Xerox Scanners Use Image Processing Chip To Improve Scans For Faster Workflow

Scanners deliver optimized and compressed files to the workstation reducing the amount of data transferred and processing time.

Xerox announced recently that the DocuMate 5445 and 5460 Xerox document scanners now include On-Board Acuity, a chip built-in to the scanner, that makes it faster for office workers to create clean, black and white images of their original documents. Functions such as cropping and removing blank pages are controlled by the chip rather than a connected PC, nearly doubling the scanning efficiency.

“Performing image processing in the scanner often drives up the price of scanners, however through technology advancements and engineering persistence our customers will benefit from this new feature at no additional cost,” said John Capurso, president and CEO at Visioneer, a Xerox licensing partner.

What is On-board Acuity (hardware based image processing)?
The inclusion of On-board Acuity means that the scanner will use built-in hardware chips, software and memory to perform image processing prior to delivering any data to the scanner driver. Images are delivered and opened in the chosen software application or stored in a repository already cleaned up and enhanced.

On-board Acuity processing ensures that the scanners maintain high scanning speeds even when multiple image processing functions have been selected. Image processing functions are controlled by the on-board chip rather than the connected PC, therefore users can take advantage of advanced image processing functions, including dynamic thresholding, automatic cropping, automatic straightening, and blank page removal, without sacrificing scanning speed, and nearly doubling the efficiency of their scanning workflows.

The Xerox DocuMate 5445 and 5460 with On-board Acuity also include three new features:

• Line smoothing - When scanning items that include very thin lines close together (such as a barcode or graphical pattern) at resolutions of 200 DPI or lower, there is a chance that the lines could merge together into one larger line. To improve barcode readability, On-board Acuity now applies special logic to the data prior to and during the thresholding procedure to ensure that multiple thin lines remain clear and separate.
• Text Brightness Adjustment – The text brightness adjustment improves the visual quality of text on the page when scanning with a halftone or diffused threshold. This new feature allows users to accurately reproduce photo elements in black and white images while still maintaining dark, crisp text.
• Enhanced Long Document Support - The upgraded scanner hardware now has the ability to scan documents up to 150” in long document mode at up to 400 DPI (120”@ 500 DPI and 100” @600 DPI). This is an increase of 50 percent over the previous limit of 100”.

Xerox DocuMate 5445 And 5460
The Xerox DocuMate 5445 and 5460 are both small enough to fit on any desk; weighing only 8.8 lbs. and measuring 12.5" wide x 8.2" deep x 7.7" high (9.3" when equipped with paper feed tray). The scanners also offer ultrasonic double-feed detection and “dog-ear” detection, which stops scanning when an image is obstructed due to a folded corner or extreme skewing. This feature can be temporarily bypassed to allow scanning of documents—such as envelopes—that would otherwise trigger errors.

Pricing And Availability
The 45-ppm Xerox DocuMate 5445 document scanner is priced at $1,195 (US MSRP); the 60-ppm Xerox DocuMate 5460 is priced at $1,595. Both are available through online channel partners, VARs and major resellers.