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More Scanning Options Added

By on March 7, 2011 in Home Document Manager, News, Scanning


Evening all.

I’ve just released an update for Home Document Manager that adds a bit more control over your scanning process. I won’t keep you long, but I thought it would be useful to go over the new options and tell you what they do:

Use Automatic Document Feeder – If you’re using a multi-function printer or a dedicated document scanner, you probably have an automatic document feeder. It’s the bit into which you feed a pile of papers for scanning. Previously, this was automatically enabled if sheets were loaded into it. This just gives you the option to disable it.

Two-Sided (Duplex) Scanning – More advanced document scanners can scan both sides of a sheet of paper in one go. Previously, you had to use the “Custom Scan” option to enable duplex. Now you can use the built in scanning profiles.

Auto Rotate – This will automatically rotate documents to be oriented in the correct way. This has always been enabled, but now you can turn it off if you are encountering an issue with a “problem” document.

Auto Deskew – If your scanner is anything like mine, when you scan a document, it seems to always go through at a slight angle which can reduce the accuracy of the OCR process. This option will automatically deskew an image before OCR’ing it, improving the accuracy.

Auto Despeckle – Some documents, particularly scans of newspapers, old documents, books etc., have tiny marks or “specks” on them. As well as reducing readability for us humans, it can also interfere with the OCR process. This option will automatically attempt to remove these specks from the document.

As usual, no action is required on your part. Home Document Manager will update itself when an Internet connection is present.

Thanks to David for the suggestion which prompted this change.

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Samsung SCX-4824FN Review

By on February 10, 2010 in Scanning, Technology

I’ve always been a fan of laser-based multi-function printers, they provide copying, scanning, printing and faxing – a must for the smaller home office – typically dubbed SOHO (Small Office Home Office).

Designed with a curvy-yet-chunky physique, the 4824FN sports a mono laser printer combined with an A4 flatbed scanner and a 30 page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF).

Picture of the Samsung SCX-4824FN Multi Function Printer

The paper tray can hold up to 250 sheets at a time. A second 250 sheet tray can be fitted as an optional extra, increasing the height of the device.

As with most multi-function devices, the device’s control panel extends across almost the whole width. Its mono LCD display holds 2 lines of 16 characters. The navigation disk allows for easy menu access and the panel has the standard numeric keypad for faxing. On the far right of the panel are large start and stop buttons. The Samsun also has a nice “ID Scan” button, which allows you to scan one side of an ID card, turn it over and scan the reverse, before printing boths sides on a single sheet.

The SCX-4824FN has a fairly standard port configuration, featuring USB and ethernet for PC connectivity, as well as an RJ11 socket for the fax line, and a socket for an optional handset.

Samsung has a history of writing good TWAIN drivers and the SCX-4824FN is no exception. The device works happily with Home Document Manager, and produces good quality scans.

The only gripe I can think of is that the drum and toner cartridges come in two sizes, offering either 2000 or 5000 pages, but the starter cartridge that ships with it provides only 700. It’s no secret that printer manufacturers make a lot of money on consumables – but if you print as infrequently as I do, you might find that replacing your printer to be more cost-effective than replacing your toner.

All in all, I like this device – it’s a solid addition to any small or home office. 4 out of 5.

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Update Released: Scanning Profiles

By on February 5, 2010 in News, Scanning, Technology

Screenshot of the new scanning profiles UI

We’ve just released an update for Home Document Manager which introduces the concept of scanning profiles. This change should make scanning a whole lot easier.

We’ve removed the “Single Page” and “Multi page” scanning options, and replaced them with a single button with a dropdown menu. In here, we have added some pre-configured scanning profiles for the most common scan types.

Most typical documents should be scanned using the “Black & White Document” profile. This will scan the document to a black and white (binary) image at 300dpi. This is usually a high enough resolution to get good results with the OCR, but also offers a very compact file for archiving.

We also scanning to grayscale and color at 300dpi, as well as a hi-res color scan at 600dpi. Most documents do not need such profiles if we’re only interested in archiving the information.

The predefined profiles will not show you any further scanning dialogs, they will simply commence scanning. If you want to tweak the scan or use different settings, use the “Custom” profile, this will launch the familiar scanning settings interface.

We’ve also made a few other minor tweaks, like ensuring that tags and folders are always alphanumerically ordered.

As usual, no action is required on your part, Home Document Manager will update itself when an Internet connection is present.

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