SPECIFICATIONS:
- Long Document Mode:39.4″ Scanning Element:Contact Image Sensor (CMOS)
- Light Source:RGB LED Optical Resolution:600 dpi
- Output Resolution:1501200 1300 I
- 4001600dpi
- Scanning Speeds:
- Black And White:(Simplex I Duplex):
- 15 ppml30 ipm Grayscale:(Simplex I Duplex):* 15 ppml30ipm
- Color:24 Bit (Simplex I Duplex):* 10 ppml20ipm
- Dimensions:1.6 x 11.2 x 3.7in.(with trays closed)
- Weight:2.2 lbs.
WHAT’S HOT:
- Excellent scan quality
- Works with both PC and Mac
- Easy setup
- Can scan two-sided documents
- Can read plastic cards
WHAT’S NOT:
- Bulky
- A little sluggish with color-heavy pages
Bottomline:
Good for portable use,personal use,and office use,the Canon imageFormula P215 is a great way to scan your documents and photos.
Scanners play a somewhat interesting role in the gadget world-it was at one point its own device, but has now been lumped in with the all-in-one along with a printer, fax machine and copier. Now that most gadgets are going mobile,the stand-alone scanner is getting a second life. Can it be as good on the go as it is in the office or the home?
The Canon imageFormula P2151ooks pretty sturdy,but that sturdiness comes at a cost-the scanner weighs 2.151b (-1 kg).That doesn’t sound very heavy,but considering that it’s intended to be portable,it is heavy relative to other portable gadgets,although still lighter than most laptops.It also measures in at 284.5 x 94 x 40.64mm with all trays closed,so its dimensions (other than its thickness) barely manage to stay within the”portable” range.
Setting up the Canon imageFormula P215 is simple.Just plug it in to anything with a USB port and you’re ready to scan your images.An interesting feature here is that there are two USB ports.You can use one or two USB 2.0 ports for scanning.Using both USB 2.0 ports will reduce the scan time.You can also connect via USB 3.0 for faster scanning.If you’re not on the go,you can use this as a home scanner as there is also an AC adapter option.In the back is the
Auto Start switch,which you can turn on to start scanning images without the need to install any software.You can even put plastic cards into a special front slot-extremely useful for scanning things such as an ID card.
To unlock the full features of the Canon imageFomula P215,you need to install certain software. CaptureOn Touchlite allows you to edit whatever you scanned,whether it’s a text document or those old photos that you needed a darkroom or a one-hour photo place to get them developed,although the features are extremely basic.You can save your scanned documents or images as JPEG or TIFF files, convert them to PDF files,and even scan them to cloud services such as Google Docs.
If you choose to get the full features, you’ll have several options here: the typical installation will just install the CaptureOnTouch driver software.
You will want to choose the “Custom Installation;’which will have two different bundles depending on what OS you’re using:Windows users will get Canon CaptureOnTouch,Nuance PaperPort, NewSoft Presto! BizCard and Evernote, while Macintosh users will also get Canon CaptureOnTouch, NewSoft Presto! BizCard and Evernote, but instead of Nuance PaperPort, Mac users will get NewSoft Presto! PageManager.Just remember to turn off the Auto-Start Switch before scanning with any of the programs on the software.All ofthem do the same thing-scan images,although most of these programs suit business users, as they also reassemble scanned images into PDF files and do other document management tasks.If you don’t want to be overwhelmed with a ton of features,I suggest sticking to CaptureOnTouchLite.
The scan speed is rather decent depending on,of course,the complexity of what you’re scanning. You can scan an 8.5 x 11-inch photo at 600dpi in around 75 seconds using USB 2.0 on default settings.You can tinker around with the settings or even use USB 3.0 and probably get better results.You can also can both sides of a document,ideal for scanning a lot of documents.Even though the scan time is a bit on the slow side,the scan quality exceeded my expectations-this is the kind of image quality I would expect out of the scanning function in all-in-one printers.You can hold up to 20 pieces of paper in the scanner.
This scanner does its job,but I found it a more enjoyable experience with just its onboard software, CaptureOnTouchLite, rather than all those other extra features.For techies and non-techies alike,this is an ideal choice for a portable scanner-if you’re all right with it being a little heavy.It is also an ideal companion in the home and office because of its ability to scan documents with content on both sides of the paper. You might need to wait a bit if you’re scanning photos-but the quality of your photos will make it worth the wait.
