Canon’s imageFormula DR-S350NW ($945) is a medium-volume workgroup document scanner that’s quick, correct, and straightforward to attach. It’s a big improve to the Canon imageFormula DR-S250N that provides Wi-Fi connectivity, bumps up the scale of the built-in display screen, and considerably will increase the producer’s steered peak each day obligation cycle. Just like the DR-S250N, the DR-S350NW can show a QR code for fast mobile-device connections, and it could save its scans to all kinds of file codecs. The DR-S350NW isn’t fairly as quick or full-featured because the Brother ADS-4900W, which is our present Editors’ Selection choose for network-capable doc scanners. Nonetheless, the DR-S350NW’s onboard assist for as many as 99 workflow profiles may give it an edge with organizations that want an in depth array of customized profiles or workflow-targeted settings.
Design: Succesful and Environment friendly
Given its paper capability and velocity, the DR-S350NW is a bit cumbersome in measurement. Coming in at 9.5 by 11.5 by 10.5 inches (HWD), it has the identical measurements because the DR-S250N. That’s 3.5 inches deeper than the Brother ADS-4900W. And it’s not practically as compact because the Epson DS-800WN, which measures 6.6 by 11.7 by 6.7 inches (HWD). When totally opened up, all of those fashions will take up significantly more room on prime, in entrance, and in again of the unit. A totally prolonged DR-S350NW will develop to 14.9 inches in peak and 23.7 inches in depth. If that’s an issue, it’s possible you’ll need to think about one of many smaller non-Ethernet-compatible scanners which can be designed particularly to be house environment friendly, such because the Epson DS-C480W or Ricoh Image Scanner fi-800R.
Weight-wise, there’s little or no variation inside this class of scanners. Each the DR-S350NW and DR-S250N weigh in at 7.5 kilos. The Brother ADS-4900W is just barely heavier at 7.8 kilos. The Epson DS-800WN is one other notch heavier, although nonetheless fairly affordable at 8.2 kilos. These fashions are light-weight sufficient to maneuver from desk to desk, which could make it extra handy to deliver the scanner to the paperwork somewhat than the opposite method round. Only one light-weight doc scanner may serve a whole group, the place departments are requested to periodically scan any related paperwork from their very own work areas.
The DR-S350NW in all fairness well-equipped for moderate-duty scanning. Just like the DR-S250N, it has a 60-sheet computerized doc feeder (ADF). That’s massive sufficient for many workloads, although it does appear a bit underwhelming at this level for a network-capable scanner. Each the Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN are outfitted with significantly bigger 100-sheet ADFs.
The DR-S350NW does fare higher with a few of its different specs. The place the DR-S250N is rated for a peak each day obligation cycle of 6,000 sheets, the DR-S350NW boosts that determine to 9,000 sheets. By comparability, the Epson DS-800WN is rated for 8,000 sheets, whereas the Brother ADS-4900W can also be rated for 9,000 sheets. Maybe most significantly, the DR-S350NW provides Wi-Fi, which the DR-S250N doesn’t have. Including that wi-fi connectivity brings the DR-S350NW as much as par with each the Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN. All three assist USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connections.
Are you planning to scan your paperwork on to a thumb drive? That gained’t be doable with the DR-S350NW. It doesn’t appear to be a precedence for Canon, as that characteristic can also be lacking on the DR-S250N and DR-M260. If scanning to a USB drive is essential for you, that functionality is on the market on the Brother ADS-4900W, Epson DS-800WN, and lots of different workplace scanners.
(Credit score: David English)
And despite the fact that these are network-capable scanners, the place it’s possible you’ll not have to work together with the onboard management panel, having a big and brilliant show can nonetheless be a fascinating characteristic. The DR-S350NW doesn’t disappoint with its 4.3-inch coloration contact display screen. That’s a step up from the non-touch 1.3-by-1.1-inch display screen on the DR-S250N, despite the fact that that show is an OLED display screen. The Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN even have 4.3-inch coloration contact screens. Given the relative measurement of those fashions, that 4.3-inch display screen appears to be a cushty match.
Just like the DR-S250N, the DR-S350NW permits you to create and retailer as many as 99 job profiles. A job profile can embrace the colour mode, web page measurement, scanning sides, output vacation spot, and file-naming guidelines. You may route one sort of scan on to a password-protected printer. One other may go to a supervisor’s electronic mail deal with, whereas additionally being saved to that division’s community folder. You’ll be able to assign a venture title, scan high quality, and file format to every job. And all job profiles can be found instantly on the scanner, with the menus distinguishing between people who had been created and saved on the scanner and people who had been created and saved on a related pc. It’s a complete, workflow-oriented system that could possibly be very helpful for giant organizations.
The Brother ADS-4900W has the same workflow system that allows you to save profiles and settings as customized panels. With that mannequin, you possibly can create as many as 56 customized panels. If that quantity appears limiting, the 99 job profiles on the DR-S350NW may be a deciding issue for which mannequin to decide on.
Setup: Unusually Simple to Join
The DR-S350NW provides a large assortment of how to connect with different units. Along with USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity, the DR-S350NW shares the DR-S250N’s straightforward technique of connecting to cellular units with out having to put in something on the cellular machine.
The scanner’s built-in CaptureOnTouch Lite Net characteristic permits different units to regulate the scanner’s features by way of a easy browser-based interface. You provoke the connection by displaying a QR code on the DR-S350NW’s LCD display screen, and use that to launch the management interface with out having to put in a devoted app. It’s also possible to instantly entry the scanner out of your internet-connected PC utilizing the scanner’s net deal with with out having to put in any drivers or software program. The out there features are restricted, however no extra so than you may discover with similar-purposed cellular apps.
