Kodak Scan Station 500

Kodak’s Scan Station 500 is a real workhorse.

It can scan 30 double-sided pages per minute and is able to cope with 1,500 pages per a day.

It can convert those pages to a variety of formats before distributing by fax or email, or by saving to USB memory key or shared network.

It can even add voice annotations to help with document identification and workflow, and all without the need for a PC.

The reason why you don’t need a separate PC is that there’s one built in, based on an Intel Atom processor with 1GB of memory, a 160GB hard disk and an integrated 8in colour touchscreen. The end result is pretty bulky, but well engineered and very flexible. We used it to scan all types of original material from standard A4 documents to ID and business cards, alongside media such as books and magazines. A separate flatbed scanner is also available and can be plugged in at the back.

Documents to be scanned are loaded into a 75-page feeder towards the rear of the unit, with pages quickly passed across the dual CCD scanning heads before being deposited into a foldout catch tray at the front. Controls and connectors are minimal, with a 10/100Mbits/sec Ethernet interface for Lan attachment, alongside a phone jack for the built-in fax modem and four USB ports. These can be used to attach a local keyboard, or to connect a printer or plug-in memory key.

Virtually all the software required is on the machine already, enabling it to automatically de-skew pages if misaligned, eliminate blank pages and crop images as they are being scanned. The end results can then be saved as TIFF or JPEG images or as simple, searchable and encrypted PDF documents, with options to scan to a shared network, memory key, email, fax or printer. This is all controlled from the built-in touchscreen.

Of course before we could try any of this for ourselves we had to spend a little time customising the Scan Station settings. However, unlike most network devices, there is no web management interface. Nor is it possible to configure the Scan Station 500 from the built-in screen. Rather, it is configured using a separate Windows application (called the Configuration Manager), which creates XML setup files copied onto the Scan Station via the USB memory key supplied.

It sounds archaic, but is a very robust and tamper-proof solution. Moreover, each user can be given a memory key with their settings on it which, when plugged into the scanner saves them from having to change any settings, remember or search for destination folders, fax numbers or email recipients.

Unfortunately, it can take a while to build these custom configurations with, for example, no ability to browse for shared networks or link to an email address book, although addresses can be imported in .csv format. A step-by-step setup guide would be a welcome addition and life would be easier, too, if the USB ports were at the front rather than tucked away round the back.

Still, once all the setup work was done, the Scan Station 500 was very easy to use. Jams were rare, results were available in seconds and the scan quality was excellent. The voice annotations were muffled and didn’t impress, but overall the Scan Station 500 did a good job and is worth looking at if you need to digitise large volumes of paper documents on a regular basis.