With a cry of 'Have scanner, will travel', Michael reports on an IRIS product
The IRIScan Pro 3 wi-fi is a portable scanner from the IRIS branch of the Canon family. This scanner can handle single pages and business cards, as it is powered by a rechargeable li-ion 3.7V 1700mAh battery capable of scanning up to 200 A4 pages at 300dpi from a single charge. A fold-away ADF (automatic document feeder) feature allows eight pages to be stacked for scanning.
Eminently portable with dimensions of 295 x 81 x 41mm (L x W x H) and weighing 800g, this scanner can accept documents of up to A4 size from the top of the unit and business cards from a slot positioned at the rear of the unit. A second slot, also located at the rear, is available for inserting a SD card to increase the scanner’s memory from its default offering of 128MB. This memory is used to store scans when immediate access to either a Windows or Mac computer is not available.
An on/off power switch and micro-USB port are located on the left side of the scanner. The USB port is used when recharging the battery or linking to a computer for direct scanning. A standard-to-micro USB lead is provided in the box. As mentioned earlier, documents are fed into the top of the scanner while an area over to the right holds an LCD screen for providing feedback and the unit’s touch-sensitive control panel. As well as activating scans, this control panel allows you to switch between 300/600dpi, monochrome/colour, JPEG/PDF and the destination to which the scan will be directed. This can either be memory or a computer linked via the USB lead.
The product’s wi-fi feature only comes into play after documents have been scanned to memory. Like some other manufacturers, IRIS has opted for a wi-fi system that requires the computer to join with the scanner rather than the other way round. As a result both elements are not part of your home network but form a one-on-one link up. Once set up, this wi-fi link allows you to access the scans stored in memory via a browser. Various housekeeping tasks, such as downloading scans to a computer or deleting those no longer needed, can be carried out. While not as convenient as scanning direct to a computer, this method does remove the problem that can be caused by the lack of a computer.
When scanning documents or business cards, this IRIS device is no slowcoach. Perhaps not in the same league as Usain Bolt, this scanner took eight seconds to scan an A4 page at 300dpi, rising to 12 seconds at 600dpi. A business card was scanned at 300dpi in three seconds with a 600dpi version requiring four seconds. Included in the box with this product are various software applications for Windows and Mac platforms. You get a copy of Readiris Corporate 14 for OCR and document management features plus Cardiris 5.0 Corporate for creating a database of business cards that have been scanned. Michael Fereday
A scanning device that does not initially require a computer connection.
Specifications:
• Dimensions: 295 x 81 x 41mm
• Weight: 800g
• Scanner display: 1.2" LCD
• Built-in memory: 128MB
• Max Document size: 216 x 356mm
• Min Document size: 88 x 50mm
• Output File Format: JPEG / PDF
• Resolution: 300dpi / 600dpi
• ADF capacity: 8 pages
• Memory card: SD card
• Battery: Li-ion 3.7V 1700mAh
• Battery life: 200 pages (A4 colour at 300dpi)
• Software: Readiris Corporate 14, Cardiris 5.0