Canon DR-1210C

While flatbed scanners such as the Epson Perfection 3490 Photo are perfect for tackling single-page documents, they're not designed for big jobs: manually feeding in a multipage document will take quite some time. They're also meant for occasional use, unlike dedicated document scanners like the DR-1210C, which are built for a busy life in the office.

This is reflected in good build quality, and the fact that Canon actually lists the feed roller unit and separation pad of its ADF (automatic document feeder) as consumables: it expects this scanner to be a long-term investment.

The DR-1210C's maximum optical resolution of 600 x 600dpi is enough for practically anything, and the quality was excellent on both documents and photos. A 150dpi 6 x 4in photo scanned in 10 seconds, while a 600dpi A4 photo scanned in 44 seconds. The ADF makes life simple too - we scanned a ten-page mono document in just 1min 34secs at 300dpi, which equates to 6ppm. Colour dropped the rate to 3ppm.

Up to 35 sheets of any paper from 52-128gsm can be handled at a time. Our only complaint is that if you click cancel once an ADF job has started, it will cling to whatever paper is already in the scanner. Clearing jams is easy, though.

The software bundle is excellent. ScanSoft's OmniPage SE 4's bigger sibling, OmniPage Professional 15, won our admiration for its business credentials: the main difference here is the lack of workflow management, so you can't, for example, automatically save bank statements into your Bank Statements folder. Considering that the retail version of OmniPage 15 costs less than £70, it's disappointing when you're paying this much, but it's an otherwise versatile inclusion. You also get a full version of Adobe Acrobat 7 Standard, while Presto BizCard Reader 5 SE completes the bundle.

If all you want to do is scan the odd document and photo, the DR-1210C certainly isn't for you. Epson's Perfection 3490 Photo scanner costs just £50 and offers equivalent scan quality, as well as a superior experience for photo scanning. But if scanning documents is a vital part of your business, there are some clear reasons to choose the DR-1210C, especially as its price is aggressive compared to many other document scanners.

Author: Dave Stevenson