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Technology Bytes
by Francine Brokaw
DocuPen Handheld Scanner from PlanOn
Sometimes you really need to copy something but there’s no copier or scanner around. For those times, the DocuPen is the perfect answer. This handheld portable scanner uses rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries and is roughly the length of one and a half ballpoint pens. It can easily fit into a purse or a pocket and is ready to go at a moment’s notice.
Just push the “on” button and voila - instant scanner right at your fingertips. With a memory of 2 MB, the unit can store about 100 pages in its memory and transferring them to your computer is as easy as scanning.
First, scanning a document, whether it is a book, notes, a file, or anything else, takes just a second or two. After the unit is on, simply hold the document on a hard surface and place the DocuPen at the top of the page. With one hand holding the page, use the other steady hand to glide the DocuPen down the page with an even motion. There are two resolutions for images. Choose from 100 dpi or 200 dpi for your scanning. If you are going to use OCR (Optical Character Recognition) with your file, the manufacturer advises to scan at the higher resolution. The scanning width is eight inches, and the unit can scan up to 36 inches in one sweep.
When you’re ready to read the file on your computer, the software makes transferring the files and working with them quick and easy. The unit connects to any computer with a USB or Serial port. After the software is installed on a computer, all the user has to do is to open the program and download the files from the DocuPen. Any or all of the files stored in the memory can be downloaded with just a click of the mouse. Clearing the memory in the unit is also done through the software, and involves another click of the mouse. Selective clearing of the memory is not possible, so when a user clears the memory, everything is erased.
The batteries will last for about 200 pages of scanning. LED lights on the unit let the user know what resolution is selected, and if any errors occurred while scanning.
The DocuPen comes with a carrying case and necessary cable connections. It also comes with ScanSoft’s Paper Port 8.0 SE software, which is one of the best and most complete scanning programs. It can be used with any scanner and is a user-friendly program. Paper Port integrates with several email programs (Outlook Express, Outlook, and others), and with many word processing programs (Word, WordPad, Notepad, and more.) With the text recognition software, users can adjust text and alter paragraphs, sentences, etc. on the scanned files.
I discovered the scanning quality with the DocuPen is not quite as good as it is with a desktop scanner. Everything was legible, just not as sharp and clear as the original. But that sometimes happens with desktop scanners too. The main reason for this unit is the portability. It’s great for taking to a worksite (especially if it happens to be outdoors), in the car, on vacation, etc. When you need portability and you need to capture something, this little unit will do the job. It’s like a magic wand that instantly captures files right at your fingertips.
For more information or to order a DocuPen, go to thier website. .
© 2004 Francine Brokaw
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