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DUPLEX SCANNING:

Image Access introduce large format duplex scanning

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Image Access unveil the WideTEK 36 DS (Duplex Scanner) at the DMS Expo 2009, (Hall 7, Booth E 58, Cologne, Germany, 15-17th September 2009). It is the first large format scanner capable of scanning two sides of a document at the same time.

Duplex scanning is available in expensive, small format, hopper-fed desktop scanners for scanning legal and A4 size office documents with EDM (electronic document management) and EDC (electronic data capture) software. Small format duplex scanners are most commonly used in the general office, financial services, government, healthcare, insurance, legal and service bureau markets - basically anywhere where documents need to be archived and remotely accessed later.

WideTEK 36 DS (Duplex Scanner)
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The WideTEK 36 DS (Duplex Scanner)

Image Access is the innovative German manufacturer of the OS-independent WideTEK range of 36", 42" and 48" large format CCD scanners, as well as the Bookeye range of A1 and A2 planetary scanners. (In the USA, the WideTEK range has been sold by Bowe Bell + Howell as the Infinity model. BB+H's Scanner Division has now been taken over by Kodak. The WideTEK 36 DS is a unique new addition to the Kodak range, albeit a niche one.)

The new WideTEK 36 DS (Duplex Scanner) has been developed using the chassis of the 36" (915 mm) wide WideTEK 36 and its proven technology. Perhaps the most significant benefit flowing from this is speed. The WideTEK 36 is widely regarded as the fastest large format color scanner availble today. Designed to capture newspapers and other double-sided printed documents in one pass, the WideTEK 36 DS takes, according to Image Access, only four seconds to scan both the front and back sides of a newspaper page at 200 dpi. (The WideTEK 36 is the fastest scanner we and others have seen.)

Unlike other large format CCD scanners which have one bank of cameras, the WideTEK 36 DS has two banks of cameras, as well as two rows of LED lighting. (The WideTEK range of scanners was the first to use long-life LED illumination which typically occupies less space than fluorescent tubes. Presumably the relative size of the LEDs made them easier to accomodate in the chassis.) Two camera boxes, both consisting of three CCD systems, are situated above and below the media path. Each camera box is illuminated by its own dedicated LED. The two banks of cameras are separated by just a few centimeters.

As a large format duplex scanning solution, the WideTEK 36 DS offers advantages to press clipping services, libraries and archives who, until now, have had no choice but to scan both sides of a large format document separately using a standard large format scanner. This process required that the document be scanned twice, once on each side. The WideTEK 36 DS' duplex capability now makes this overcomplicated and unnecssary process redundant. Besides cutting out the huge chunks of time that this process has traditionally taken, its raw speed and software also promise increased productivity.

Once a newspaper sheet is scanned, Image Access' scanning software separates the image into four - the front left and right sides, plus the back left and right sides of the newspaper. By scanning and automatically separating the two sides into four pages, the WideTEK 36 DS's software provides further productivity gains over traditional large format scanning systems which do the same thing more laboriously. Image Access claim that enhanced productivity is especially important to press clipping services who need to deliver daily press analysis as fast and as early as it can to its clients.

Thomas Ingendoh, President and CEO of Image Access, said "The greatest challenge in the development and construction was to integrate the more extensive mechanics and additional camera and light units into the device without enlarging its dimensions. The duplex scanner is only 13 centimetres larger than the compact WideTEK 36," he said.

WideTEK large format scanners are among the heaviest we have seen. This is partly because they are well-engineered German CCD scanners containing a built-in PC. Unlike the other WideTEK scanners, the WideTEK 36 DS has two processor units, one for each side of the sheet being scanned. These make it heavier yet. All image processing is executed from directly inside the scanner. Undoubtedly fast, the WideTEK range claims "excellent scan quality" and "extremely fast data throughput" via the patented Scan2Net® technological platform.

As innovators in large format CCD scanning, Image Access were the first to offer the features which are not yet standard in the large format CCD scanner market, like:

  • independence from a host PC,
  • OS (operating system) independence,
  • long-life, instant-on LED illumination,
  • true ENERGY STAR compliance,
  • 1200 x 600 dpi optical resolution,
  • scanning via a web browser

The WideTEK range can be operated with a standard web browser via the web-based user interface or as a walk-up system, using the built-in touch screen. Large quantities of documents can be scanned en masse using its Batch Scan Wizard software. According to Image Access, developers of specialized software applications will find it easy to integrate their solutions with any WideTEK scanner.

See Image Access on Hall 7, E 58 at DMS Expo from 15 to 17 September 2009 in Cologne / Germany.

For more information on Image Access and its products, see:
www.imageaccess.de