The New Canon Flatbed Scanner Unit 101

In order to facilitate the changing usage patterns of its imageFORMULA series of scanners, Canon, the world leader in imaging technology, has responded with an innovative solution, the imageFORMULA Flatbed Scanner Unit 101. The new flatbed document scanner is compatible with key Canon imageFORMULA devices via a USB connection and gives users the ability to scan-in irregular sized documents that wouldn't be suitable for use with an automatic document feeder. With no frills ergonomic design and the very fastest precision scanning speeds incorporated, the new Unit 101 provides existing imageFORMULA machines with the added versatility they may require without any compromise on performance.

Recognising that many of Canon's existing imageFORMULA customers were starting to use their devices differently, Canon set to work making a readily compatible flatbed scanner device to provide the greatest possible levels of functionality and performance. As Trevor Dodsworth, Head of Product Marketing for Canon UK Business Solutions explains,

Canon always looks to address the changing needs of its customers. Many organisations have transferred the benefits of scanning and electronic document processing from back office scanning applications to more general office use. It is in this environment that users regularly scan a combination of books or articles, passports and very thin or fragile documents that could be not suitable for an automatic feeder.

The imageFORMULA Flatbed Scanner Unit 101 will scan Legal Size (216 x 356mm) and along with the many sizes of documents in between, will scan much smaller document areas (from A5 size) too. The device's interoperability with imageFORMULA and other Canon scanners means that scanning batches of documents with the flatbed Unit 101 along with the regular automatic document feed scanner with which it's connected, is an effortless single-scanner operation. Images can even be saved as single files, irrespective of the precise location, flatbed or feed, from which they've been scanned from. This makes for a truly straightforward, rapid scanning process.

The imageFORMULA Unit 101 offers scanning at a blistering rate of less than three seconds per page – that's more than fifty percent faster than any other leading competitors' device. When used in tandem with their existing device's automatic feed, the imageFORMULA Unit 101 can dramatically improve overall batch productivity by simply connecting to a USB port when required.

The Flatbed Scanner Unit 101 has been designed with the user experience in MIND. Unlike other similar flatbed models that are on the market, the Flatbed Unit 101 captures the document from the top of the page down to the bottom. This means that for the first time ever, users are able to scan-in documents in a far more natural way - scanning as the page appears to them, rather than bottom first. This far more intuitive process helps increase the turnaround time when scanning-in more than one page. The 101's lightweight, short footprint design also makes it ideal for sharing across organisations where a number of Canon imageFORMULA scanners are in use. Most innovative of all is the Unit 101's folding cover, so that if users are looking for quicker document placement, the 101 will use a unique ambient light cancelling mode and scan without the cover in place. Anyone who has misused an old photocopier will realise how much time this method can use! But with the new ambient light mode, Canon has ensured users will be able to process scans with the utmost of speed whilst maintaining the same scan quality (up to 1200 dpi) as when the glass is covered. Other key features which the Flatbed Scanner Unit 101 has inherited from Canon's other imageFORMULA scanners, include auto-colour detection, auto-resize, de-skew, and text orientation recognition.

Canon's flatbed Scanner Unit 101 will be available in the UK from August 2010. It is compatible with the following imageFORMULA document scanners - DR-2010C, DR-2510C, DR-3010C, DR-4010C, DR-6010C, DR-6050C, DR-7550C and DR-9050C.