High-end network document scanners continue getting slicker and more self-contained. The HP Digital Sender Flow 8500 fn2 Document Capture Workstation ($2,999.99) has sophisticated features including a built-in scanner interface and onboard hard disk for saving files. It may cost an eye-watering $1,000 more than the Editors' Choice Canon imageFormula ScanFront 400, but it's faster and richer in features, making it our top pick for high-volume scanning in a midsize to large office or enterprise setting. No Desktop Scanner Here Measuring 10.4 by 20.2 by 23 inches (HWD) and weighing 38.5 pounds, the Flow 8500 is huge and obviously not designed to sit beside you on your desktop. Unlike the Canon ScanFront 400 ($1,496.00 at Amazon) , which is half the size and almost 30 pounds lighter, the Flow 8500 is a flatbed scanner with a 150-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF) for sending huge stacks of originals to the flatbed. The ScanFront, on the other hand, is a desktop document sheet-feed...
The HP Digital Sender Flow 8500, with its tablet control panel and built-in keyboard and hard disk, is a powerful, if expensive, network document scanner for midsize to large offices.
Fast scanning; High daily duty cycle; Robust software; Built-in tablet control panel, keyboard, and hard disk
Costly; Big and heavy