Portable scanner

Hi all,

I want to get a reliable scanner to use for me classroom. I'd prefer it to be portable and easy to use. I want to get it as cheap as possible. Any and all suggestions are welcomed.

Cheers,
The Dude

 

Sheet feed, flatbed or something which you drag over the paper. Perhaps this small USB-powered sheet feeder. However, it can't swallow a book.

As an alternative, have you thought of a digital camera? However, these need good lighting - the flash is always uneven when used fairly close.

John

 

Very nice, around $150 in tht US, not bad for such small device, I also need one, thanks.

 

Canon makes a few that are great, including the LIDE60 and its successor models.

 

LiDE 60 is indeed nice, and it can even scan a book, but it's bigger though.

 

But it is powered by a single USB cable, and still fits in a backpack (I've tried). The CanoScan software is awesome, never had any major issues (save for one when Vista was less than a few weeks old).

 

Try Docupen. This is the most compact handheld scanner I found so far. You can scan pages out of a book because it is NOT a sheet feeder.

Prices range from $99.99 for a recertified BW model to $299.99 for a color model.

Here are links to the company website and a demo on YT:

http://planon.com/

http://youtube.com/watch?v=KhKzRJ_ZR4s

 

Very impressive, and certainly very portable. I guess next step is to have it interface with Bluetooth to have real time scanning

Thank you for the find!

+rep

 

Docupen looks amazing - just what I'm looking for. I hope it is as easy to use as outlined on that TV show.

Thanks!

The Dude

 

Make a review after you get it and post it, I may also get it myself.

 

The Canon LiDE scanners can not scan a book! They can scan a flat sheet of paper, that's all. They can't even scan a crumpled sheet of paper properly because they only have shallow depth of field. So don't think that you are able to scan a book with it, if the paper does not lie completly flat on the scanner, then it gets blurred, which is the case if you scan a book with such a scanner.

The Docupen is even worse. I haven't tried it, but according to some reviews and some testscans you'll see that the scans are not useable.
http://the-gadgeteer.com/review/docupen_r700_handheld_scanner
http://www.techwarelabs.com/reviews/peripherals/rc800/index_3.shtml
Even a small and handy camera is better.

 

Ummmm, I lost my excitement, the Docupen doesn't seem to deliver a clear scan, is actually very bad.

Thank you for the report.

 

Yeah,

The old adage - "If it seems too good to be true... then it probably is" certainly applies to the Docupen. I read a number of customer reviews and just about all them recommended NOT buy the Docupen. I guess a portable scanner is too ambitious... perhaps a hybrid printer/fax/scanner might be a more worthwhile investment.

Once again gang, useful advice and support. Many thanks.

 

And I have to confess that I haven't seen anyone with such a scanner, but the idea is great, I guess we just need to improve it.

 

So a digital camera seems to be the best option for on-the-move document capture. The challenge is to get good lighting and take the photo square on.

John

 

Since digital camera are not normally made for this type of application, which one would you recommend?

 

what you'll want is a cheap usb scanner. i actually have a canon which is old but it's good resolution, only about an inch thick and i got it on ebay new for 60 or 70 bucks and that was years ago. something like this is what i would recommend the most. go with a cheap one too bec then if u break it (which happens with all portable things) you won't care as much.

 

Something with lots of pixels, a good lens plus image stabilisation and a big screen on the back (to help getting the document framed nicely). Since we are considering the alternative to a scanner then we don't need a very small camera with a very small lens. A medium sized camera with a big lens would be the best choice. Possibly something like the Ricoh Caplio. I've never used one but they appear to have big lenses.

If the end output is only going to be a series of images which can be reviewed on screen for information then a camera will do the job easily and the eye can adjust for uneven exposure. If you want to run the image through OCR software then a reasonably even exposure is needed and preferably around 300 pixels per inch. The latter is easy (eg 10MP camera) but the even exposure needs good lighting. Preferably daylight but maybe not direct sunlight. As I have said previously, all these camera suffer from uneven flash illumination for close-up photos.

John

PS: I read recently that professional scanning of books does not use a flat bed scanner but puts the book on a lectern so that it is not fully open so there is less risk of damage to the book. Two digital cameras are used, one perpendicular to each page, plus lots of lights. This is all set up in a frame so that all it needs is someone (or a machine) to turn the pages and press the button. This method also avoids the problem of shadow and distortion at the centre of the page.

 

Wow, the Ricoh Caplio is a nice and high performant camera, it makes totally sense, thanks John. I want it

 

I've actually got a baby Canon that lives in my pocket for snapshots and a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5 for taking the real photos. However, the TZ5 has got a 10x zoom lens that adds to the cost but, in most respects is similar to the Ricoh.

John