MOBILE SCANNERS
Scanning for opportunities Demand for mobile scanners continues to increase thanks to the rise of home and
hybrid working, and the technology means that they are now as powerful and have the functionality of their static counterparts.
With hybrid working becoming the norm for many employees in administrative and sales roles, the importance of having equipment that can be used anywhere – be that at home or on the go – without compromising on quality or productivity has risen exponentially. For those that work regularly with documents and contracts, scanning has been a vital tool for many years, and now mobile versions have come of age as increasingly people work from places other than the traditional office. As Andrew Cowling, channel marketing manager at PFU (EMEA) Ltd, notes, mobile portable scanners are a relatively new invention, made possible by developments in Wi-Fi, battery and miniaturisation of these technologies in recent years. “The very latest of these scanners, such as the ScanSnap iX100, is barely wider than a sheet of A4 paper and can scan 200 A4 documents on a full charge,” he says. Sales of mobile scanners exploded during the lockdowns of 2020 and 2021 as many employees had no option but to work from home. But sales of mobile scanners have continued to trend upwards since social restrictions were eased, Andrew notes. “Portability, quality and convenience are the biggest drivers of these types of scanners and
sales continue to rise, even post-pandemic, as
users require the quality and flexibility of a desktop scanner that they use in an office, but in a portable package they can also use at home and on the road,” he says. “These scanners go beyond simply scanning, as it’s possible for them to scan directly to cloud services such as Evernote, Dropbox and Google Drive, without the need for a computer or phone. They can increase productivity by quickly scanning receipts, business cards and statements, while software can convert the typed text into searchable digital text, enabling documents to be found with just a few keystrokes. “Cloud storage can also make document sharing simple. For example, a customer may need to sign a contract on site, which can then be instantly transferred via the cloud to head office and the transaction can take place immediately. This synergy between device and cloud is what makes these scanners unique, convenient and adaptable.” Demand for ease-of-use Kevin Dobson, product manager for business scan at Epson UK, adds that some of the bigger trends are for end users to want mobile scanners that are lightweight, small and therefore ultra portable, easy to use, and stress-free to set up and transport. “Epson’s space-saving designs mean that whether workers are at home, in the office or on the road they can quickly scan two-sided documents, business cards, receipts, sketches etc,” he says. “For extra convenience, our portable scanners have batteries included or can be powered by a single USB cable via a laptop, which makes customers’ lives easier too. “Mobile software solutions such as Epson DocumentScan then allow customers to easily access and share scans using a smartphone, tablet
Andrew Cowling PFU (EMEA) Ltd These scanners go “
beyond simply scanning, as it’s possible for them to scan directly to cloud services… without the need for a computer or phone.
”
The ScanSnap iX100
28
Powered by FlippingBook