Docupen R-700 Rechargeable, Portable Scanner Review - Calibration and Documentation
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Calibration and Documentation
To make sure scan quality was the best, I looked for options to optimize it. I saw some reviewers who said that scan quality would improve if you worked with the scanner’s options. The only thing I found to help was the calibration menu, which offers a “Calibration list” and an “Auto calibrate” option. The calibration list didn’t make much sense to me. It was a list of numbers without explanation. I played with them a little, but it was clear I needed to autocalibrate.
After a few steps, it asked me to scan the calibration paper. Okay, now it would help to have that missing part. The videos mentioned nothing about calibrating. PLANon’s site mentioned nothing about calibration. The owner’s manual mentioned nothing about calibration.
This hunt through the owner’s manual leads me to my biggest complaint about the Docupen. PLANon would be more helpful to either include a paper manual or else be sure their PDF is in good shape. The PDF on the CD-ROM had pages out of order, and the information was out of date. The manual mentions Kodak Imaging Software which wasn’t in my package. Also, this may be the only portable device I've seen without an estimate on how long the batteries should last (however, I never ran out of battery power when filling the scanner's memory). Thankfully, the Docupen is a rather simple product, and it works well without needing troubleshooting and reference to the manual. This is still an oversight that could really use some attention, and I hope PLANon cleans up their documentation for their customers.
But back to calibration. Since I couldn’t find the information online or in the package, I decided to test the PLANon tech support. I sent an email to the support address asking about the problem. Four hours later, they responded. The turn around was definitely acceptable, and their advice helped.
Since the information they emailed to me was not available elsewhere, I will include it here for frustrated owners of the Docupen R-700 who want to calibrate.
Calibrating the Docupen R-700 Rechareable 1. Print out the calibration paper. A copy may be on your installation CD, which can find using Windows Explorer and going into the “penTwain” folder (it is not an option in the CD’s autostart menu). In case it’s not there or downloading a file is easier for you, you can download the Docupen R-700 Calibration Paper here. 2. Open PaperPort. In the scanner control window, select: Options > Auto calibration Follow the steps that the dialogue boxes give you. 3. When it asks you to scan the calibration paper, disconnect the Docupen from the cable. Scan the calibration paper with the Docupen unplugged and in low resolution mode (100dpi). 4. Plug the scanner back into the cable, and hit the power switch on it. Press OK in PaperPort. It will open the calibration dialog window with all the values to the left. This is the Calibration list. 5. Press “Upload value.” Follow the steps that it asks you to do. Once this is done, the Docupen is calibrated. |
That’s settled. It wasn’t so tough, but it could have been much easier. Now it’s time to see how well the scanner performs.
Next: Scan Quality and Readability >>
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