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Buying the best pen scanners is one of the best investments you can make as a professional or a student. It comes with numerous advantages including saving you time and effort that you could use to retype the text into a digital document.
Here is an article that gives you handy information on how to use a pen scanner and the value of having one. Go through it to the end and make your life easier for you and your loved ones by getting one.
What is a Pen Scanner?
This is an input device that converts text from printed reading materials like books into digital data, saving you time. The device eliminates the need to retype text, making it highly convenient for people who need to take notes and work in a tying agency.
A pen scanner has wide compatibility with different applications including Excel and Word among others. Scanned data can display on most digital devices including a tablet, smartphone, or computer through Bluetooth or USB connections.
You can also refer to this device as a wand scanner. It features a compact construction and a lightweight design, enhancing its portability. You can use it to convert printed text from catalogs, memos, magazines, textbooks, letters, brochures, and newspapers into a digital document. The product also works with most operating systems including Windows, IOS, Android, and Chromebook.
How to Use a Pen Scanner
- Power on the pen scanner and ensure that the connection with your digital device is done properly.
- Hold the pen scanner upright on the sentence you want to scan. Slanting the pen at a certain angle might lead to inaccurate scanning.
- The line you are about to scan should be between the two pen scanner tips. For high precision, scan one line at a go.
- Slide the pen scanner smoothly on the book, letter, catalog, or magazine. To avoid missing words, do not move the pen scanner too slow or too fast.
- Do not exert too much pressure when using the pen scanner to allow even motion.
Pen Scanners Problem and Solution
Problem 1: Why Won’t the Pen Scanner Turn On?
When pen scanners are delivered to you, they are most likely semi-charged. Therefore, if your pen scanner is not turning on, you need to first make sure that the battery is fully charged. Connect it to the power supply and leave it for an hour or an hour and a half to charge. After this try turning it on again by using the power button.
If this does not solve the problem, do the following;
- Connect the charging cable to the pen scanner, if charging does not start, long press the power button for like 3 seconds.
- Choose the reset option
- Once charging starts, wait for the device to charge for a while.
- If charging still does not start, long press the power button for at least 20 seconds
- If it starts charging, allow the device to fully charge.
- Start the pen scanner once it has fully charged by long pressing the power button normally
In case this does not help to turn on the pen scanner, then the battery must have encountered an over-discharge and might need replacement.
Problem 2: How to Solve Battery Problems?
Be keen to find out which batteries are used in your peen scanner. In most cases, you will find pen scanners using lithium batteries, therefore, take note of the specific lithium batteries that your device uses.
Notably, these batteries have a lifetime of between 2 and 3 years. This is equivalent to at most 500 charge cycles. For the battery to serve you this long, you need to maintain it properly. Here are some battery maintenance tips.
- Use the pen in the recommended temperature range
The pen scanner can work in a wide ambient temperature range. This refers to a temperature between 16 degrees Celsius and 22 degrees Celsius. Nonetheless, if you exceed the temperature beyond 35 degrees Celsius, within the working environment, you are likely to permanently damage the battery. Hence, be keen to use the device within an acceptable temperature range for long battery life.
- Proper device storage when not in use
When you are about to take a break, proper device storage will boost long-term battery use. Do the following to ensure proper storage;
- Avoid storing the device when the battery is without charge or when it is fully charged. This implies that the battery should have around 50% charge during storage.
- Ensure that the pen scanner is powered off before storage
- The storage environment should have a cool moist free condition that is less than 32 degrees Celsius
- Charge the battery once in three months up to 50% to 70%
Note: Once you resume use, avoid using the pen scanner until the battery is completely flat. Additionally, the device should immediately be disconnected from power when fully charged.
Problem 3: How Do I Reset the Language Back to English?
In an event that you unintentionally change the pen scanner language, follow the following general steps to undo the mistake.
- Ensure the pen scanner is switched on
- Try and locate the main menu by repeatedly pressing the power button or back button
- Spot the text reader icon and ensure that the arrow points at it
- Use the down button to locate the settings icon
- Double press the OK button
- Scroll up and down to choose your preferred language
Why is My Pen Scanner Not being Detected?
There are reasons why a pen scanner may not be detected. One of the reasons is if there is an improper connection and the other is connection issues.
- Improper connection
A pen scanner may not be detected by a device if it has already connected to a different device. Therefore, check out possible connections with other devices if it is not connecting to your device. Disconnect it from other devices and establish a connection with the targeted device that you are using.
- Connection issues
Another reason for failed pen scanner detection is unavailable or weak Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, or USB connection. If your device cannot detect the pen scanner, try fixing the USB or Bluetooth connection for seamless scanning.
Pen Scanner vs. Portable Book Scanner
Both pen scanners and portable book scanners will serve the same purpose. These two devices are handy for researchers, students, dyslexic individuals, and professionals who work while traveling. Nonetheless, they have varying capabilities and features. Here is a comparison between the two devices.
- Size: A pen scanner is slightly larger than a fountain pen. Therefore, it can fit in your pocket when you are on the go. Its compactness and lightweight construction boost portability. The portable book scanner can easily be transported as well, however, it is slightly larger than a pen scanner. It is designed to fit the width of a book. As much as it is portable, it requires slightly larger storage space for carrying and storage than a pen scanner.
- Function: With a pen scanner, you scan a line at a time for high accuracy. This means that it takes you some time to complete scanning a whole page. The portable book scanner, on the other hand, can easily scan a whole page within seconds as long as you steadily roll it from the top to the bottom of the page. This makes it easy to scan several pages within a short time.
- Price: A pen scanner will cost you less money than a portable book scanner. Therefore, if you need an affordable option, the pen scanner will come in handy and still give you accurate results. A portable book scanner will require you to save several hundred bucks to find a high-quality option on the market.
Advantages of Using a Pen Scanner
There are various benefits of buying a pen scanner. Some of these advantages include;
- You can scan your printed text while traveling
- The device is portable and gives you the convenience to scan printed text anywhere, anytime
- It is an affordable device, compared to other scanners available
- Saves time when you need to take notes and save quotes
- Can be used by anyone regardless of their age
- It offers a way to protect and preserve printed books. This translates to giving books a second life
- Helps to free up some space that you would use to store books physically
- Allows you to use a book in a format that is editable
- Allows optimal book organization as you can search books by keywords, authors, topics, and titles easily while in digital format.
- Enables you to create audiobooks
- Protects loss of books
- Enables easy sharing with family, colleagues, and friends
- Promotes easy accessibility anywhere, anytime
- Gives means for easy archiving for instance in cloud
Final Thoughts
A pen scanner comes with a lot of benefits like preserving books for years without the risk of them getting lost or damaged.
The device can be used by young dyslexic children to promote their learning process, comes in handy for young adults pursuing studies in foreign countries, helps professionals save time while working, and saves effort and eye strain from elderly individuals when they read and write.
Therefore, since this device can be used by anyone, buy it as a gift for loved ones and friends on any occasion.
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