 - Portable, pen-size scanner with OCR recognizes 128 languages
- Recognizes alphanumeric characters, numeric data, mathematical symbols, currency symbols, and much more; scans small images
- Scans up to 3.15 inches per second
- Mac and PC compatible; powers off USB port
- Automatically recognizes mix of Western and Greek or Cyrillic languages; optionally reads Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean
List Price: $129.99
Lowest Price: $99.99 
Product Description: The IRISPen Express 6 is the most intuitive electronic highlighter. Simply slide the pen over text and numbers from letters, newspapers, magazines, faxes, etc. and they are instantly retyped right at your cursor in your favorite application. The IRISPen recognizes 3.15 inches (8 cm) per second and retypes 1,000 characters per second. The IRISPen scans and recognizes 128 languages and features the Smart wizard, which assists you with blurry text, numbers or small images. Whatever you need to scan, the intuitive wizard guides you through the process. The efficient USB connection enables you to capture characters from the largest variety of media at the fastest speed. USB powered, it doesn't require any battery. Amazon.com Product Description: The Iris USOA400 IRISPen Express 6 Pen Scanner is a portable, hand-held scanner that works just like a highlighter. You simply slide the scanner over virtually any printed text, and the text is automatically scanned directly into your computer. Ideal for remote research projects or any task in which a flatbed scanner would prove too cumbersome, this pen-sized scanner operates at a rate of over three inches per second and recognizes 128 languages.  | The Iris USOA400 IRISPen Express 6 Pen Scanner offers: - Small size for easy portability.
- Automatic conversion of text on paper into editable text on the screen.
- Recognition of 128 languages.
- PC and Mac compatibility.
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The pen-sized scanner scans at a rate of over three inches per second. View larger. | Fast Scanning and High Accuracy
The IRISPen Express 6 includes Optical Character Recognition software, or OCR, that is up to 100% accurate with 128 languages. Whether you're scanning print from a newspaper in New York, Istanbul or Ljubljana, this scanner will provide you with highly accurate results. It can even read wavy and distorted images, as well as colored text and numbers, and text on colored backgrounds. If you have special text needs, don't worry. The IRISPen can recognize alphanumeric characters, numeric data, special characters, mathematical symbols, currency symbols, and much more. The IRISPen also reads virtually any font, in a wide variety of styles and point sizes (from 8 to 20 points), as well as formatting elements, such as vertical lines, separating table cells. The scanner can even scan logos, signatures, and other small graphics. While the speed will vary according to usage, the IRISPen can scan up to 3.15 inches per second. You simply slide the "pen" tip across your text, just as you would a highlighter, and the text is scanned directly into the application of your choice. Wide Software and Hardware Compatibility
The IRISPen doesn't care if you're a Mac or PC user. It's compatible with practically any platform you use. The pen connects directly into the USB port of a PC, notebook, Tablet PC or Macintosh computer. Powered by the USB port of your computer, the IRISPen doesn't need an external power supply and features an "idle" mode to save energy when it's not in use. 
Use the IRISPen just like a highlighter and the text appear right on your computer screen. | The scanner software is easily configured. You can assign key board shortcuts and follow the intuitive smart wizard for the quickest and easiest way of defining your settings. It proposes a series of templates with pre-defined settings means for the reading of certain types of data: text, text from columns, numeric tables, etc. These templates can be either used as such, or modified to fit more particular needs. Once connected, your options for the destination of your scanning is virtually unlimited. You can scan your text directly into Microsoft Excel or Word, into text files, emails--you name it. If you can type in it, the IRISPen will let you scan into it. Scanning Everything From Albanian to Zulu
Amazingly, the IRISPen recognizes 128 different languages. All American and European languages are supported, including Central-European languages. Greek, Turkish, the Cyrillic ("Russian") and the Baltic languages and Hebrew are also supported. Optionally, the IRISPen reads Asian documents in Japanese, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese and Korean. You can activate a mixed alphabet of Greek or Cyrillic and Western characters. This is useful if Western words pop up in Greek of Cyrillic texts (this is often the case with proper name, brand names, etc.). The IRISPen will automatically switch languages whenever needed. What's in the Box
IRISPen Express 6 pen scanner, CD-ROM, quick installation guide, register card, user's manual, test sheet, and calibration sheet.
Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-04
High Quality - IRISPen Express 6 Does What It Says It Does
I bought the IRISPen Express 6 to lessen the demand of compiling information from several written sources during my research for my doctorate. There is a learning curve, but once I practiced, the IRISPen became a wonderful tool that reduced the time I would have spent retyping my research. With practice, I can scan references in APA style with few errors. One warning...be vigilant. There are a few small glitches that can foil your attempts for perfection (an errant dash or period). Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-18
"A" for effort
Although not seamless (like voice recognition typing) it gets a "A" for effort. Given the proof reading and editing that you will have to do; you could say it's easier and quicker to type the text in. But for me, it's not to unlike the ritual of tea drinking - sure I can just grab the tea and take a shot etc and go about my business. But instead, I get to use technology to surgically craft my typing (Farfugnugen) giving me a temporary "reprieve" from my intensive studying.
The bottom line is - is that some letters get lost in translation - and of course you gotta then go through what you just scanned (word for word) comparing it to the book you just scanned from, because you "of course" want it to be a carbon copy (otherwise, why are you scanning in the first place).
Now, would that whole process be faster than typing? I don't think so - but - dose it give you a break from intensive concentration on you're studying? Yes, it dose that - kinda like - stop and smell the roses and enjoy technology. And of course, someday who knows what they will have that will blow everybody's mind away. So in closing, will it be something your life revolves around (probably not) but will it make a nice addition to your toy chest? YOU BET, right on, the thing is, like, pretty cool in it's own way - my toy chest wouldn't be caught dead without it.... Rating:
Date: 2008-05-31
Hard to control at the beginning, but very useful after familiar
It is hard to control at the beginning, but after familiar the way how to scan the paper, it is very useful. Remember, to be patient at the beginning. Under this price, you can't expect it has spell check, this already saved me a lot of times to write notes. Rating:
Date: 2008-04-27
quite useful
The IRISpen is easy to install, but its usage took me some getting used to. After this short period of learning how to aim and how fast to move it has become quite useful. The user interface (on my Mac) is fine, but it takes a somewhat large area on my laptop screen.
I use it for book citations, that works fairly well, depends on the layout and bending of the pages. It works great for newspaper clipping. The OCR hit-rate is amazing for such a small device.
All other features but OCR are not in my scope, and I also never tried them. Rating: 
Date: 2008-03-29
It depends on what you're doing
I edit a small-town weekly newspaper, and in slow times, I like to have a story regarding some aspect of the town's history ready to go in as filler. So I spend quite a bit of time going through yellowed newspaper archives, and bought this toy to see if I could cut down on my retyping time. The result? Sometimes it helps, sometimes it doesn't. I find you have to recalibrate every time you start scanning a different newspaper page, and that the scanner works better on pages that still have good contrast, which is to say have not become too yellowed. The good news is that I get about 95 percent accuracy on unyellowed newsprint, so it works for me then; the bad news is that the error rate greatly rises when the contrast drops, so that retyping is still faster on most of the old stuff. But, it should be noted, I'm conducting a Pen Scanner Torture Test; I find it works just fine on better quality paper, such as book and magazines. But always, always, recalibrate first. |
