There are four main classes of scanner that we would recommend for use with TeleForm.
- Network Scanners
- Entry Level
- Mid Range
- High End
Although it is possible to get much cheaper scanners from Canon, HP and other makes these are primarily flatbed scanners designed for single page scanning. Even if they do have sheet feeders they are usually designed for a couple of pages per day and won't stand up to constant use. We would strongly advise against attempting to use one of these consumer devices and to invest in a proper high speed document scanner.
Network Scanners
If high throughput of more than a few hundred pages per day is required then we would always recommend dedicated high throughput scanners. In some cases though, if relatively low throughput is required, Network Scanners are an ideal solution. They allow the people scanning the forms to submit them with more or less a one button process. This is ideal if scanning it to be done throughout several branches or locations and the staff submitting the forms are not involved in the verification process. They can simply walk up, place the pages on the feeder press a button and walk away.
The HP 9200C Digital Sender is an ideal unit for this kind of installation and costs approximately £2000.
Entry Level
In the entry level range of scanners you are limited to A4 only although most scanners are duplex. SCSI has traditionally offered a more robust and efficient connection method but with the growing popularity and cost effective nature of USB this is now taking over on the entry level scanners.
These scanners can usually take up to 50 pages at a time, will scan in duplex at up to 20 pages per minute. They are suitable for small systems where only a few hundred pages are scanned each day.
A good example of such a scanner is the Canon DR2580C, which costs approximately £700.
Mid Range
The mid range scanners offer speeds of up to 50 pages per minute and provide A3 option. The Canon DR3080CII is ideal for A4 scanning and costs approximately £2500.
Where as the Canon DR5010C is ideal for A3 scanning and costs approximately £3000.
High End
At the higher end of the market are scanners that will scan up to and over 100 pages per minute. The Canon DR7580 and DR9080 (75PPM and 90PPM respectively) are ideal scanners at this level.
