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The Neat Company NeatScan To Office Scans to Excel Outlook Word and PowerPoint (White) | 
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| Brand: The Neat Company
Category: CE
List Price: $279.95
Buy New: $139.00
You Save: $140.95 (50%)
New (28) Used (1) from $227.71
Rating:  8 reviews
Color: White
Media: Electronics
Autographed: No
Memorabilia: No
Shipping Weight (lbs): 2.8
Dimensions (in): 14 x 10 x 4
nv:Scanner Type: Sheetfed
Optical Resolution: 600 dpi
Maximum Document Size: 1 x 1 up to 8.5 x 14 (up to 30 long)
Interface Connectivity: USB 2.0
Power Source: USB Powered
MPN: 00179
Model: 00179
UPC: 899061000179
EAN: 0899061000179
ASIN: B001CQDOR2
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Features:
| • | Installs a Scan button in all your MS Office applications | | • | Scans directly to Office applications | | • | Mobile, easy to carry scanner goes everywhere | | • | Boost productivity and cut down on re-typing, cutting and pasting |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
With the Neat Scan To Office toolbar, you can scan directly into Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint. You can edit documents in Word, manage contacts in Outlook, create expense reports in Excel, and add images or text to PowerPoint presentations. Scan to Excel, automatically reads and captures vendor, date, total, sales tax and payment type. Scan to Outlook, automatically capture contact information and image of card. Also information from documents is placed into calendar entries, notes and task. Scan to Word; transform printed documents into Word files that are editable. Scan to PowerPoint; places color images and text into presentation slides. Scan to PDF, creates searchable PDF files from any application. Scanner Specifications - Portable color/grayscale/B&W CIS USB powered, no external power supply needed Maximum Resolution - 600 dpi Unit Dimensions - 10.8 W x 1.6 D x 1.3 H; Weight - 10.6 oz Scan Area - 1'' x 1'' up to 8.5 x 14'' Speed - approximately 3-4 receipts per minute System Requirements - Microsoft Windows XP or Vista (64 bit is not currently supported) Pentium IV 1.3 GHz or later 1 GB RAM (2 GB recommended with Windows Vista) 100 MB hard disk space to install CD-ROM drive Available USB port
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| Customer Reviews: Read 3 more reviews...
 Really is a "Neat" scanner! December 2, 2008
Neat Scanner for Microsoft Office
Great little 600 dpi scanner! Although it says it's for Microsoft Office 2003 or later, it actually works with any Windows application that can use a TWAIN scanner. So far I have tested it with Picasa3, Photoshop, Windows Paint, Open Office, Adobe Reader (for pdf files it creates), as well as Microsoft Word and Excel 2003.
When you use it as a TWAIN scanner, a great setup screen comes up and allows you to set the dpi, color selections, just about anything you would want to change or set for a scanner.
This a well designed device: right size (very small), very sleek looking, easy setup, easy to feed magazine clips/cards/letters/bills/anything that's 8 1/2 x 11 or smaller. Total weight is under 1 pound, it's powered by the USB cable so no power brick and it comes with a light weight slip-on cover. You can drop it into your laptop bag for trips or to take back and forth from the office.
Setup is extremely easy as they have thought of every mistake you could make and have taken steps to prevent pilot error. When you open the box, you see a fancy lid with a welcoming message. Under it is the scanner itself in a protective compartment. When you take it out there is a label on the end covering the USB Port that says "STOP: insert CD and install software before connecting USB cable to scanner!" to keep you from a very basic mistake. As you take the scanner out you notice a legend on the supporting cardboard that says "Lift me out to find your accessories and quickstart guide" Under that you find the Quickstart Guide, the USB cable, a carrying case, and a wet cleaner for when you need it. The Quickstart Guide is a folder that also has two calibration sheets and a dry cleaning sheet as well as your software. I don't know who did their product design, but it is done right and I am sure it cuts off a lot of support calls and product returns.
The Quickstart Guide is really that with step by step in big letters with clear pictures. No extensive manual as that is on disk and online. I followed the directions, installing the software first. As I neared the end of the software install it offered to show me a video to show me how to use the software/scanner. Unfortunately, the video wouldn't play . . . not sure if it was a network problem or what. Really didn't need it to get going. When you plug in the scanner you see a series of messages from Windows (I'm using XP) about the new device just as you would expect.
I opened Word and then Excel and there was the new menu bar for the scanner just as promised. Since I don't use Outlook anymore (gone to netmail completely) I couldn't really test it. According to the online documentation, you can scan business cards into Outlook and it creates contacts automatically. The menu bar in Word has Scan, Scan to PDF, Settings and Help. In Excel it adds Open NeatSheet and Open Images. If you select settings you can then specify what you want saved: Image Only, Text Only, or Document which attempts to do both. I set it for document for word and excel. The "Neatsheet" option in Excel lets you select from the excel spreadsheets for expenses in a number of different formats -- you can alter these or develop your own.
I tested the software OCR capability by setting the software for text and used the Neat Company warranty sheet that was in the box and transferring it to Microsoft Word. The sheet has very small print in several different fonts and font sizes and is only 5x7 in size. It was perfect! Every word was there, no misspellings or garbled words that I could find. I then tried it on several other complex documents and some bills just to see what it could handle. The drawings on an instruction sheet didn't come through completely unless I set it for
The Neatsheet Excel spreadsheet allow you to scan bills and receipts and then inserts them automatically into the form and enables you to create an expense report easily. The spreadsheet stores the actual images with the information on the spreadsheet so you can get back to it to print the receipt or bill along with the report. I tried setting up my own excel sheets to track family medical bills for taxes and had a few problems with complex medical bills . . . there is some limit to what software can handle.
