Brother ups the ante with network scanning
Brother International has signalled its intention to climb further up the food chain in professional imaging workflow, with the launch of a new range of high speed network scanners.
The three new ADS Series network scanners offer up to 50ppm single sided scanning throughput.
Brother’s desktop scanner range is presently supplied with basic Omnipage OCR software out of the box, however the company is moving to partner with ABBYY to supply the FineReader 12 Professional OCR package.
Brother is looking to move out of the SMB market where it is a major player in printers and multi-function Centres (MFCs).
Brother International Australia has developed a Commercial Solutions team in Australia to support solutions providers and resellers handling its dedicated scanner products with technical backup and advice. It does not intend to sell direct but via local resellers Alloys, Dynamic Supplies, Leader, Synnex and XIT.
Chuck Leszyk, Brother International Australia’s business development manager for Scanning Solutions, said, “We are keen to talk to dealers, resellers and system integrators that wish to employ these enhanced compact scanners into document capture workflows for businesses in a range of industry sectors.”
Brother is keen to emphasis the ability for its desktop scanner products to drop into existing workflows with broad compatibility via its TWAIN driver. All are Kofax VRS Compatible.
The range contains three models - ADS-2800W ($A899), ADS-3000N ($999) and ADS-3600W ($A1,299), all with Near Field Communication (NFC), one-touch programmable scanning and advanced image processing.
Luke Howard, Commercial Market Development Channel Manager at Brother International Australia, said: “Since entering the single-function scanner market in 2012, we have expanded our line-up and built on the success of our first-generation ADS scanners.
“Network capability without having to log-on to a central PC results in better workflow efficiency and of course, eliminates the costs associated with having to install software at multiple location points – important factors to consider when calculating Total Cost of Ownership.”
Network scanning allows users to scan directly from the machine to multiple devices.
The 9.3cm programmable colour touchscreen (ADS-2800W and ADS-3600W only) enables users to pre-configure routine scan functions more quickly and with fewer steps, improving workflow efficiency. Programmable keys on the ADS-3000N give users similar options to pre-configure network scan functions.
While still desktop-friendly, these powerful departmental scanners can handle a range of media capacities from 40 to 413 gsm paper weights and embossed plastic card up to 1.4mm thick, making the new ADS range suitable for scanning ID cards.
Advanced image processing produces clean scanned documents, ensuring important information is captured accurately. This results in reduced file sizes for sharing and generates a clearly legible article when reading.
All models from the new range are compatible with Brother’s free iPrint&Scan app, for direct scanning to mobile devices.
The new range is also equipped with support for Brother Solutions Interface (BSI) which enables third-party developers to build, or integrate with, custom solutions.
The ADS series release follows the July 2015 debut of two new scanners for high volume scanning, the PDS-5000 and PDS-6000 at $1399 and $2199 respectively.