9 out of 10 - Spectacular very cool gadget
I found this produc very useful in my feild of work, I use it to scan and store title searches ...
I found this produc very useful in my feild of work, I use it to scan and store title searches on historical properties, and also to scan and file my receipts while i travel on the road last year i was on a trip to europe , i found a greta bottle of wine and scanned the labe to be able to find it in north america, great tool!!
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by steve arsin (see profile) -
May 3, 2007
I needed a portable scanning device to make ...
(Just to warn you ahead of time, this is a long review.)
I needed a portable scanning device to make my paperless dream come true. So I've searched and waited a long time for both software & hardware to be ready. I need to get all the document into PDF (not necessary text searchable).
When I saw the docupen rc800, I was very excited to know that color full page scanning is available in such a mobile, portable package. As a birthday gift, my wife got me the pen.
I start scanning as soon as I got the product, and was kind of disappointed at the result of scan:
B/W (1 Bit) scan is below average. Reason is that at the place I work, I receive tons of paper, some of them laser printed quality, and most with fax type (or medium photocopier) quality. Resulting scan of the fax (or photocopied) document is barely readable. After 10~15 tries, I decide to use grey scale scanning.
Grey scale 4bit and 8bit didn't make much difference for my purpose, but I choose 8 bit anyway. Resulting scan is a very light grey color and difficult to read of my 17" flatescreen notebook. For the most part I need to use image editing software to adjust various setting. After playing around with the software I was able to darken the text and lines to a barely acceptable level.
Color scanning is the big attraction over the previous 700 model. But the result is very disappointing.
12Bpp color scanning is almost unusable. Where I work I need to scan supplier catalog, brochures, and magazine of varies product etc. Most of the originals is got either a shiny finish on it or a 'glossy' type of finish on. Somehow docupen is having trouble interpreting the color, result scan is got a lot of 'grains' and the color is also off. Don't get me wrong, untouched output is Legible, better then the B/W and grey scale scanning, but no way close to the quality of any flatbed scanner I used.
24Bpp isn't much better the 12Bpp. Color scanning with Docupen is really not for any photo, but to scan document where b/w or grey scale failed.
With all the quality complains I got, I am actually ok with it. Why, because I don't expect a good quality color scan, but I want to be able to store all my paper documents in computer and throw out the hard copies.
The biggest problem I had is with memory. The built-in 8MB is simply not enough. For example, 4bit grey scan will be roughly 1MB per sheet and you will be able to scan for 6~7 pages max. Color image on the highest setting expect to scan 1 page only. Downloading image from pen can only be done using docupen software, and you must download all image everytime. The speed of download is slow. Following a download you probably end up clearing the memory bank and prepare for the next scan, the erase bank process also take a while.
At the time of the docupen purchase, my wife also got me an 1GB microSD card from AData.
Bad idea, Adata is no 'recommended' on the docupen website. planon recommend sandisk. Anyway I installed the card and surprisingly, scan went well. Now I have almost unlimited scans. But the problem is when I try the 'erase bank' function, it never clear the memory in the Adata chip. So I contacted planon for help.
Within the first email or two, Planon support said that the problem is with the Adata microSD, even though it works with all other device that I have. I complained that if sandisk is the only brand docupen can work with, they should be stated in the planon web site, and they immediately updated their website and remove the recommend sandisk statement.
I feel partially responsible here for not following their original recommendation, and bought a sanDisk microSD 1GB. After installation I soon found that I cannot scan beyond the 8MB internal memory limit. Again I contacted Planon. After a couple of email back and forth, Planon support said I got a faulty sanDisk microSD. Reason is that I was able to get the pen scanning beyond 8MB with the usb cable plug-in, and not without. So the sanDisk microSD I got is drawing too much current in battery mode.
