Document handling is a core part of any business’s administration and workflow. With paper’s continuing presence and the ongoing need for digital storage, one point remains abundantly clear: Scanners are essential equipment for any work environment. This short guide offers helpful tips for picking a scanner for computer or networked setups that best meets your enterprise’s document imaging requirements.
Document Scanners
When digitizing business documents, several important functionalities are involved: clear image capturing, optical character recognition and paper handling technologies that reduce jamming, misfeeds and scanning errors. Business and high-speed scanners are often ideal solutions, but you could also get good mileage from smaller scanners and home office machines. It all depends on your work environment. Some considerations when choosing a document scanner include:
- Expected scanning volume
- Document formats
- Network and software compatibility
- Available space
Fujitsu fi-8170
Part of the brand’s fi series scanners, Fujitsu’s fi-8170 is a versatile and powerful solution for most offices. With an expected daily volume of 10,000 sheets, the 8170 can scan up to 70 pages per minute and comes with both duplex scanning and a 100-page automatic document feeder. Clear Image Capture incorporates 3D color conversion technology to digitize images using over 4,900 color levels, compared with older technologies that digitize only up to 30 levels. This significantly reduces line distortion and color shifting that impacts image clarity. The fi-8170 can connect via USB and Ethernet.
Paper handling features on the fi-8170 include Multi-Feed Detection to prevent overlapping pages plus sonic and visual detection technologies to stop jams before they start. Other features include automatic page rotation, deskewing and blank page detection. With these functions, you cut down on jams and avoid scans with missing pages.
Fujitsu fi-7600
For higher-volume scanning, the fi-7600 is an excellent choice. Equipped with a 300-page ADF, the fi-7600 scans up to 100 pages per minute and supports both simplex and duplex scanning. The fi-7600 incorporates the same paper handling features as the fi-8710: automatic page rotation and deskewing, Intelligent Sonic Paper Protection, Multi-Feed Detection and blank page detection. This high-volume scanner boasts an expected daily volume of 44,000 sheets, making it more than capable of supporting a large office environment of multiple users. Like the fi-8170, it also supports USB connections.
Art Scanners
Image clarity and quality are just as critical for art and photo scanners. However, there are special considerations. You can’t fit a traditional oil painting through a scanner, and you may risk damaging or destroying original items such as old photos and delicate paper-thin sketches.
ScanSnap SV600
As part of the Fujitsu ScanSnap series, the ScanSnap SV600 solves these challenges with its contactless functionality. Its overhead LED scanning feature minimizes the amount of physical handling required. With the SV600, you can scan everything from newspaper clippings to watercolor paintings without the need to cut, fold or otherwise alter the originals.
A Wide Range of Scanning Solutions
When choosing document imaging equipment, you must consider your organization’s primary needs. Home offices, large offices, libraries and other environments have distinctive characteristics that dictate which scanning equipment best suits their users.
