Is your scanner ready for windows 7?

I am quickly discovering that many of the scanners I sold a few years ago are not Windows 7 compliant. If your scanner connects via Fire wire, SCSI or Kofax Adrenaline board, there is a good chance that there is a new scanner in your future. The good news is that the speeds and feeds you paid for originally can now be obtained for a lower price. If you would like to refresh your technology, give us a call for a review to ensure you will not get stuck.

Ruben Kerson
Inside Sales Manager
ImageSource, Inc.

Highlight on Fujitsu Scanners

We thought it would be a good idea to spend a few weeks highlighting some of the different scanner manufacturers and what kind of equipment and service they offer and the benefits of purchasing their product.  This week we are going to cover Fujitsu scanners. 

Fujitsu offers a very wide range of scanner models from the ScanSnap S300 which is rated at 8 pages per minute (ppm) all the way up to the 5900C, which is rated at 100ppm.  For a more complete list of the Fujitsu models available, click here.  The majority of Fujitsu’s mid-range scanners come with an on-site 3 month Next Business Day response warranty.  They also come with a nice package of software including:  Kofax VRS, Adobe Acrobat Standard, and ScandAll21.  Also, most of the scanners are now Dual Interface: Ultra SCSI & USB connectivity, see blog about USB vs. SCSI scanners.

A couple of the newer models that Fujitsu has released, the 6670 and 6770, have 15,000 page daily duty cycles.  That means that they can scan 15,000 pages in one day and not shorten the life span of the scanner.  That is about twice the daily duty cycle of the models they replaced, the 5650C and the 5750C.  That high of daily duty cycle is quite good for a scanner in its price range.  For the lower volume and price range, another two new models are fi-6130 and fi-6140. These little workhorses scan 40ppm and 60ppm and an optional Flatbed can be purchased separately for both models.

Other benefits of the Fujitsu scanners are the service offerings. Fujitsu is one of the few remaining scanner manufacturers that maintains their own warranty and post warranty contracts. This permits for high availability of quality phone support prior to an on-site repair call as well as high availability of parts when and if an on-site service call is needed. Fujitsu service offerings range from Basic coverage (any hardware failure that isn’t consumables, see blog about the difference between parts and consumables) to the more elaborate ScanCare package. ScanCare is a more comprehensive contract which can include several Preventative Maintenance (PM) visits per year and consumables kit(s) depending on the model. First time buyers can sometimes experience sticker shock over the cost of some of these contracts but once you calculate the guaranteed PM visits, the consumables and the end user training,  you should be able to quickly gauge the value. Plus to replace a major part on scanners can often run into the thousands of dollars.  Contracts are much cheaper than replacement scanners and if it’s a mission critical scanner can you really afford not to be covered?

 

Andrea Latham, CDIA+
ImageSource, Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
www.imagesourceinc.com

SCSI vs. USB 2.0 in Production Scanners

Over the course of my time selling imaging hardware, i.e. scanners, many customers ask me which is better…SCSI or USB 2.0?  Actually some don’t even ask, they insist that SCSI (small computer system interface) is still the fastest option.  Unfortunately for them, almost all scanner manufacturers have moved to using a USB 2.0 interface as option on their scanners and some are USB 2.0 exclusively. 

When the first USB (Universal Serial bus) it was slower than SCSI and at times Flakey. Anyone who has ever installed a SCSI device knows that there was definitely room for improvement in this technology as well. Between double checking SCSI ID’s and triple checking the Termination you could spend quite a bit of time sorting out a SCSI install if it didn’t go right the first time. But when USB 2.0 came out it was stable and fast. In fact there is little to no degradation in speed with the scanners.  In fact, Kofax has stopped manufacturing SCSI cards all together.  VRS used to be a limitation of USB in a production environment because it required a SCSI adrenaline board interface, but now the latest versions of VRS are more versatile and work with USB 2.0 just as well if not better than SCSI.

USB 2.0 is working its way to becoming the standard in imaging technology because it less expensive than SCSI and so much easier to work with.  You also have one less point of failure with the USB 2.0 vs. the SCSI card.  So for those people with the common misconception that SCSI is faster and better, I’m here to tell you that USB 2.0 is just as good when it comes to speed and less expensive for your pocketbook. It also opens up the door to using laptops.

ImageSource, Inc. offers the all of the best names in imaging hardware – Fujitsu, Bowe Bell & Howell, Panasonic, Canon– each one with their own strengths, but all equipped with the newest and latest connectivity of USB 2.0

 

Andrea Latham, CDIA+

Inside Sales

ImageSource, Inc.