Category: My Blog

How To Scan Documents With Your Phone

by Edna Butler, posted in Apps, My Blog, Tech Tools, Working From Home

Having an exclusive scanner is of course useful if you have a large number of documents to scan. But if you are on the go and need to scan a couple of documents urgently, you can definitely trust your phone to give you good results. Technology that is advancing by the hour has made the same possible through various applications depending on the smartphone in use.

Scanning Documents Using Your iPhone

To use your iphone for scanning, you will first have to make sure that your phone is updated to iOS11. It has added new features to NOTES which is the in- built application that will help you scan documents using your iPhone. Following are the steps that will help you in the scanning process:

  1. Click to open Notes.
  2. To create a new note, click on the square with a pencil in it.
  3. On the menu bar above your keyboard, tap the circle with the +.
  4. Now, on the scroll up menu that appears select scan documents.
  5. Fill your phone’s screen with the image of the document you want to scan. You can manually focus and capture the image of your document by clicking on the shutter button or let notes do it automatically.
  6. You will now see the preview and notes will give you the options to either keep scan or retake.
  7. Once you are done scanning all pages, you can see a list of your documents in Notes. And if any corrections are needed, you just need to tap the image of the page to be edited and a menu with editing options will appear.
  8. To automatically save your edited scanned document, tap on done.
  9. Tap the Upload icon to save the scan as a PDF.
  10. Next tap on Create PDF.
  11. Click on Done.
  12. Finally, Select where you want to save your PDF file, then Tap Add. Your PDF is saved to your desired location and is ready to be sent out.

The only drawback with notes is that it gives you only limited options to edit your document. If you are looking a more advanced application, the recommended one for iOS users is ScannerPro but which unfortunately is a paid application.

Scanning Documents Using Your Android Phone

When it comes to android phones, you will need Google Drive to be installed in your phone to scan documents. Following are the steps that will help you in the scanning process:

  1. Tap on the Google Drive icon to open.
  2. The scanning mode automatically opens using your phone’s camera. If this does not happen, tap on the camera icon when you are ready to scan.
  3. Automatically, the scanner will focus and capture the page after you have positioned the camera over the document.
  4. In case of multiple pages, continue switching the page and they will get captured automatically.
  5. Once you are done scanning all the pages, tap on the thumbnail image at the lower right corner of your screen.
  6. You will now be able to preview your document and any editing can be done if required.
  7. Finally, tap on save PDF. This will save your document to the adobe scan cloud immediately. However, if you want the document to be saved on your device, go to the application’s settings and set your preference to “save scan to device” under photos (iphone) or gallery (android).

Conclusion

Apart from all these, there are many more scanner applications like Tiny Scanner, Genius Scan, TurboScan and CamScanner. But the ones mentioned above cover all the basic requirements for scanning. So, the next time you need to scan a document, there is no need to hunt for a cliché “SCANNER”! Your phone will definitely deliver reliable quality scans. Thanks to these applications and programs, we will move one step closer to going paperless.

Helpful Tips While Choosing Office Printers

by Edna Butler, posted in Computer Organization, My Blog, Office Supplies, Tech Tools

The printer is an essential electronic equipment used to print your documents. Many people keep a printer at home or office because they need a print out of documents on regular basis to meet their business demands. Choosing a printer for office or home can be a challenging decision because there are so many printers out there that make your choice difficult especially if you don’t have a printer before.

Printer considerations

There are certain basic functionalities that you need for printer to operate as per business needs. Certain research can help you choose the best possible local price. If the printer meets your demand then you don’t have to worry about price as well. It is not a bad idea to check the requirements in advance before selecting a printer because some of the best office printers have different functionalities and it is important to choose a printer that help you run your business smoothly on daily basis. Beyond price considerations, you have different other considerations like mentioned below.

  • Product support– One of the major considerations while buying any printer is to check whether there is support warrantee that comes with it. You can choose a branded product that comes with one-year free warrantee and it helps you get any repair required in case of any problem. You can also consider increasing its warrantee period if you are looking to use the product for longer period or the price is high for a specific printer.
  • Frequency and cost of Printer Ink– While choosing the best office printers, it is essential to check what is the frequency and cost of printer ink replacement. You need to check how long the printer cartridge works and how many pages it can print in one complete fill of the ink. Accordingly, you need to check your daily page requirement and then plan to choose a printer.
  • Size of Printer– Many printers vary in terms of size and you can choose a small sized printer or large printer which also comes with photocopy and scan option. Depending on your requirement, you can choose a printer.
  • Colored or Black Printer– Printers are available in different sizes and have the ability to print both colored and black pages so you need to check what is your requirement in business that you are running.
  • Extended functionalities -Many printers have additional enhanced functionalities like enhanced speed of printing, photocopy or scan a page. You can choose a printer depending on what additional printer functionality you need in the product.

Importance of Getting best customer support

When you walk to a local Staples or Office Depot, you might be looking for a low priced multi-function printer that would be having a good support. This is the basic requirement that most people search for while choosing a printer. Some stores offer a good product support locally while others just don’t provide good support. In such cases, you might get a printer at low cost without support but another same printer with additional support availability. Many people choose a low priced option and leave expensive product but what if your printer gets into a problem after using for few days. All your money spent on low priced product goes away. Therefore, you need to choose a printer which is having an authorized service center and comes with a warranty. It might come at a slightly expensive cost but you will get a good support which is critical in resolving any problem that may arise while working on a typical office printer. If you get a good technical support on hand then you are going to have a good time working with the office printer.

Getting a multifunctional printer for office

Most of the companies and multinationals rely on purchasing a multifunctional printer for the company because it offers range of services with extended support for different features. You can use different features in the printer like sending an email, taking a photocopy or even getting a scan through the same device. However, multifunctional printers come at a heavy price and also takes a lot of space so these heavy machines also need more space to accommodate. This is possible only if you have a large office space but in case if you don’t have enough space then it is better to install a medium sized printer which is not over-sized or bulky. Final consideration would be to select the ink for your office printer. Some of the offices choose a black ink but most of them choose printer that has ability to print colored page.

Above mentioned are some of the considerations that help you choose the right office printer and it is a good option especially when you want to get your pages printed without any hassle.