This time I am really frustrated. How am I to know how much current docupen can handle. Both microSD works flawless with my digital equipment, even my USD $10 card reader read/write without any problem. How am I suppose to convince the store where I bought the microSD that the card is faulty when it works in all device I tried except docupen. So I wrote an email to Planon out of anger.
To my surprise, the Planon support didn't even hesitate at all and tell me that the problem is with the card. Both times. Support state that adata disk scan flawless so the sanDisk must be faulty.
In conclusion, this pen is very very sensitive to the microSD that you buy. If you are planning on buying memory expansion, be very cautious.
Planon support is very fast in responding my email. And even faster to determine that the docupen is fault free.
I've appended some of the last emails here for your reference (read from bottom up, "xxxx" is me, "yyyy" is Planon support). In my opinion, this device is simply not ready yet. DO NOT BUY THIS!!!
=My final email=============================== It is possible that the sandisk is bad, nothing is 100%.
So why can't the docupen be faulty?
both A-Data and sandisk chip I got works on all my devices, on PC, mac, camera, usb reader (USD 10, cheap stuff) the only thing that it doesn't work on is docupen. And you are still trying to say that the microSD is bad.
If I am out there buying various unknown brand of microSD, I will hold myself liable, but sanDisk is what you recommended, and now it is no good, along with the adata I bought before. Put yourself in my position and which device out of the three would you suspect to be faulty?
Assume that the sandisk microSD indeed draws a little more current, more then docupen can handle. What can a user like me do to avoid/prevent from buying the wrong microSD card? How are we to know how much current docupen can handle? This is not on the spec for your pen!!
Maybe you should update your website again, and state that some sandisk microSD might draw a higher current, which works on all other devices but not on docupen!
Assume there is nothing wrong with docupen, this clearly shows that the pen is too sensitive, and is using a battery power system that is working on the borderline of the microSD spec. Also the driver/application written for the pen is not ready because with chip like adata, scan works perfect but software failed to erase it.
You are taking what works for adata chip and compare with sandisk and call sandisk at fault, then take the sandisk requirement and call adata at fault. Somehow it all work out nicely for Planon.
Since I cannot return this pen, I was hoping that there is a solution to access the microSD from usb reader (for my adata chip). This will also help speed up the pen downloading and erasing process because the transmission rate of docupen is very slow. I guess that is out of the question because the docupen is perfect right now.
After charging over an hour the pen still doesn't work with sandisk microSD. I am not going to use this pen anymore. Thank you very much for your help.
yyyy wrote: > > I understand your frustration but at the same time the pen works fine with the A-data chip in terms of scanning and not with the SanDisk chip. > > This clearly shows that the pen works fine. So why can't the SanDisk chip be bad? > > Regards > > DocupenTechnical Support Specialist > > Planon System Solutions Inc. > > 1-877-DOCUPEN (362-8736) > > Docupensupport@planon.com > > www.planon.com > > From: xxxx > Sent: Wednesday, May 09, 2007 10:34 AM > To: yyyy > Subject: Re: [Fwd: Re: [Fwd: Re: docupen memory issues]] > > > > Hi yyyy, > > I will charge the pen for over 1 hrs and give it a try again. > > But I am not going to replace the sanDisk chip. It is not sanDisk chip problem, the problem is with docupen. How many microSD I need to try to get this thing working? > > Why do you assume that the chip is drawing too much current, not the pen is faulty and not giving enough normal operating current to the chip? > > How am I suppose to convince sanDisk or AData that their chip works in all devices but not in docupen, and so it is a faulty chip? > > Am I suppose to buy 5 sandisk chip, try all of them and see which one draws small enough current so the docupen will work?! That is simply crazy. > > If the battery doesn't have enough charges to drive the chip, shouldn't I see a low battery (Red), or even a medium battery level(Yellow) light as indicated in the manual? > > So now I end up with an A-Data chip that works perfect but cannot erase using the docupen application. And a sandisk chip that draws too much current, and there is nothing Planon can do except to ask me to replace the microSD again! This is ridiculous. > > I live in China now, and I got this docupen as my birthday present from my wife, obviously if she didn't throw out the receipt carelessly, I would of return this right now. So much for supporting a fellow Canadian product! > > yyyy wrote: > > Just to make sure that the pen battery is keeping up the charge. > > In any case you will have to replace the SanDisk chip. > > > > Regards > > > > yyyy > > DocupenTechnical Support Specialist > > Planon System Solutions Inc. > > 1-877-DOCUPEN (362-8736)
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by jojoxman (see profile) -
May 10, 2007
I got ripped off big time by Planon Solutions Systems. They sent me three defective Docupen RC800 Color ...