(Credit score: Canon)
For entry to a extra complete set of features, you’ll want to put in the offered software program on a pc that’s related to the DR-S350NW through a USB cable, wired Ethernet, or wi-fi Wi-Fi connection. The put in software program contains the CaptureOnTouch V5 Professional utility, in addition to a Canon imageFormula Driver Setting Software, system configuration utility, and consumer handbook. When putting in the CaptureOnTouch V5 Professional utility, you’ll have the choice of choosing varied output modules. At the moment, these modules embrace Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft SharePoint, in addition to the extra generic Printer, E-Mail, and FTP server.
The output modules will seem on the CaptureOnTouch V5 Professional dwelling display screen, the place they’ll simplify the scanning course of together with your preselected settings for file title, file sort, and vacation spot. You’ll be able to modify any of the prevailing modules to fit your explicit wants. For instance, you may need three completely different Google Drive modules labeled for Phrase, Excel, and PowerPoint, that differ solely of their file sort.
(Credit score: Canon)
The out there file sorts are DOCX (*.docx), XLSX (*.xlsx), PPTX (*.pptx), PDF (*.pdf), JPG (*.jpg), TIFF (*.tif), PNG (*.png), and BMP (*.bmp). That’s a beneficiant choice of file codecs for a desktop doc scanner, which could possibly be invaluable for companies that regularly need to convert paperwork from one file sort to a different.
On the entire, the CaptureOnTouch V5 Professional software program is straightforward to make use of, with recognizable icons and concise labels. It’s easy sufficient for non-technical folks whereas additionally permitting the type of under-the-hood settings that could be wanted to satisfy extremely particular company or departmental necessities.
Testing the Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW: Quick and Correct
Canon provides the DR-S350NW a velocity score of fifty simplex (one-sided) pages per minute (ppm) or 100 two-sided (duplex) pictures per minute (ipm, the place every web page facet is counted as a picture). These are the identical rated speeds because the DR-S250N and Epson DS-800WN. Nonetheless, these are slower than the rated 60ppm simplex and 120ipm duplex speeds of the Brother ADS-4900W. To see if the DR-S350NW may match and even surpass its producer’s scores, I used CaptureOnTouch V5 Professional to provoke the scans over a USB connection to our Intel Core i5 testbed PC operating Home windows 10 Professional.
In our stopwatch exams, the DR-S350NW carried out a bit higher than its rated speeds. This mannequin was in a position to scan our 25-page single-sided doc at 53.2ppm and our 25-page (50-image) duplex doc at 106.5ipm. These check speeds had been barely higher than the 51.1ppm and 101.5ipm outcomes that we noticed with the DR-S250N, despite the fact that they’ve the identical producer’s score. Each scanners had been unable to maintain up with the Brother ADS-4900W, which breezed by way of our check scans with a powerful results of 61.2ppm and 124.4ipm.
(Credit score: David English)
Quick scan speeds are essential for doc scanners, however not if these sooner speeds negatively influence the accuracy of the scans. That isn’t the case with the DR-S350NW. It was in a position to convert printed pages to error-free editable textual content all the way in which down to six factors on each our Arial (sans-serif) and Instances New Roman (serif) font exams. That’s the identical because the DR-S250N. And it’s pretty typical today for high-quality doc scanners. The Brother ADS-4900W carried out barely higher with its 5-point Arial and 6-point Time New Roman font accuracy. That 1-point distinction between the 2 fashions is not prone to matter a lot, as you may not often encounter textual content smaller than 10 factors in most real-world enterprise settings.
I had no difficulties when scanning quite a lot of paperwork with the DR-S350NW. The enter tray was particularly straightforward to load with paperwork of various sizes and thicknesses. And you’ll rapidly regulate the output tray to numerous positions, in order that it doesn’t have to increase any additional out than mandatory. Not one of the pages jammed contained in the mechanism, was visibly skewed, or was in any other case mishandled. All of the scans had been clear and professional-looking, and scanned photographic pictures confirmed pleasing and correct colours with an acceptable quantity of distinction.
Verdict: A Scanner With Robust Company Enchantment
The Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW is a worthy improve to the DR-S250N. The added Wi-Fi connectivity makes it simpler to place the unit nearly anyplace, now not restricted by the size of a USB or Ethernet cable. The bigger 4.3-inch coloration contact display screen is a welcome enchancment over the non-touch 1.3-by-1.1-inch display screen on the DR-S250N, despite the fact that that show is an OLED display screen. And the expanded 9,000-sheet peak each day obligation cycle brings the workload functionality as much as the identical degree because the Brother ADS-4900W.
Regardless that it’s considerably improved, the DR-S350NW isn’t fairly prepared to switch the Brother ADS-4900W as our Editors’ Selection choose for network-connected workplace scanners. As beforehand indicated, the Brother ADS-4900W has sooner scan speeds (60ppm/120ipm versus 50ppm/100ipm) and a larger-capacity ADF (100 sheets versus 60 sheets). And as of this writing, the ADS-4900W can also be inexpensive than the DR-S350NW.
The DR-S350NW does have some uncommon options that would make it a greater match for some potential patrons, similar to built-in software program that may present direct entry to nearly any browser-based machine on the identical community. And enormous workplaces or workgroups may profit from its assist for as many as 99 customized profiles, in addition to its means to save lots of scans to a variety of file codecs.
Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW
Execs
View
Extra
The Backside Line
The Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW is a quick workgroup doc scanner that excels in connection choices and customized profiles. Although expensive, it could possibly be choose for giant organizations.
Like What You are Studying?
This text could comprise promoting, offers, or affiliate hyperlinks.
By clicking the button, you verify you’re 16+ and comply with our
Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy.
Chances are you’ll unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About David English
Contributor
