We all have had to make multiple copies or scan a lot of pages of a document into the computer memory at one time or another. If you have to scan one page at a time you already know it can really eat up your day, especially if you run a one-person office. If your work requires you to do a lot of scanning the answer for all the time you have faithfully stood by your one-page-at-a-time scanner has finally come. You can now appreciate many new machines that qualify as a time saver with a scanner document feeder capable of doing reams of scans in very little time.

There are many different types of scanner now with a document feeder feature. There are large flatbed scanners with the 11-inch x 17-inch format that have an automatic document feeder that will handle document batches up to an A3 paper size at the rate of fifty sheets per minute.

For the small office there are many brands of desktop scanner with a document feeder that handles fifty sheets per minute. They all generally handle page sizes up to 8.5-inch x 14-inch. Other features that are generally universal for this type of scanner are:

  • Maximum DPI from 300×600 to 600×1200
  • USB 2.0 interface
  • Color scans
  • Daily scans of 250 to 500

The mid-volume scanners that handle thirty to sixty pages per minute are also becoming more popular. The volume of daily scans for this type of machine runs from three thousand to ten thousand. The mid-volume scanner is also capable of doing color, black and white, and gray scale scans with interfaces for either personal computers or the Macintosh.

The larger offices utilize the drum type high-volume scanners that will run at the rate of sixty or more pages per minute. The scanner document feeder of this type of machine will take care of one million scans daily. If you are in the market for this type of machine, be careful to check for the capability of doing color, for there are a few that will only do black and white scans.

There is also a scanner document feeder for one of the smallest scanners on the market. The scanner is capable of handling eight pages per minute and the document feeder bin holds up to ten sheets of paper. You may wonder what is so special about this machine. The answer comes in portability. The unit is small enough to easily take with you on the road. The machine also draws its power from a USB bus power connection with the personal computer. The machine will handle thick business cards, postcard size stock, up to legal size documents of 8.5-inches x 14-inches. The color scanner scans both sides of documents easily, which is a great help when scanning both sides of a business card in one pass. The scanner’s software works well with exporting the scanned information into Outlook, CSV, and other systems that deal with contact management. This small office jewel is known as the ScanSnap S300 and is made by Fujitsu.

Move into the twenty-first century of scanning with a machine that will go a long way to help you automate your office with a scanner document feeder.