Buyers Laboratory Inc. (BLI), the world’s leading independent tester of document imaging products, has honoured Plustek, Inc. with an “Outstanding Achievement” award for its one-of-a-kind approach to “workgroup scanning.” BLI’s “Outstanding Achievement” awards annually acknowledge those that bring products and capabilities to the office imaging market that stand out for their extraordinary ingenuity, usefulness or value.

Plustek Defies Convention

A first for USB-connected scanners, the Plustek SmartOffice PL1530 earned an “Outstanding Achievement” award for “Innovation” for its ability to connect to two PCs at one time, redefining the meaning of “workgroup” scanning. Connected on both ends via a simple USB cable, two users can scan from one device with the touch of a button.

“This is the first scanner tested that allows customers to double their scan performance without the hassle, and added cost, of building a network-connected scan centre,” said BLI Test Technician Joe Ellerman. The SmartOffice PL1530 offers dedicated hard keys labelled PC1, Custom, PDF, Scan and PC2. While the three middle keys can be customised by end users, the two PC keys allow the scanner to direct the image to either user’s computer.

This ENERGY STAR-qualified and RoHS-compliant device comes with a variety of scan solutions to help ease the scanning/editing/routing process, including the ability to organise and manage documents using NewSoft Presto! PageManager, OCR image files via ABBYY FineReader, edit and enhance digital documents with the help of Presto! ImageFolio and organise stacks of business cards through Hotcard BizCard Finder.

The SmartOffice PL1530 also features an easy to use scan driver, with all of the main features, including profile selections, on the main screen; a built-in 8.5" x 11.69" flatbed; and faster than average single-page scan speeds. Its versatility makes the Plustek SmartOffice PL1530 best suited for front offices and small workgroups with multiple scanner users.