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if you work with documents that its not easy to copy, you must have a docupen
Planon Systems Handheld Portable Scanner RC-800Great quality scans, when it doesn't shut off half-way across the page; difficult to keep straight, even with the little rollers, and hard to manage near tight bindings--probably easier on older, worn books, or ones with broken spines, but if you're not worried about breaking book spines, stick with a flatbed.
In essence you have to start over. 1) It keeps cutting off, and 2) getting the scan straight is very difficult.If you pause for any length of time the scanner shuts completely off, then you have to go through the process of restarting. For my use, massive amounts of continuous paper (well logs), just didn't work. Very small and portable. Finally sent it back. This causes your scan to end saving what is done up to that point in a file.
Price is right though. Seems like an awesome idea. If you only have a page or two occasionally it would be OK, but much more than that use something else, though not sure what if you're traveling.Two main problems. This is very anonying.Because the scanner is so lightweight, it is very difficult to guide it straight, thus the image is distorted.
their customer service is TERRIBLE. JUST DON'T BUY. I am simply speechless. POOR product, POOR service, POOR everything.
So there is about a half inch (I don't know the exact measurement) of the end of the pen that does not scan. (I actually purchased a refurbished unit that was about 50% off the regular price).Although I returned the product just prior to the end of the 30 day return period, I decided to write this review to offset many of the negative reviews that simply do not reflect my experience with the RC800.I used the scanner off and on for nearly 30 days and found it to perform as advertised. But the process was as prompt and professional as any I have experienced with any company I deal with online.My reason for returning the unit was due to the fact that the scanner lens or window, does not extend the entire length of the pen. When I did decide to return the unit (see explanation below), I was treated professionally and my request was processed promptly. This means that when you place the pen on a book page, the margin of the page must be sufficiently wide to allow you to get the scanning lens over the entire body of the text. The plastic casing makes the pen light-weight but it does not appear to me to be of poor construction.
I found the unit to be well assembled, contrary to other reviewers. There are things about the accompanying software I don't like, but I could say the same thing about all software applications I use.While I hope this review proves to be helpful toward enabling you to make an informed buying decision, should you have questions about my review, feel free to contact me at [.]. to return it via UPS). However, since I needed a scanner that would scan antique books that cannot be flattened to fit on a flatbed scanner (without damage to the books), and since Planon promised a 30 day guarantee--no questions asked--I decided to make the purchase. You will want to purchase a memory chip for it, however, (I bought two for the price of one at [.].) to maximize performance.I contacted tech support the first day and found the personnel to be exceptionally cordial and helpful, as was the individual I spoke with in customer service. Since Planon says it could take up to as long as 10 weeks for monies to be returned, I was prepared for a wait.
Granted, you can scan laterally, from side to side, and let the OCR software rotate the page. I'm a college professor, not an employee of Planon or of any of its competitors. After reading the other reviews on this site, I postponed ordering the RC800 twice. Within two days of receiving the returned product, Planon had credited my credit card with the full amount of the purchase (less original shipping of about [.].--it cost about [.]. But even this approach is limited by the size of the margin--if it is smaller than the thickness of the pen, you cannot place the pen in the margin deep enough to scan from the inner text margin to the outer.While the quality of the scan is not as high as most flatbed scanners, you can expect to achieve a relatively high degree of accuracy with the scanner if the text you are copying is relatively clean and clear (and does not contain old typeface with ligatures between letters or broken type).
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