If you can live with USB-only connectivity, Canon’s imageFormula DR-C350 document scanner rewards you with speed, a generous paper capacity, and practical handling for challenging media.
From the specs, it’s a workhorse: The Canon imageFormula DR-C350 desktop document scanner pairs fast scan speeds with a large paper capacity. On the input side, this model has a dedicated mode for accommodating thicker documents, such as passports or embossed cards. It also provides advanced support for handling double-feed errors and can automatically detect a document’s color, resolution, page size, and rotation. On the output side, it can save its scans in a broad range of file formats.
While those capabilities are impressive, the $599.99 DR-C350 is limited in connectivity, offering neither Wi-Fi nor Ethernet, just wired USB. And its small, non-backlit monochrome LCD seems almost like a throwback to a previous generation of desktop scanners. That said, if you don’t need network connectivity or a leading-edge control panel, the DR-C350 could be the right choice for you. It’s certainly speedy. Otherwise, our document-scanner pick for homes and small offices remains the excellent and cheaper Ricoh ScanSnap iX2500.Design: A Practical, Efficient Pedestal
At 8.6 by 11.2 by 8.8 inches (HWD), the DR-C350 is somewhat larger than the competition, though it’s still relatively compact given its fast speeds and generous paper capacity. For comparison with similar speed-and-capacity models, the Ricoh ScanSnap iX2500 and the Epson DS-770 II are about two inches shorter and two inches shallower than the DR-C350. The Brother ADS-4900W, on the other hand, measures about 2 inches less front to back but about a half-inch taller than the DR-C350.
Keep in mind that these measurements are for the scanners when they’re closed. They can expand by as much as two to three times that when you extend the plastic guides upward and outward to accommodate your documents. The one constant measurement for these models is their width, and here the DR-C350 has a slight advantage: At 11.2 inches wide, it’s the narrowest scanner in the group. (And I do mean narrow, by a narrow margin: The DR-C350 beats the ScanSnap iX2500’s width by a mere 0.3 inch.)
The DR-C350 also manages to slide in just below the other models in weight. At 7.1 pounds, it’s well below the 8.1-pound heft of the Epson DS-770 II, and considerably lighter than the 7.7-pound ScanSnap iX2500 or 7.8-pound Brother ADS-4900W.
All these models have a 100-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). For fast desktop scanners, that’s almost essential, unless you want to be constantly loading and unloading documents. All four models also have a high recommended peak daily duty cycle rating, though there’s some variation among the group. The DR-C350 is rated at an impressive 8,000 sheets. You’d have to reload the ADF 80 times during the day to hit that maximum. That stacks up nicely against the Epson DS-770 II and ScanSnap iX2500, both with 7,000-sheet ratings, but none can approach the Brother ADS-4900W’s daunting 9,000-sheet rating.
So far, the four models have roughly matched up. That begins to change when you compare their control panels and connectivity options.
