Document scanners are incredibly useful, especially if your organization is using some sort of document management system or working toward a paperless office. But while many of us rely on the scanner built into a multifunction printer, this isn’t necessarily designed for large quantities of documents. In fact, many MFP scanner automatic document feeders have a capacity of just 30 to 50 sheets; their speeds may be relatively slow.
If you or your colleagues find yourselves occasionally (or often) standing by an MFP with a stack of documents needing to be scanned, and feeding them a handful at a time, it’s probably time to add one or more dedicated scanners to your scanning mix.
This includes individuals working from a home office that need to send large volumes of documents to coworkers, store them in the cloud or a similar repository, and/or input data from the documents into a database.
A dedicated scanner is what you need. While a small desktop scanner can be convenient (in other words, it can be right on your desk) and very affordable, this kind of device often lacks an input tray, document feeder, and duplex capability to scan both sides of a document in a single pass.
Larger desktop scanners cost more, but they are also more likely to have an input tray, ADF with an input capacity of 50 pages or more, and duplex capability. Some of these models even provide the ability to mix documents of different sizes as well as automatically stop feeding documents containing staples or paperclips.
Other potential scanner features to consider include:
- Connection to enterprise content and document management systems
- Ease of use, including a user-friendly touchscreen
- Fast scanning speed
- Support for large-sized documents
- Simple setup and integration
More than Just Hardware
Dedicated scanners also frequently come with an attractive suite of software beyond just the driver needed for your computer to recognize the device. Many scanners include optical character recognition (OCR) software that lets you convert scanned documents to editable and searchable files. A number of vendors have also started including software for scanning and classifying receipts, making submitting expense reports as well as collecting data for tax returns fast and efficient tasks.
Ask Your Docutrend for Rep More Information. If you’re thinking about purchasing scan technology for your business, speak with us today. We can help you find the right set of devices and software for your specific needs, including traditional office and work-from-home arrangements.