Posted by Ryan Johnson on 03 2, 2010

Scanner Pro

Categories: Business, | 6 comments | |

All I can say is wow! Scanner Pro really does transform your iPhone into full functioning scanner. With this app you can throw a document down on a table, snap a pic of each of the pages, crop out anything in the image that doesn’t belong, optimize the image for the best printing results, and can convert it to a PDF and email in no time flat. It has so many handy and easy to use features that it can transform the normally hectic and frustrating life of a business traveler and small business owner and turn it into a piece of cake. Pretty much the only thing you can’t do with this app is load in the paper!

What makes Scanner Pro so good? Well, for one it can handle both grayscale and color documents. It has enhanced image processing so what would otherwise be a crappy picture of a document is converted into an extremely legible scan. In addition you can select a custom page size, so for example if you’re scanning an A4 size letter then you can set the page size to A4 so your finished product will be an A4 sized scan. When taking a picture of a document there’s no need to find a completely clean area to snap the picture. You can throw it on top of a completely cluttered desk if you want to. Once you’ve taken a picture of a page you can use your fingers to adjust the image so that it only includes the document itself, nothing else. From there you can tweak the contrast and brightness of the page, and can even convert it to grayscale. When finished just name your document and you’ve got it stored in the app for safe keeping. You can add more pages your document at any time, which the app does a great job of keeping in order for you, and can even password protect any of your documents to keep them private.

Scanner Pro also provides you with multiple ways to share scanned documents with others. As previously mentioned you can convert any scanned documents to a PDF and can email them, but that’s not the only transfer/sharing option available. Scanner Pro also seamlessly integrates with Evernote, Dropbox, online file storage (MobileMe iDisk, Box.Net, Humyo, and any other WebDAV enabled online storage), and the Print n Share iPhone app which enables you to print directly from your iPhone! You can even transfer documents to both PC and Mac computers.

Overall I was very impressed with Scanner Pro. Readdle did a great job of including the features and functionality that matters in an app like this. I compared Scanner Pro’s scanning results with a traditional scanner and it stacked up well. At first it may seem a little cumbersome to have to take a picture of each and every page, but once you get the hang of it it’s really not. It took me a half a dozen tries before I was able to rattle out 10 page documents in 2-3 minutes. I did experience one crash while using the app which basically meant that I needed to retake a picture of a page. Other than that the app functioned beautifully. One thing’s for sure, aside from having an office quality printer/scanner hitched to the back of your pants at all times, Scanner Pro is a good way to go. If you’re a frequent business traveler or a small business owner definitely checkout Scanner Pro.

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