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Canon imageFORMULA P-208

Editorial Type: Review     Date: 03-2013    Views: 4708   







Portable scanner boasts ADF and wi-fi connection

A portable USB-powered scanner that includes an automatic document feeder mechanism? That's new!

We've got used to seeing ultra-portable scanning devices over the last year or so and there's no denying that the market is starting to look somewhat repetitive, so it's good to see Canon introducing a new device that aims to stir things up a bit. The imageFORMULA P-208 looks at first glance like so many of its rivals: compact, lightweight (albeit sturdy), and of course finished with that black plastic look we all know so well.

But it's well worth taking a closer look at what Canon have introduced behind the scenes to make the P-208 stand out from the portable scanning crowd. One of the main attractions of the device is its ADF functionality - on opening the front tray, users are presented with a pair of foldout arms described by Canon as 'feed extensions' that allow the scanner to be used to capture multiple documents (up to 10 standard paper sheets, more or less).

This makes the P-208 rather more of a business device than some of its competitors, which would require the user to feed each sheet into the scanner one after the other. It's hardly rocket science, but small common-sense innovations like this can make the difference between a piece of technology that gets used, and one that ends up gathering dust.

Another unusual inclusion is scanning software (CaptureOnTouch Lite) pre-loaded within the scanner itself - this means that it can be attached to any device at any location and used instantly, without any need to install drivers or management software. This is what makes this a genuinely mobile one-touch scanner. That said, the supplied CD contains the full version of CaptureOnTouch v2.0, as well as Presto! BizCard for users needing a quick and easy business card/contact management solution, and TWAIN/ISIS drivers. The scanner's image processing features include automatic colour recognition, text orientation recognition and text enhancement. It will also auto-deskew scans and ignore blank pages. A Full Auto Mode automatically applies the optimum scan settings for the document on the fly.

The P-208 will handle a range of document types from A4 forms through photos to embossed cards for ID type applications, and includes double feed detection. Speeds are respectable if not record-breaking, with a top rated speed of 8 pages per minutes (16 images per minute duplex), and its suggested daily duty cycle of 100 scans a day is likely to be more than adequate for its target market.

The addition of Canon's optional WU10 wi-fi unit allows direct scanning to Apple or Android mobile devices (Canon even offers a free CaptureOnTouch Mobile app) as well as to a wireless enabled PC, or it can even be shared among a group of users.
More info: www.canon.co.uk

VERDICT
In what is becoming a fairly crowded market, Canon has managed to introduce a device with enough innovations to make it stand out: the wi-fi option, combined with the extension feed ADF approach and the 'plug-and-scan' bundled software on the scanner itself, make the P-208 a serious business scanner for mobile/remote workers.

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