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Planon DocuPen Pen Scanner - DPEN-RC800 | Discount Price: $221.99
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Brand: PLANON
Binding: Electronics
Has it's Faults [Posted on 2006-09-15]
I ordered the docupen with many high expectations. Unfortunately, you cannot buy this scanner with many high expectations. AS other reviews I have read say, the docupen scanner is very cheaply made. I got it anyway thinking that it wasn't that big of a deal. However, the item is not very well made at all. The microsd slot that allows you to have memory forces you to open into the scanner and line up pins on a very cheaply made bracket. The plastic casing seems OK, but the basic truth is, the idea of portably taking the scanner to school or work is ridiculous since it would be too easy to break and too expensive to risk.
The docupen scanner does not have enough information. If you put the microsd in as awkward as it is to do, you have no clue if it is actually working since nothing tells you how much memory you have used. Furthermore, scanning is automatic, which means you have no real control about when it will start and when it will stop. You just need to wave the scanner and hope.
The pictures are sub par. Even when you manage to run it over a sheet of paper at the right speed to get a strait image it is still very distorted. The scanner I received I got broken, so that the color function did not even work, restricting me to black and white. These of which turned out unreadable more times than not. Not only that, but they scanned inverted, forcing me to spin the image around in a software program just to be able to read it.
Besides that the software is not good. You require 3 programs just to get the images onto your computer in a usable format. the docupen software to download, paperport to turn it into a jpeg, another program so you can flip and rotate it, then you would need adobe acrobat to turn it into a pdf format you can actually use. All in all a pain in the [...]. Although I don;t know if it scans inverted normally, it could be one of the ways mine was broken on arrival.
I give it a three because despite all of that, if it was working, I probably would have kept it. Obviously I had to return it and as long as I did that, I decided to get my money back as opposed to another not working replacement. It is very small and light, easy to carry around. If you get it, keep your expectations low, and if you have low expectations, it might not be worth $300 to you.
Seeing as the portable scanner is not really portable cause it has cheap case to protect it and the object itself is really cheap too, I went for a higher end real scanner for 1/3 the price. That's my recommendation unless you need the scanner for a very specific purpose and that purpose is worth that much to you. Remember, it won't be good enough for you to scan your textbooks, not the most bring anywhere you go like a flash drive kind of device, and cannot scan any item that is not completely flat.
Good luck with your scanner search!
Not ready for prime time. [Posted on 2007-04-25]
Purchased this item last November and have yet to get a decent scan with it. While it is small and light it suffers from an inability to control the scan. Along with that limitation is the fact that no matter how good you are at moving the scanner down the page the output is distorted in practically every case. Also, the software hoops necessary through which one must jump in order to get a workable product is daunting.
The idea is great, but the product thus far is not ready for prime time.
JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK JUNK - Avoid this rip off [Posted on 2007-06-09]
Bought this thing expecting a miracle. Did not expect a piece of junk. It's cheap flimsy plastic (why not anodized aluminum for a $240-$300 device like this?). It TURNS OFF after every scan (absurd). It TURNS OFF while you are DOWNLOADING pictures over the USB cable (ridiculous product design).
You also have to specifically buy san-disk brand mini-sd memory or it will not work. I had a nice Kingston piece. Did not recognize it. Nice to let people know ahead of time.
Sorry, this thing is pretty much a rip-off. How these guys get away with this junk is probably BUYING OFF Ziff Davis PC magazines and relying on the lazy folks who do not return this broken-by-design piece of junk. EASILY THE WORST DESIGNED, WORST QUALITY ELECTRONICS DEVICE I HAVE HAD THE MISFORTUNE TO WASTE MY TIME AND MONEY ON.
Don't expect miracles for $250. [Posted on 2007-11-19]
I've been using a Planon RC-800 for about 5 mos. It's been great. Attorneys in our area are often required to take extensive notes by hand from criminal case files. The Planon lets us scan the documents and download them with incredible ease. I've seen over 70 pages scanned out of a single file. As far as I am aware, this is the only portable scanner of this size that allows users to scan an entire page in one pass (others require you to go line-by-line, for example). In just the last few weeks, I've noticed more and more attorneys carrying these pen scanners around the courthouse.
The software easily converts scanned images into various common file formats. I've read the reviews talking about the cheap construction of this product but I don't see the problem. It's a portable scanner, you need to be careful w/ it. Under heavy use, the scanner can be plugged in to a laptop to both recharge the battery and view pages as they are downloaded from the scanner. On a two person team, one atty can scan while the other reviews the file. The major drawback for us is that the scanner can miss the edges of pages that lack margins (many of our documents are printed right to the edge of the paper), however it isn't much on either side, you can usually figure out what's missing.
So, yes, there is room for improvement in what is essentially a 1st-generation product, but you don't have a lot of other choices if you want this functionality in a package this size (we won't be hauling any flatbed scanners around the courthouse, thank you very much). Given Planon's monopoly, I'm just happy to see the prices coming down so I won't have to share forever (this model has sold for hundreds more elsewhere). I've not had to deal w/ customer service, but I've been very careful w/ the pen, too. If your priority is high quality scanning, look elsewhere (a non-portable elsewhere). If, like me, you need a discrete, portable, and easy scanning device, then this is the product you should buy. It's a pen that scans documents, maybe not a miracle, but still pretty 007.
Appears it hasn't improved... [Posted on 2008-02-26]
I purchased the Planon DocuPen Pen Scanner directly from the product's website a couple of years ago for someone at work who I provide admin support to. The item that arrived appeared used and was slightly scratched in some areas. I did not use the scanner very much but found that it was not very easy to maneuver while trying to scan; I also agree with it being poorly made.
I'm currently looking for a handheld scanner that will allow me to better scan bulky items such as textbooks...I am glad that I read the reviews as it appears the product isn't being made any better today than it was two years ago.
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