BIOS: Technology Means Business

Canon's CanoScan LiDE 35 is an ultra slim and relatively stylish flatbed A4 scanner. However, the low cost of Canon's star entry-level scanner is given away by its flimsy two-tone plastic enclosure and snap-on stand, but for just £49.99 (ex. VAT) it represents outstanding value for performing basic scanning chores. A low price means compromises in scan quality though and the scanner lacks support for a transparency module, film adapter, or even an automatic document feeder, so photographers and high-throughput users should look at Canon's F series or Epson's Perfection line.

Pros: Slim and light; easy to use; USB powered; vertical scanning
Cons: Poor media handling options; mediocre scan quality; slow

Installing the CanoScan LiDE 35 is relatively straightforward, although it's not clear which of the two CD-ROMs contains the English version of the driver software. In addition, you have to sit through the monotonous process of installing all five (190MB) software applications individually. Finally, you are then forced to reboot your system. On a more positive note, Canon supplies a USB cable, which also powers the scanner, as well as a matching clip-on stand for positioning the scanner upright to save valuable desk space. There's also a paper-based Quick Start Guide, as well as some PDF manuals supplied on CD-ROM for the bundled applications.

The CanoScan LiDE 35 is supplied with some easy-to-use software applications that allow you to input and manipulate still images (ArcSoft's PhotoStudio 5.5), convert paper-based material into editable text format (ScanSoft's OmniPage SE), as well as scan and print images, and attach images to e-mail messages (CanoScan ToolBox). A copy of Adobe's Acrobat software is also supplied for viewing and creating PDF files.

The lid accommodates the scanning of bulky items such as paperback books and magazines, although you can only scan single sheets when the scanner is used in an upright position. You'll also struggle if the sheet is slightly bent or warped. We'd have liked the facility to remove the lid entirely in order to scan thick material, such as hardback books and directories.

Performing a scan is really easy: simply place the source material on the platen, align its top edge with the scanner's alignment mark, and then press the Scan button on the front of the CanoScan LiDE 35. Once a scan has been invoked, the CanoScan ToolBox driver software automatically opens and allows you to make alterations to the scan settings. For instance, you can copy (sends scan to installed printer), print, e-mail or save an image, or send the scan to an OCR or image-editing application for fine tuning. Alternatively, you can scan directly from within any of the supplied applications.

Within each category in the driver software are further options for altering scan settings, such as scan mode (black-and-white, colour or greyscale), image quality (75-, 150-, 300- or 600ppi), and paper size (A4, letter, business card or 4x6in). From the driver software you can also select image type (BMP, JPEG, TIFF or PDF), as well as the destination folder. Support for PDF files is great news for business users who need to create and distribute non-editable electronic documents.

Four plastic 'EZ' buttons on the front of the CanoScan LiDE 35 can be individually configured to perform commonly used functions, including scanning straight to a PDF file, scanning direct to a printer (digital copy function) or scanning automatically to a ready-to-go e-mail attachment. This is a really neat feature if you regularly perform the same type of scans, such as scanning business cards, because it means you don't have to first open an application and then wade through its menus. However, it would have been useful if Canon added some LEDs to the front buttons to confirm scan operations as they are performed.

The CanoScan LiDE 35 uses LiDE sensor technology compared to conventional CCD-based technology. Its main benefits include the ability to create smaller, lighter scanners with fewer moving parts. For example, the CanoScan LiDE 35 measures 258x374x38mm and weighs just 1.8kg. LiDE technology also consumes less power, so it enables the use of just a single cable for USB and power connection.

Charge-coupled devices (CCD) on the other hand have a sensor that uses a long, white fluorescent lamp to illuminate images. This lighting technique typically consumes a large amount of power and the scanned image has to pass through many mirrors and lenses before becoming a digital image, thus adding bulk to a unit. However, CCD-based scanners generally achieve higher colour fidelity and light quality, as well as reduced image distortion, which is why most high-end scanners are based on this technology.

Nevertheless, the CanoScan LiDE 35's optical scan resolution of 1200x2400ppi (9600x9600ppi with interpolation) and 48-bit colour depth (16-bit greyscale depth) help it achieve decent scan results up to a maximum scan size of 216x297mm (A4). Its optical resolution is relatively poor, especially if you intend to work with detailed images, but for general business work, OCR and business card scanning, it's ideal. We noticed that scans appeared slightly fuzzy around the edges and had a grainy appearance. Colours were overexposed too, but text was clear and legible, if a little jaggy. The scanner also features Canon's QARE Level 2 dust and scratch removal technology, which helps to tidy up damaged photographs.

The CanoScan LiDE is no speed demon either, taking a whopping 7m 55s to scan an A4 colour document at its highest resolution (36.6MB scanned file) and 2m 49s to scan a colour 6x4in. photograph (7.62MB scanned file). A black-and-white business letter (A4 size) took 29s to scan before it was ready for editing. A low price means compromises though and the scanner lacks support for a transparency module, film adapter, or even an automatic document feeder, so photographers and high throughput users should look at Canon's F series or Epson's Perfection line.

Links:
CanoScan LiDE 35 Web site