Category Archives for "Canon"

Imaging hardware: How to get the best bang for your buck

Why price is not the most important factor when purchasing imaging hardware

When shopping for new imaging hardware, many customers look at their budget and let that dictate their purchase. Now I understand that budget is an important factor, however over the last 9 years working with imaging customers, many have purchased equipment based mainly on price – only to discover that it did not meet their long term growth needs.

So in light of these discussions, here are a few bits of wisdom that can be used as a checklist when considering new purchases:

What  scanner features are essential to you?

  • Color or Black & White (B & W) scanning?
    The majority of scanners automatically come with color option but can also provide B & W scanning for smaller document size files.
  • How fast do you need the scanner to scan?
    Scanners are classed by Pages per Minute (PPM).
  • How much volume are you expecting to scan per day, week or month?
    Volume and speed is determined by the manufacturer when they develop the scanner.
  • Manufacturers group their scanners into categories based on PPM and the Daily Duty Cycle (DDC).
    DDC is how many images the scanner can handle on a daily basis. So if you have a large volume of scanning to be completed on a daily basis, a small desktop workgroup scanner will not be sufficient for the volume – it would break down all the time. Here are the general groupings that manufacturers use:
  • Workgroup/ Low Volume ​
    Slower, smaller desktop scanners generally under 90PPM and DDC of approximately 500 to 20,000 documents per day, depending on model purchased.
  • Departmental/ Mid Volume
    Scanning speeds ranging 90-125PPM and DDC of approximately 30,000 to 125,000 documents per day, depending on model purchased.
  • High Volume
    Scanning speeds ranging 140-210PPM and DDC of approximately 150,000 to unlimited documents per day, depending on model purchased.
  • Network
    When scanning directly to a network, without the need of additional hardware or software. Scanning speeds tend to be slower for these scanners, generally under 60PPM and DDC of 6,000 per day, depending on model purchased.

What are the characteristics of your document?

  • How big are your batches of documents that you want to scan at one time? 
    ​Scanners come with different Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) sizes, ranging from 10 pages at a time to scan, up to 750 pages. If you have a large production scanning environment, the more the ADF holds the quicker the scan operator can scan documents. Generally scanners that have higher ADF also have higher PPM and DDC.
  • You need to determine the general sizes of your documents. 
    ​What is the maximum and minimum sizes, what length are the documents? Larger or longer documents (11 x 17” or 12 x 34”) do require a flatbed scanner or scanner that can handle longer documents.
  • Are they delicate documents that cannot be run through a scanner? This would also indicate you may need a flatbed scanner or a flatbed attachment to the scanner.
  • Do you require pre-scan or post-scan imprinting?
  • Is the scanner easy to clean every day by the user? 
    ​Are the consumables (rollers etc.) easy to replace by the end user? This can save money and time on the maintenance of the scanner and ensure optimum image clarity and scanning performance.

What value-add does the vendor/manufacturer offer?

  • Does the manufacturer offer evaluation or demo scanners for you to test before the purchase? 
    ​This is important when purchasing larger production scanners, it will help determine which scanner is the best fit for your scanning needs.
  • What type of scanner hardware maintenance contracts does the manufacturer offer? 
    ​Some include 1 year or multiple years in with the scanner purchase price and will save you money.
  • Will shipping be included in the initial purchase or is it an additional cost?

Many customers work with ImageSource to help them select the best fit, or to evaluate scanners side by side to determine what is the best bang for their buck. As you can see from the information above, sometimes price is not the only factor to consider with your new purchase.Let us help you!

To learn more about ImageSource, and all of the content management services we provide, visit us here.

Don’t Leave Money on the Table – How To Receive Cash For Old Scanners

As an Inside Sales Account Executive at ImageSource, I am constantly having conversations with customers that realize they have to upgrade their older scanning equipment.

What surprises me is that many customers do not know they may be eligible to receive trade-in credits or rebates for their old scanners when purchasing new equipment.

Some manufacturers also organize eco-friendly disposal of your used equipment at no charge.

If you have old scanners that need replacing, you might be surprised at the trade-in credit/rebates that may make this purchase financially achievable now!

Not all equipment qualifies, so please reach out to our team here at ImageSource to see if you can receive $$$!

Contact Megan Lane at (360) 943-9273 or insidesales@imagesourceinc.com.

Megan Lane
Inside Sales Account Executive
ImageSource, Inc.

Do These Documents Make My Scanner Look Small…?

Is this a common question in your organization?  Well, good news.  There are scanners that can scan documents that are larger than 8 ½” by 11”.  Even 8 ½” by 17”!  In our industry, we call them Large Format Scanners.

Large Format Scanners can scan documents up to 58” wide and up to several feet in length.  The scanned image can also look better than the original – just like with production and desktop scanners. Large documents can be scanned in resolution of up to 600 dpi.  The speed of these scanners is impressive as well – up to 16” per second.  Another great feature of these scanners is that they require few or no consumables to maintain their performance.  The manufacturer leaders in this industry include ImagePRO and Contex/Vidar.  Both of these manufacturers ship equipment with a standard 2 year on-site warranty agreement – a great add-on feature.  The ImagePRO line also uses LED technology which provides instant-on color calibration translating into no waiting time for calibration.

Businesses/organizations in which Large Format Scanners are commonly found include Architectural firms, counties’ assessors’ offices, galleries, geological surveyors, companies that produce maps, public utilities divisions, photography studios, manufacturers of airplanes and trains, etc.

The scanned image can be seamlessly imported into your existing enterprise content or document management system.    Typical software shipped with these scanners allows you to scan the document to a JPEG, PDF, or TIFF.  You can also scan-to-net as well.  In terms of drivers, most large format scanners work with TWAIN and in terms of interface, they use SCSI III, USB 2.0 and/or Ethernet.  These scanners ship network ready.

At the end of the day, feel confident that no matter how physically large yours document are, there is a scanner out there that can capture them, and give you the benefits of digital storage and deliverability that you have grown accustomed to in your normal day to day business with normal sized ones.

Ian Hundtofte

Inside Sales

ImageSource, Inc.