Epson America Inc. has added 3 new products to its line of commercial document scanners for workgroups, including the company’s first model with an LCD touchscreen control panel and built-in wired networking.
That unit, called the DS-780N, scans up to 45 pages per minute, comes with a 100-page automatic document feeder, and accommodates a peak daily duty cycle of up to 5,000 pages.
The DS-770, which replaces Epson’s older DS-760 and was also unveiled today, offers the same speed and capacity. Both devices also include a slow speed mode for scanning documents printed on delicate paper, like a receipt.
“You can turn it into a Japanese fan very quickly by scanning it too fast,” observes Mark Pickard, senior product manager for commercial document scanners at Epson. Slow mode prevents such items from getting ruined or producing paper jams.
The DS-780N differs from the DS-770 in 3 key ways, including its LCD touchscreen display. Companies can use that to create as many as 30 custom, pre-configured jobs that allow inexperienced users to perform common tasks more easily.
“They don’t have to understand where and how to store the images,” Pickard says.
The DS-780N also comes with user authentication functionality that lets administrators control who has access to the device and define storage, encryption, and other settings on a user-by-user basis.
The DS-780N’s integrated support for wired networking is its third differentiating feature, and a new addition to Epson’s workgroup scanner product family. Other devices in that portfolio, including the DS-770, require an optional external add-on module priced at $349 to connect with wired networks. The DS-780N’s $1,099 MSRP, however, is just $100 more than the DS-770’s $999 MSRP, despite their identical performance and capacity specs.
The last of the scanners debuting today is the DS-575W, a new edition of the DS-530 scanner that Epson introduced last September. Like that earlier product, the new one processes up to 35 pages a minute, comes with a 50-page automatic document feeder, and features a 4,000-page peak daily duty cycle. The DS-575W, however, also offers onboard wireless networking.
“You can scan directly to iOS or Android devices,” Pickard notes. That extra functionality results in a $449 price tag, $50 higher than the DS-530’s $399 MSRP.
All 3 new models announced today will be available in June through select VARs, distributors, and e-tailers, as well as Epson’s online store. They also offer TWAIN and ISIS drivers for integration with document management software; will scan documents directly into Evernote, Microsoft SharePoint, and Google Drive; and can accommodate everything from business and ID cards to 11×17-inch paper, as well as folded pages.
The new scanners are also eligible for the 3-year limited warranty that Epson announced last week, which allows users who phone in a technical issue by 3 p.m. EST to get a replacement scanner the next business day. Epson covers freight expenses for both the malfunctioning unit being returned and its substitute.
“We’re paying for shipping both directions,” Pickard says, adding that the reliability of Epson’s commercial scanners makes a potentially costly promise like that affordable.
“Having a 3-year warranty costs us very, very little because these things simply don’t fail very often,” he states.
The latest additions to Epson’s scanner lineup are part of an ongoing effort to give customers a broad array of options for different requirements and budgets.
“One of the things that we try and highlight when we’re communicating to dealers is the flexibility to choose exactly the model that you need,” Pickard says.
Epson shipped the 25-page per minute DS-320 in mid-January, just two weeks after introducing two new portable scanners.
