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Plustek MobileOffice D28 Corporate
A portable Scanner for working on the go!
 The Plustek MobileOffice D28 Corporate Scanner is a very capable compromise between a flatbed and a pen scanner like the Planon Docupen 800 Executive I reviewed in May. What the Plustek MobileOffice D28 lacks in portability it more than makes up for in capability. The software that comes on the CD is, for the most part, from developers I have never heard of. I mean no disrespect because they do the job quite well.
 Installation and setup of the software on the Lenovo ThinkPad running Windows XP was pretty automatic. The quick start instructions for connecting the scanner, USB cable, and the AC adaptor were clear. The first thing that is required is to calibrate the scanner using the included Calibration sheet. Next you are presented with the DigiDoc Software. This allows you to change the preprogrammed settings for 9 possible types of scans. DigiDoc comes preset with multiple choices so I just left that default setup for these tests.
Scans are done by feeding the Document, Business Card, or Plastic Card into the unit rather than passing the scanning device over the paper so you get a reliable  steady read that is similar to a flatbed scanner. There is no auto feed tray so all documents need to be fed in one at a time. You can’t scan a page in a book or CD label as you can with a flatbed scanner. Scanning an 8.5” by 11” sheet takes about 2.2 seconds. The max paper size for D28 corporate is 8.5" x 14 (legal paper.) Acceptable paper thickness is limited to 0.05mm - 0.8mm while the plastic card thickness can be up to 1.2mm. A geat feature is the ability to change the exit feed so the scanned document can go through and drop on the desk or, in cramped areas, it can be set to come out perpendicular to the unit and stay that way until you remove the paper or do another scan.
 I did get perfect OCR text when I scanned a contract. After scanning it was placed in a Word Document. I then grabbed the warranty and support page that had been folded twice and had spent some time in the Plustek box. It was creased and flat as a pancake. I opened it up and fed it into the scanner with perfect OCR results again. Since it was printed on both sides I used the duplex button to OCR both sides at once. Not a problem. Perfect again. If it seems like I am pushing this perfect OCR too much I guess you could say I am becoming a believer after years of avoiding OCR due to bad experiences. I am not a typist so anything that saves me retyping stuff is a big winner in my book. Readiris Pro 10 Corporate Edition OCR and NewSoft Presto! PageManager 6.07 software perform the OCR, PDF, and other operations. NewSoft Presto! ImageFolio 4 handles the photos and image scans as well as organizing and working with them. Features and other details can be found here.
I then scanned several photos from a recent trip. One on copy paper and the others were on Kodak Soft Glossy Anytime Photo Paper. This is a little thicker than copy paper (6mil). It fed through tight but OK. You can see the samples of the scan below. I think the Photo Paper wins.
 
My next test was to use the Business Card Reader function. The D28 package included Hotcard BizCard Finder 2.5 and I found it to be fast and capable for most business cards. It did have a problem recognizing text on cards with dark color backgrounds as well as those cards that I, like a dummy, had added written notes over the printed text. These two problems seem to show up in other card scanning
software. I was able to easily enter corrections since it saves a copy of the card with each address book entry. This Business Card scanning feature alone makes the D28 a big winner for me. I love my CardScan but also appreciate the almost all-in-one approach provide by the Plustek MobileOffice D28 Corporate Scanner.
Plastic card scanning
Plastic cards include embossed cards, credit cards, driver license cards, ID cards, medi-care cards or any membership cards. I scanned my Driver’s license with no problem. It made a clean and crisp color copy.
I attempted to scan and use OCR on several words by drawing in BLOCK LETTERING but my block lettering is less than perfect so it was only partially successful.
In addition to those possibilities mentioned above you can set up one of the function LEDs to scan and send a page with text or a photo to your chosen email program, another can create a searchable PDF, a third can copy a document and send it to your printer. I think the possibilities are only limited by the software you have that works with TWAIN.
I doubt that I will ever give up my Flatbed Scanner. The Plustek MobileOffice D28 Corporate will be at the top of the list as a replacement if I did. I like most everything about it. I would have liked the MobileOffice D28 Corporate to have battery power as an option for those times you might be forced to work in places without access to AC power. Priced at $399.00 it is a good buy for those who work in a small space or need to travel with a capable office ready scanning solution.
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