Canon’s new desktop
scanner is ideal for
today’s paper-light
working practices
Versatile and productive
Paper is still an effective
way to distribute and
share information, but it is
becoming an increasingly
transitory medium as
businesses speed up internal
processes and reduce paper
filing through digitisation.
NewField IT’s approach to
paper – using it, but imposing
a clear desk policy and
electronic storage to keep the
office largely paper-free (see
page 26) – is likely to become
the norm in the future.
For such practices to be
effective, it must be easy
for employees to digitise
paper documents so that
they can be filed and shared
electronically or inserted into a
digital workflow. The key word
here is easy: most offices will
have a number of scanning
options, from specialist high
volume document scanners to
multifunction printers and small
sheetfed devices. All have their
place – and their limitations.
Most sheetfed scanners are
fast and efficient, offer good
functionality and take up very
little room on the desktop.
Scanners
However, they can’t be used
to scan bound documents.
Workgroup and departmental
MFPs are more flexible, but
they are a shared resource and
have multiple uses. Having to
get up and walk across the
office to use a device may be
an unwelcome interruption
– and you might have a wait
when you get there.
Minor inconveniences,
perhaps. But if you are serious
about reducing hard copy filing
and if you ask employees to
clear their desks before they
go home, there is a strong case
for implementing a dedicated
scanner than can handle all
types of document, including
bound reports, presentations,
books and magazines.
To meet this demand, Canon
has just launched the versatile
imageFORMULA DR-F120
document scanner for ad hoc
scanning in small businesses,
branch offices and corporate
departments with daily scanning
volumes of 50-800 pages.
Combining a single-pass,
duplex automatic document
feeder (ADF) and a legal-size
flatbed scanner in one sleek,
compact unit, it enables office
workers to use one device for
all their day-to-day scanning
requirements, from printed
sheets, books and magazines
to fragile items, ID documents
and plastic cards.
With a scanning speed of
20 pages per minute, or 36
images per minute if scanning
two-sided documents, it is also
very productive – two and a
half faster than the current
market leader for single-sided
documents and as much
as nine times faster when
scanning two-sided documents.
Fast scanning speeds combined
with advanced processing
features like automatic page
size detection and blank page
deletion and a 50-sheet ADF
ensure that lengthy documents
or batches of mixed pages can
be processed quickly.
Productivity is enhanced
further with simple ‘one touch’
buttons on the control panel
and intuitive CaptureOnTouch 3
software, which makes it easy for
users to create searchable and
editable PDFs; save documents
to various other file formats;
and send scans to multiple
destinations simultaneously,
including popular cloud-
based applications, such as
Sharepoint, DropBox, Evernote,
OneDrive, GoogleDrive and
SugarSync.
Another attraction of the
imageFORMULA DR-F120 is
value for money. Priced to shake
up the scanner market, it is
available online for under £300.
20
PRINT.IT
01732 759725
For users who like the convenience of
a multifunction device offering printing,
copying and faxing as well as scanning,
Panasonic has just launched the KX-
MB2100 series, with mono print
speeds of 26 pages per minute or
24 pages per minute when printing
on both sides of the page.
There are three models in the
range, the KX-MB2120 with USB
connectivity; the KX-MB2130 with
USB and LAN connectivity; and
the KX-MB2170, which also offers
Wireless LAN connectivity.
The mono laser devices include
a number of features to speed up
workflow, including a Quick-Job key
for selecting pre-programmed jobs. These
could be the copy/scan tasks you perform
most often or the ones that are most
complicated to set up.
Another useful feature is a password
protected Secure Print function that keeps
a print job on your computer’s hard disk
until a password is entered on the MFP at
which point it is printed. Unlike secure print
systems that use the printer’s memory,
there is no limit to the amount of secure
print files you can store.
In addition, the KX-MB2130 and
KX-MB2170 are compatible with Google
Cloud Print, enabling printing from remote
and mobile devices.
All-in-one
convenience
