Epson's US$399.99 WorkForce DS-520 sheet-fed scanner (www.epson.com) boasts speeds of up to 30 ppm/60 ipm, so is a fine solution for business users. The compact scanner features a robust software package, including Epson Document Capture Pro, advanced color and image adjustment capabilities and OCR.

In addition, TWAIN and ISIS drivers allow for compatibility with the document management software users prefer. The WorkForce DS-520 scans both sides of one sheet in just one pass and holds up to 50 pages with its built-in ADF.

With the ability to scan folded pages, rigid ID cards, stacks of business cards and single sheets, the DS-520 is equipped to quickly and effectively scan a wide-array of documentation with minimal user support. In addition, the scanner has three sets of rollers for dynamic skew protection with ultrasonic double-feed detection technology, which senses if more than a single page has been fed and automatically stops the feeding to avoid missing pages or jamming.

The WorkForce DS-520 is compact, measuring 6.1 inches tall, 11.7 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Its Color Enhance feature captures specific and continuously variable colors from the original document, manipulating how the software captures and removes color from the original page. Color Dropout removes any color from the scanned image.

Users have the ability to isolate and save up to six different colors to capture or drop for each scan profile, simplifying the capture and maintenance of data for repeat use. The DS-520 also includes automatic paper size detection, hole-punch removal and automatic de-skewing.

The scanner offers multiple options to automate workflow. Epson Document Capture Pro software for Mac OS X and Windows allows users to immediately scan to popular cloud services including Google Docs, MS SharePoint, and Evernote. Document Capture Pro also enables users to manage and route documents by scanning directly to email, FTP sites or any computer folder.

In addition, the scanner is enabled with TWAIN and ISIS drivers, permitting businesses to continue using the document management software of their choice to better fit their work environments and boost overall efficiency. Businesses will also benefit from leveraging an optional network module (sold separately), which can support up to 100 work stations with full scanner functionality.