy images.
My second installation attempt on a Windows 2000 desktop was
trouble-free and complete in fewer than five minutes. The USB driver
installed along with the bundled ScanSoft PaperPort LE management
application. ScanSoft's TextBridge 9.0 OCR software is also bundled.
The 9650's speeds were as good or better than the manufacturer's
ratings, with consistent 8.5- by 11-inch documents scanning bitonally at
up to 13 ppm at 200 dpi. Color speeds were about 4.5 ppm at 150 dpi and
about 2 ppm at 200 dpi.
The 9650's auto document feeder (ADF) is rated for 25 pages, but it
handled 30-page batches without complaint. The ADF handles up to legal
size (8.5- by 14-inch) documents, while the flatbed scan area is 8.5
inches by 11.7 inches.
The transport never jammed and I didn't experience any double feeds,
but mixed documents and bent corners sometimes prevented documents from
feeding properly. The ADF buzzed in anticipation of the next page, but
the edge of the next document fell short of the feed roller.
Mild skewing was a problem on some batches, and adjustments to the
short feed tray didn't always help. (Several models in this class have
longer trays and guide rails that do a better job of keeping documents
aligned.) With a bit of practice loading and lining up batches, I was
able to minimize skews and misfeeds.
Bitonal image quality was consistent with other scanners in this
class. While high-end scanners routinely deliver sharp images down to
four-point type, the threshold of readability for the 9650 was about six
points. Since workgroup scanners are aimed at low-volumes, there's
little time penalty in moving up to scanning at 300 dpi. This setting
slows the 9650 to 8 ppm bitonally, but the higher-resolution images were
readable down to four-point type. Higher-resolution also improves
recognition accuracy, and many OCR packages now call for 300 dpi images.
The 9650's color scans were highly readable and pleasing to the eye
even at 150 dpi. Helpful descreen and auto-exposure settings helped
scans look better than the originals.
The closest competitor to the 9650i is Fujitsu's 15C, a 15-ppm
simplex flatbed that sells for $995. This slightly faster scanner
doesn't offer the convenience of USB, but it does ship with a SCSI card,
cable and the software needed for installation.
For office documents and ordinary graphics, the 9650i is a great buy
for workgroups and remote offices with light scanning needs. USB
connectivity may make the difference in supporting distributed
deployments that would otherwise require onsite support.
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