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PRINT.IT
01732 759725
Scanners
The zeta office is
moving out of the
library and into the
general office.
Is this the world’s most
beautiful scanner?
Better than the rest
The ScanSnap SV600 is not
the only overhead scanner in
this price range. Kodak offers
the USB-powered SceyeX A4
scanner (£679). Other options
include the MiniScan available
in A4 and A3 versions and the
A4 portable Overhead Scanner
(£349) from BMI Micrographics.
The HP TopShot Laserjet Pro
M275 MFP can even capture
3D objects thanks to its ability
to take multiple shots that are
then merged to create a single
image.
However, Dheedene says
Fujitsu’s is the only one to use a
CCD linear image sensor rather
than a digital camera for image
capture. She points out that the
latter are very fast, but have
inferior scan quality, as digital
cameras focus on a central
area, which means scans can
become blurred at the edges.
Moreover, many digital camera-
based systems can only achieve
an optical resolution of 200dpi,
whereas the SV600 is able
to scan at 300dpi across the
whole document, resulting
in superior optical character
recognition (OCR): “Our quality
control is to have at least a
97% OCR recognition rate,
but we aim for 99.5%. We set
high standards and competitor
products would not be able to
get to that high level,” she said.
Dheedene told
PrintIT
that Fujitsu was launching
the ScanSnap SV600 now
because the popularity of
sheetfed ScanSnaps has raised
awareness of the benefits of
scanning to such a degree
that people will immediately
recognise the value of overhead
scanning.
“For loose documents a
sheetfed scanner like the iX500
would be quicker. But for people
who don’t want to compromise
document integrity (some legal
documents must stay bound
to show they haven’t been
tampered with) or cut up a book
or de-staple documents, yet who
still want a productive solution
with high scan quality, the SV
6000 is ideal. It is faster than a
flatbed scanner or MFP (when
sheet-feeding is not an option)
and delivers perfect quality with
the same resolution across the
whole document,” she said.
The ScanSnap SV600 is
a useful addition to Fujitsu’s
range, especially for those
already familiar with the
ScanSnap user interface and
software options. Whether used
on its own or in conjunction with
a sheet-fed scanner, the SV600
is a faster, simpler alternative
to MFPs and flatbed scanners
for digitising bound documents.
It is not cheap, but the
productivity benefits are such
that many organisations will be
able to justify the investment.
Organisations with smaller
numbers of exception items and
limited budgets may choose to
live with the inefficiencies of
MFP scanning until prices come
down.
High end book scanners
normally found in libraries are
penetrating the office market
as law firms, marketing
agencies, architectural
practices, engineering
companies, banks and
insurance companies
discover the benefits of
overhead scanners for
digitising bound documents.
To capitalise on growing
sales outside its core market
of libraries and archives,
Zeutschel has launched
an office version of its zeta
book scanner and is building
relationships with MFP vendors
that may want to deploy
overhead scanners alongside
printers and MFPs as part of a
managed print service (MPS).
In Germany, it is already
dealing with Ricoh, Kyocera
and Canon and as a result is
looking forward to a 50% rise
in scanner sales from 800 in
2012 to 1,200 units this year.
The zeta office offers the
same advantages as the
Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 when
scanning books, brochures,
magazines, contracts and files
up to A3+ – just on a much
grander scale, with more
sophisticated features, built-in
lighting, a large touchscreen
display, the option of a book
cradle and a higher price tag of
just under £10,000.
Perfect Book
Intuitive touchscreen operation
and Perfect Book image
optimisation software provide
the ease of use demanded
by non-specialist office users.
The software automatically
eliminates distortions,
rotates images and removes
unnecessary elements, such
as images of staples, binding
rings, lever arch mechanisms
and the operator’s fingertips,
leaving pristine accurate
scans. It can even split
spreads into separate pages.
Scans can be previewed on
zeta office’s large touchscreen
display and saved in various
formats to a flash drive,
network location, cloud storage
or e-mail attachment, with
LDAP support for connecting to
a corporate email list. Or they
can be copied and output on a
connected printer.
The integrated patented
light system eliminates
concerns about ambient
lighting conditions and gives
users great freedom in the
positioning of the device. The
zeta office can even be placed
by a window. Because it is
noiseless, unlike an MFP, and
so beautiful to look at, it can
be used anywhere in an office,
from the document archive
to open plan offices and even
reception areas.
The zeta office is distributed
in the UK by Best-Tec Ltd
(07000 785368).
www.zeutschel.com
www.best-tec.ltd.uk
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