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CAnon Canon DR-6080 Simplex speed: 60ppm Duplex speed: 120ipm (Speed at 200dpi, portrait mode, B&W) Canon DR-9080C Simplex speed: 90ppm Duplex speed: 180ipm (Speed at 200dpi, portrait mode, B&W) Simplex speed: 70ppm Duplex speed: 120ipm (Speed at 150dpi, portrait mode, color)
EDITOR’S CHOICE
2003
Sum-up: Exciting new scanners with fast speeds and excellent features. We learned about these two scanners just as we were going to press with this guide. The DR-6080 is a monochrome scanner that scans at 60ppm (in black-andwhite, portrait mode). The DR-9080C is a color scanner that runs at 90ppm in black-and-white, 70ppm in color. Aside from these two differences (and the price, of course), the two units are identical. The DR-9080C’s price is indeed what you’ll notice first. Most scanners in the 90ppm neighborhood cost more than $20,000, some even over $40,000. The DR9080C is, as we go to press, listed at just under $10,000. And while some scanners that run at around 60ppm have comparable prices to the $7,495 DR-6080, few of them offer duplex scanning or such strong features. But it is the DR-9080C that has a true breakthrough price; it is a high-speed document scanner at a midrange price. Nor has Canon cut corners in making these scanners. The models come loaded with plenty of features, features that are typical of Canon’s very solid scanner line. They have good native imaging software, and come with features like dynamic thresholding and smoothing. They also include both SCSI and USB ports. Color removal is standard, even on the monochrome DR-6080. Ultrasonic double-feed detection is standard (along with length and thickness detection), as is a mechanical scan counter. But Canon has gone even further, with a number of new features. One of the most important has to do with enhancing its CIS technology. CIS-based scanners can sometimes have problems with wrinkled documents. Canon’s technology uses a dual light source, which improves the machines’ ability to get a proper read despite imperfections in the paper surface. While the new scanners offer both an imprinter and an endorser, they also have something called a “software endorser.” This feature allows you to write sequencing information onto the image of a scanned document, as an extra tag for locating files and crosschecking counts. The models also have a new hardware feature that detects stapled documents and warns the operator. This can be useful if a stapled document inadvertently gets into a stack of papers to be scanned. The staple might cause a jam, harming the scanning
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mechanism or the document, and might also cause the skipping of an important page. This is a brand-new feature in the scanner world (as far as we are aware). Canon is also rolling out new software, called CapturePerfect. This software manages normal imaging and document scanning tasks. It also handles scanto-email and scan-to-PDF capabilities. One interesting feature on the DR-9080C is on-the-fly JPEG compression. The scanner can also automatically rotate a scanned image based on analysis of text orientation. Hardware deskewing is also standard, for slightly misfed pages. The DR-9080C also offers a capability we’ve only seen in a few other products: a feature Canon calls multistreaming. This allows the scanner to process both color and black-and-white images at the same time, so that you can create multipurpose documents. For example, a black-and-white image for archiving and a color one for OCR conversion. Canon prides itself on its excellent paper-feeding mechanisms, which are based on the research they do on their highly successful copier line. In a nice touch, the machines’ paper-feed rollers are user-replaceable. The scanners themselves have a pretty small footprint, around 12" x 18" x 21", so that these high-speed machines truly fit on a desktop. They are also semi-portable, at 55 lbs. In terms of features and speed, these scanners are both excellent machines. But when you look at the price and versatility of the DR-9080C, it’s clear that the relatively slow-moving production scanner market is about to undergo a price/performance revolution. This new model will force the competition to drop prices and improve their products soon. Of the two models, the DR-9080C is the one which gets our Editor’s Choice Award. The DR-6080 is well worth considering, though it is slightly less revolutionary than its sibling. Excerpted from The Scan-To-File Guide, volume 156, September, 2003. © 2003 Progressive Business Publications, Inc.
2003
Editor’s Choice Reprint
Better Buys for Business is the leading independent buyer’s guide to office equipment. Our mission is to help buyers of copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners, and duplicators make smarter purchasing decisions. To learn more about Better Buys for
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subscription information Canon DR-9080C — This exciting new scanner rewrites the price/performance equation in the production scanner market.
Contact Better Buys for Business at 800 247 2185, www.betterbuys.com or 370 Technology Drive, Malvern, PA 19355. © 2003 Better Buys for Business allows both print and electronic reproduction of this document.
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CAnon Canon DR-2080C EDITOR’S CHOICE Simplex speed: 20ppm 2003 Duplex speed: 40ipm (Speed at 200dpi, portrait mode, B&W) Simplex speed: 7ppm Duplex speed: 14ipm (Speed at 200dpi, portrait mode, color)
Sum-up: An economy model that supports color. This scanner comes with both duplex and color, and for a low-end model, it offers some nice software extras. It’s an entry-level model for document scanning of pages up to legal size, and it has a maximum black-and-white speed of 20ppm. Color scanning takes place at a much slower rate of 7ppm, but be aware that Canon uses 200dpi as a measure for color scanning, not the standard 150dpi. So the relative speed is slightly higher. Some competitors at this end of the market do not offer either color or duplex, and few offer both. The DR-2080C has an unusual feature. While color scanning is notably slower, grayscale scanning runs at the same speed as black-and-white scanning. Normally, grayscale speeds are the same as color speeds. The DR-2080C works at a wide range of resolutions, stretching from 100dpi to 600dpi. It has a 100-sheet document feeder, pretty standard at this end of the market. Note that it does not come with a flatbed platen. However, it does provide a way to bypass the document feeder if you need to scan individual irregular or somewhat bulky sheets. The most remarkable feature of this scanner is its compact size, with a length and width no bigger than a file folder. This is an ultraportable model. At the same time, Canon claims that it has made it rugged, with heavyduty roller mechanisms that are user-replaceable when they start to wear. Indeed, Canon says that this machine is definitely aimed at satisfying a wide range of applications, from the office to the point of transaction, so ruggedness is a key issue.
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Another area where this model stands out from the crowd is in terms of built-in imaging features. These include smoothing, thresholding, text/photo separation, and color dropout. These are features that are often optional or unavailable in competitive products. There is an optional endorser as well. In some respects, this unit overlaps Canon’s DR-3080C, a more robust and faster (32ppm) scanner that comes with a 100-sheet document feeder. However, that model is considerably more expensive. Its biggest rival, however, is Fujitsu’s fi4120C. This model is priced at $1,195, includes both color and duplexing, and even offers relatively fast color scanning (25ppm). The fi-4120C, however, offers few image-enhancement features. As with other Canon products, the DR2080C offers a minimal warranty. The service agreement, which takes over after the warranty expires, is something you’ll have to negotiate with your dealer. This unit, with its low price ($1,095) and compact size, has opened up lots of new uses for document scanners. We give it our Editor’s Choice award. Excerpted from The Scan-To-File Guide, volume 156, September, 2003. © 2003 Progressive Business Publications, Inc.
2003
Editor’s Choice Reprint
Better Buys for Business is the leading independent buyer’s guide to office equipment. Our mission is to help buyers of copiers, printers, fax machines, scanners, and duplicators make smarter purchasing decisions. To learn more about Better Buys for
Business ,
including
subscription information
Canon DR-2080C — This compact color model has very good imaging features and a reasonable price.
on independent guide
Contact Better Buys for Business at 800 247 2185, www.betterbuys.com or 370 Technology Drive, Malvern, PA 19355.
800 247 2185 www.BetterBuys.com
© 2003 Better Buys for Business allows both print and electronic reproduction of this document.
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