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My first scanner was a handheld device manufactured by Logitech. It looked a bit like a paint brush in shape and had a scanning width of around 4 inches. This recollection was brought to mind by the arrival of a device entitled DocuPen R700. Resembling an elongated pen in design, this was a handheld scanner - looks like technology has come a full circle.

Matt silver in colour, the DocuPen features a dual-roller guiding system on the base with a single power button on the top. A USB connection socket is positioned at one end and a series of LED lights at the opposite end. Its length is such that the device can scan a full A4 page width in either 100 or 200 dpi and is capable of storing up to 100 pages, depending upon content and resolution, in its memory. Power is provided by its fixed internal rechargeable battery that utilises the USB connection. Software, in the form of appropriate TWAIN drivers and PaperPort SE 8.0, is provided.

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As long as you follow the clearly laid out instructions in the R700 Operating Manual, installation of the drivers and software should be trouble free. However I wish I could say the same for operating this device. Unfortunately that is not the case. Getting to grips with this device proved to be an exercise in frustration.

The DocuPen might be able to scan an A4 page in around 8 seconds while detached from the computer but it does require a steady hand both in keeping a straight line and smooth action. I found it easier if I totally ignored the red LED at the end of the pen. This light flashes if the scanner was moved too fast and was very distracting. It was hard enough gripping the pen between finger and thumb as you moved it down a document without worrying about travelling too fast.

If scanning was rather fraught then downloading the various images was fiddly to say the least. The DocuPen has its own TWAIN interface. This consists of a display area that can show three pages at one time and a series of buttons running down the left side. Unlike other scanners, content from the DocuPen has to be download rather than scanner direct.

This download process is started by clicking on the animated download TWAIN button. At this point a dialogue box will open and advise you to press the scanner button. This button will need to be held down while clicking the OK button on the dialogue box and waiting for the animated transfer screen to register activity. The scanner button can then be released and all the pages stored within the scanner will be downloaded. A similar process needs to be completed to delete content from the scanner’s memory.

You might be prepared to put up with the effort it takes to manipulate this scanner if the results it produced were of a reasonable standard. Unfortunately this is not so. Even at the higher 200 dpi level, the scans I undertook had blocky text totally unsuitable for any OCR processing while you could forget about colour as all scans were in black and white. The only real plus point for this product is its portability. It can be used anywhere, storing scans in its memory, and is extremely lightweight (2oz). At £152 this product is well over-priced. My advice would be to save your money and wait for something better to come along.

http://www.docupen.com/