Buyer Beware!
I got ripped off big time by Planon Solutions Systems. They sent me three defective Docupen RC800 Color Hand Held Scanners.
In good faith I waited about 3 months each time for a total of 3 replacement RC800 Color Hand Held Scanners and all three were badly defective.
Get this, the first one was crushed at the factory and they hermetically sealed,packaged and sent it to me anyway! I waited for two years to get a good one and now they say their warranty is no longer valid because it's after 60 days. I was never able to use any of them and waited patiently for two years in good faith believing their promises to send a good one.
If you get ripped off by Planon Solution Systems, who will not honor the US Legal Warranty please let us know about your experience at http://planon-rc800.com
If you haven't purchased one yet, remember they are outside US Jurisdiction and their word to make your Docupen good is worthless. They remind me of local con artist. You know they are lying to you but you want to believe they are dealing with you in good faith.
1 out of 10 - Abysmal Product does not perform as advertised
They tried to put too much and did not deliver the quality a professional expects.
They tried to put too much and did not deliver the quality a professional expects.
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by khafeez (see profile) -
February 25, 2008
4 out of 10 - Mediocre Great concept if company would deliver
I had big plans for the RC800. I was about to start law school and using this scanner looked like ...
I had big plans for the RC800. I was about to start law school and using this scanner looked like a great idea for doing research -- I could bypass the copiers and scan materials directly into my tablet pc and keep everything organized electronically. After a few weeks in school, I can see where this product would have been useful.
After reviewing the product description and specifications and blinking twice at the price, I placed my order even though the order would take "2 to 4 weeks to arrive".
Four weeks later with nothing to show but an invoice I attempted to call customer service. No one answered. $299 and no one to answer the phone -- that is not a good sign.
However good the scanner itself may be, if the company cannot deliver it then it is useless. If the company is not taking care of customers with undelivered orders, one must wonder whether they aren't deliberately trying to dump their smaller customers.
In any case, I have never dealt with this company before and my present experience does not inspire much confindence in them.
Bottom line: if you don't care when you will receive your merchandise, go ahead and buy this product. It appears to be a very useful tool. Let us now how it works for you.
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by pjpark (see profile) -
September 20, 2006
7 out of 10 - Very good Good Product but you will need some training
This is a good product with expandable memory. It has taken me two days off and on to fully train ...
This is a good product with expandable memory. It has taken me two days off and on to fully train on product. If you scan too slowly in the mono mode it will not scan the page correctly. The scanner will not scan the entire page, but you won't know it until you get it home and upload the scans on your computer. However, you can scan in the color picture mode more slowly and it will get it. I was under misunderstanding that you should scan at the rate of either 4 seconds or 8 seconds depending on the DPI you choose. I believe that this time is the throughput of the total scan time plus the time in which the scan is loaded into the docpen's memory.
Be aware that it only scans a width of 8 inches not 8.5 inches. This is only important if you scan documents that don't use normal margins like certain forms.
I was able to scan 33 pages on one charge at 400 DPI. I also have added additional transflash memory to do this. The quality of the scan is still not as good as a flat bed scanner, but who wants to take a flatbed scanner with them. I am satisfied with this product and will not return it even at the $299 price.
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by bamaman40404 (see profile) -
January 28, 2006
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