planon systems handheld portable scanner rc-800

Rating:
Date: 2008-05-18
Works great, after an ordeal!
When I first got my RC800, I was underwhelmed by the build quality--it seems cheap and flimsy, with terrible fit and finish. Still, it seems to hold up fine under use, and it hasn't broken yet.

At first, I had a terrible time using this thing--my scans were coming out crooked, the "Too Fast" light blinked all the time, and the scans would finish prematurely, before the entire page had been scanned in. The resulting scans were unusable, and I almost returned the scanner.

Recalibrating the RC800 fixed all of that and turned the scanner into a terrific little tool. It took a while to do the recalibration, which was somewhat confusing because the scanner would finish way before the end of the calibration page, but I finally got it right with 100% accuracy. After that, the scanner works flawlessly, allowing for an uneven scanning speed and scanning full pages completely. I've gotten into the flow of using the device, which while not fast, isn't too slow either. I can easily scan page after page with a single pass each, and the OVERALL speed is actually better than flatbed scanners where I have to open the lid, replace pages, position the page, all before actually making the scan.

The trade-off in portability and compactness makes this a wonderful scanner to have--I'm used to having relatively large flatbeds take up a bunch of shelf space, and this is a joy to store.

As for the software complaints, I didn't have any trouble with the latest drivers (for both Mac and PC, which I both tested). Sure, there are the usual "Not Digitally-Signed" errors under WinXP and the drivers themselves are somewhat clunky to use, but it all works reliably as promised in the documentation. If you require elegance, this isn't the scanner for you. But then again, I've never had an elegant scanner experience with all of the dozens of scanners I've used EXCEPT the giant multifunction copiers that are capable of scanning to email or network drive.

If you aren't particularly techie in nature or are rough on your equipment, this probably isn't the scanner for you. Otherwise, this is perfect for low-volume, space-constrained, or portable scanning.

Rating:
Date: 2008-03-16
Rip Off Beware
This is by far the worst product I have ever purchased. The positive reviews HAVE to be planted by the company. There is absolutely no way someone can have a positive experience with this crappy device.

Rating:
Date: 2008-01-11
I LOVE THIS THING!
My job requires me to be a "road warrior," traveling all over the region doing what I do. This wonderful gadget allows me to scan paperwork in full color on the go while taking up minimal space in my "go bag." Learning how to swipe the scan straight took me a few tries but once I got it down, an innocent bystander wouldn't know I didn't run the scan through a flatbed scanner. Best of all, despite what it says, this unit IS MAC COMPATIBLE and has expandable memory through a micro SD card. If you need a scanner on the fly, run - do not pass go - and purchase this unit. You won't be disappointed.

Rating:
Date: 2007-12-13
Planon RC800
I recently purchased a Planon RC800 and Transcend Micro Memory as a Better Together offer featured on Amazon.com. To say that I am totally dissatisfied is an understatement.

Firstly when they arrived, the Planon Docupen clearly states that it is not compatible with any other memory card other than a Sandisk and that trying to use an alternative may damnage the pen. So guess what got sent back.......yes the memory card.

Secondly, even though none of this infromation is readily available, the Docupen RC800 does not readily work with Windows Vista. The software that accompanies the pen is not compatible and the installation process is made more complex by the fact that you have to go to their website and download new drivers, paper port etc. To do this you have to get security passwords from Planon.

Finally after several days of trying and numerous calls to their technical support because my Docupen still didn't work, I was notified by Planon's technical support that the pen would never work as I have a 64Bit PC and Planon does not yet produce a pen or software that is compatible with my system.

To all who want to try, don't bother. At least not until Planon get their act together and update their game. As a final asside, I thought that I would try and load the sofware onto my simpler PC with Winows XP, however, when I received a Windows warning that the sofware drivers may cause my Windows XP to malfunction, I gave up. You should too

Rating:
Date: 2007-11-19
Major time saver!
I've been using a Planon RC-800 for about 5 mos. It's been great. Attorneys in our area are often required to take extensive notes by hand from criminal case files. The Planon lets us scan the documents and download them with incredible ease. I've seen over 70 pages scanned out of a single file. As far as I am aware, this is the only portable scanner of this size that allows users to scan an entire page in one pass (others require you to go line-by-line, for example). In just the last few weeks, I've noticed more and more attorneys carrying these pen scanners around the courthouse.

The software easily converts scanned images into various common file formats. I've read the reviews talking about the cheap construction of this product but I don't see the problem. It's a portable scanner, you need to be careful w/ it and that should be expected. Under heavy use, the scanner can be plugged in to a laptop to both recharge the battery and view pages as they are downloaded from the scanner. On a two person team, one atty can scan while the other reviews the file. The major drawback for us is that the scanner can miss the edges of pages that lack margins (many of our documents are printed right to the edge of the paper), however it isn't much on either side, you can usually figure out what's missing.

So, yes, there is room for improvement in what is essentially a 1st-generation product, but you don't have a lot of other choices if you want this functionality in a package this size (we won't be hauling any flatbed scanners around the courthouse, thank you very much). Given Planon's monopoly, I'm just happy to see the prices coming down so I won't have to share forever (this model has sold for hundreds more elsewhere). I've not had to deal w/ customer service, but I've been very careful w/ the pen, too. If your priority is high quality scanning, look elsewhere. If, like me, you need a discrete, portable, and easy scanning device, this is the product you should buy.

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