BWE BELL + HOWELL has released Ngenuity, a new mid- to high-volume production scanner designed to accommodate the document management needs of paper- intensive industries such as healthcare, financial services, insurance, government, transportation and service bureaus.
The scanner is said to be able to handle documents ranging from rice paper to plastic cards to stuffed envelopes to fetal monitoring strips. Further, it does so at speeds that are among the best in its class-150 ppm at 200 dpi in colour, bitonal and grayscale. Ngenuity is claimed to combine fast speeds and an unlimited daily duty cycle with long-term reliability. The
company reports that some of the scanner's components have been tested to last up to 50 million scans.
"Ngenuity represents the latest in BWE BELL + HOWELL innovation," said Russell Hunt, president of BWE BELL + HOWELL Scanners. "Our product designs are heavily influenced by customer demand, and Ngenuity offers users across industries a combination of established features such as our SharpShooter TriLinear CCD cameras as well as a host of new capabilities, including two paper path options for exceptional paper handling. This blend of 'best-in-class' features on a brand new platform will help our customers convert a wider range of documents into high-quality digital images more quickly and efficiently than ever before."
Ngenuity's rotary paper path is said to be ideal for scanning most documents such as invoices, forms and contracts. The scanner's straight pass through paper path is the perfect alternative for exception documents that might not make the turn through a rotary path. With the option of feeding very thick or stiff documents to exit through the back of the scanner, users can scan everything from plastic cards and cardstock sheets to stuffed envelopes in batch mode, efficiently and with ease.
Ngenuity's long document mode allows users to scan documents such as oil well logs and EKG strips up to 200 meters long. The scanner's folded and fragile document modes auto-adjust feeding and transport settings for folded or fragile documents.
In order to ensure that every document fed is scanned correctly, Ngenuity is equipped with three independently controlled sensors for the most accurate Ultrasonic Multifeed Detection. BWE BELL + HOWELL pioneered the use of this technology in scanners and has set the bar high again with an improved "Multifeed Ignore" functionality, which allows users to accept scanned images and continue scanning or preemptively accept an intended multifeed. Further, Ngenuity's "Ignore by Size" function allows users to process taped receipts, sticky notes and other items that the scanner might otherwise tag as a multifeed.
The Variable Feeder Tray Capacity control is claimed not only to free users from being confined to preset batch size limitations but also remembers and auto-adjusts the feeder to the most recent batch size. This combination of intelligent batch size memory and feeder tray capacity saves users valuable time when loading and switching batches.
A smart combination of white LED illumination and high-precision SharpShooter Trilinear CCD cameras help Ngenuity produce high-quality digital images consistently. The SharpShooter cameras offer 600 dpi true optical capture and output and the LED lights, which require no warm-up time, allow users to scan at optimal image quality as soon as the scanner is turned on. Clear images lead to faster, more accurate forms processing and better intelligent character recognition (ICR) and optical character recognition (OCR) rates.
Kofax's VirtualReScan (VRS) 4.2 Professional technology, which comes standard and onboard on Ngenuity, allows users to tap into VRS's image enhancement and interactive problem resolution functionality without sacrificing scanning speed. Onboard VRS 4.2 Professional on Ngenuity offers more precise image cropping and advanced color management, which can further improve image quality for documents scanned in color.
Ngenuity features USB 2.0 connectivity, is SCSI ready and comes with everything users need to start scanning right away. This includes:
- USB 2.0 cable for easy connectivity
- Installation Resource CD with Ngenuity Operator Utility and VRS 4.2 Professional
- Power cord, starter cleaning kit, camera calibration kit
An optional user-installable, pre- or post-scan imprinter allows users to add a time and date stamp and imprint up to 72 characters per line.
Engineered and manufactured in the United States, Ngenuity is designed to be the most durable and reliable scanner on the market. In addition to the steel paper path, the scanner features rollers that last for 600,000 scans, long-lasting LED lighting and cameras that only need to be calibrated once or twice a year. The durable CCD cameras are protectively sealed and able to withstand the occasional staple and other unavoidable production environment hazards such as dust. With long-lasting parts and a smart, durable design, Ngenuity offers users a low overall cost of scanner maintenance and ownership.
The scanner's user-friendly operator interface and smart front panel functionality provide easy access to frequently used features and includes two customizable function buttons. Much of the scanner and software functionality is also accessible from the PC. This includes the User Utility, which monitors maintenance schedules and provides easy access to cleaning and maintenance menus.
Available exclusively through BWE BELL + HOWELL's worldwide network of value-added resellers, Ngenuity comes with a 90-day on-site warranty (plus an additional nine months with registration) in the United States and Canada and a one-year depot warranty in all other countries. Its list price ranges from $18,000 to $45,000 in the United States, depending on the scanner model.
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