Barcode reading has become an essential tool when scanning large batches of documents. It helps you separate them, index them with metadata and organize them in an automated way that does not interrupt your workflow. So wether it is QR Codes, Code 39, PDF417 or Code 128, these scanners will have you covered
Here is our round-up of the best document scanners with barcode readers:
Let’s have a look at each product in particular.
The Fi-7160 is our first document scanner with barcode reader. It is one of our all-time-favorite document scanners. It has an optical resolution of 1200 dpi which makes it suitable for document scanning and also some high-quality photo scanning. The scan speed is 60 pages per minute, so you get 120 images per minute in duplex scanning mode.
So what is the document barcode scanning software capable of? Well all the barcode reading happens in the Paperstream Capture Barcode recognition module. You can automatically separate the scanned documents by reading the bar codes and you have to manually select the area where the barcode is going to be and also what type. The following types are supported: UPC-A / EAN / JAN, Code 3 of 9, Code 128 / EAN128, Codabar, ITF, PDF417, Qr Code (The document qr code scanner is one of the most important because it is a growing standard) and Data Matrix.
You can also use the software to index documents by adding metadata which is extracted from bar codes.
The optical character recognition is embedded into the capture software too rather than being sold as a separate license. It can convert the JPEG, TIFF, PNG and BMP files into searchable PDF files.
PaperStream also has the ability to scan directly to the cloud to Google Drive, Dropbox, Evernote or other apps and it is compatible with PC and Mac devices. The manufacturer provides ISIS and TWAIN drivers for both operating systems: Windows and Mac OS.
Then we have the Canon which is also a document scanner that can read barcodes, but you have to buy the optional Barcode Module III.
The Barcode Module III supports the following types of 2d barcodes: EAN, Codabar, Code 39, ITF, Code 128, UPC-A, UPC-E. You can separate the files when scanning documents, name them or point to a folder using the data in the bar code.
The scanner has the same scanning speed as the Fi-7160 at 60 sheets per minute but a lower pixel density at 600 dots per inch using a CIS (Contact Image Sensor). You can connect it to your computer via USB cable and also via SCSI-3. The manufacturer recommends a daily scanning volume of 7500 scanned images per day. Along with barcode recognition, it also has the image improvement and Digital ICE features are there, from dust removal to automatic cropping and layout orientation.
Again, OCR is embedded in the capture software. It can convert scanned images to searchable PDFs but not Word Documents with editable text. You can scan and process 7500 sheets per day. You can also stack up to 100 documents in the automatic document feeder ADF tray. The problem with the Canon is that the price is much higher than the Fujitsu scanners.
The i2900 is also a great document scanner with barcode recognition.
It has the function built into the capture software too and it is capable of scanning documents with bar codes of the following types: EAN, UPC, UCC, Airline 2 of 5, Code 3 of 9, Codabar, Code 93, Code 128 and several others. You set the zone, the size, the type of the bar code and you are good to go.
So what can you do with the information that you get from the barcode reader? You can separate the documents into distinct batches, you can choose to delete the page which has that specific barcode or add the barcode information into the metadata of the PDF. The Kodak Capture app has the most features of the three and is customizable to an extent that you don’t get on the other document scanners.
This barcode document scanner has a 600 dpi digital image resolution, so you get the same number of pixels, the same color depth as the other devices and a quite large daily scanning volume of 10,000 documents per day. It can scan any document up to a paper size of A4. The feed rollers will last for about 250,000 scans. This document scanners has the largest Automatic Feeder tray capacity out of all the scanners here becuase you can put in 250 documents in it.
The Fujitsu Fi-7180 is the last document scanner that has barcode recognition on our list. This is the 80 pages per minute version of the first document scanner of our list. That is all there is to say about it, so if you like the 7160 and want to scan bar codes faster, this is your document scanner. If you want a flatbed scanner, the Fujitsu Fi-7280 is the right scanner for you.
It also has the barcode reader software and exactly the same features.
One of the biggest complaints with these scanners is the lack of wi-fi and any type of wireless connectivity. They are all either USB or SCSI.
For scanning documents with barcodes, our favorite is the Fujitsu Fi-7160 because of the great value that it represents. It is very fast, reliable, has all the pro features you need and it costs so little.
If you want a faster document scanner that reads barcodes, the Fi-7180 is the perfect choice.