The Neat Company makes several products based on this one scanner, so any features that the others have that this one doesn't are software dependent. That means you can probably find software to use this scanner to do almost anything you need as long as 600dpi is enough. By the way, it allows you to set 1,200 dpi in one of the software selections but that must be interpolated and so would lose sharpness. The dpi is application dependent as far as I could tell, so the Microsoft apps will all be at 200 dpi. In testing, I scanned in an 8 1/2 x 11 high color slick brochure into Picasa -- it took 90 seconds at 600 dpi with default color depth. Looked great.
Bottom line: if you need a portable high quality scanner to use with Windows applications, this is a good choice. The Neat Company put a lot of effort into making this a high end product and it shows. Highly recommended.
NOTE: Sorry, not for Mac users.
 Limited Use November 30, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
The NeatScan is a nice, portable scanner that is easy to setup and use. I also own a flatbed scanner that is over ten years old so I have something to compare this to.
This is a single-sheet feed scanner with a maximum width of 8.5 inches. I didn't test the maximum length but it is at least 11 inches. Although it is a compact scanner, keep in mind you need enough for your document to go in the front and out the back.
The scanner was easy to setup and start using. Took about ten minutes to install software, hookup and calibrate it. I did have to calibrate it twice, the first time nothing scanned. Instructions are clear and easy to follow. The installation adds a toolbar to your Microsoft Office products. I don't think you can use it without those products which really narrows the use of this scanner.
The unit is small and compact, will probably fit in most laptop bags. Comes with a nice cover to slip the unit into. Very quiet. You can hear it but it is not annoying.
There are three scan modes:
Image Only which creates an un-editable image or photocopy of the document. This works well as far as a legible copy but was not a 100% copy like my old scanner. It does do color.
Text only converts just the text. But it is not 100%. I did find a few mistakes but only 3 on my test copy of a letter. But the text is editable.
Full document mode is supposed to scan text and images but it converted some images, like letterhead, into text but did not convert actual pictures or non-text type images on the document that I used. It did match colored text very well. And the text is editable.
Photos do not scan well at all. All my tests were too dark and not very sharp. I don't recommend it for scanning photos.
What they do market it as is working well with Microsoft Office products. Examples are scanning receipts, business cards, and documents.
For receipts, the software comes with Excel templates. When you scan a receipt it puts the date, total, tax and vendor into the spreadsheet. But why? By the time you go through this process you could have typed in the information. It doesn't break out the details. For instance, I scanned a Costco receipt. It put the total information into the spreadsheet. But what good is that? You can get this information online from your bank and just copy paste it in without setting up extra equipment. And it didn't always get this little bit of information. It does put an image copy of the receipt into a separate worksheet of the same workbook. So I suppose that is one advantage.
Same with business cards. Is it worth the time and effort to setup the scanner just to get the info off of the card? How long does it take to type in what you need?
I can see the NeatScan will probably be great for those who handle documents out of the office like real estate agents, lawyers, salespeople, etc. They could use something like this such as when they want to get a client's signature on a document right away and scanned into their system while they are out in the field.
Overall it is a good scanner, not too expensive and has its place. But I rated it 3 stars because I think it is limited in what it can be used for.
I'm a Mac guy... November 26, 2008
This product looks amazing and I'm trying to put it in the hands of a friend who's a PC guy, because, unfortunately, I'm a Mac user and this doesn't yet interface with a Mac. The packaging and the product description don't specify Windows, so you can't really tell upon close inspection.
That said, it looks great. The packaging and the heft of the device make it all seem like it would work really well and I give them kudos for coming up with a great product idea. I will edit my review as soon as a PC friend can let me know how well it really interfaces with the Microsoft Office products.
Very good November 26, 2008
I like this scanner as does the job. it's comparable to the Visioneer but at a cheaper price. Will keep you posted next week once I finish scanning the rest of my receipts.
 Neat Idea! November 26, 2008
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
This review is for NeatScan To Office (White)
This is indeed a Neat Idea; Intended for business people on the go for those quick scans needed to complete your expense report on time.
The unit is sleek, small and well designed for portability, the packing is also very impressive, A lot of care has been taken in the packaging the unit. The software package installed fine on Windows XP home Operating system without any need for rebooting.
PROS:
(+) Small, Sleek, Looks cute and portable
(+) DOES not require additional power (It draws power from USB port)
(+) Scans directly into Micro$soft applications like Word, Excel, Powerpoint etc;
(+) Very fast OCR conversion (Scanning pages into Word files are fast)
(+) upto 600 DPI optical scan in other applications like MS Paint or Adobe Photoshop etc;
(+) Includes a carry bag for true portability
CONS:
(-) Photo Scans are not that great.
(-) Need to have Micro$oft Office Suite to have those Scan Buttons enabled.
(-) If the bills are crumbled the scanner fails to read the information accurately and import them into EXCEL
IMPORTANT Notes:
(**) Install the CD containing the drivers and applications ** FIRST ** before plugging in the scanner into the USB port
(**) Connect the scanner directly to the USB port on your computer, Do not connect to a non-powered USB hub or Keyboard / monitor USB port which cannot provide power to the scanner.
While the unit itself is very well designed, it has some shortfalls, the main problem is Photo Scan Quality, and it is not as good as other scanners within this price range.
But remember, this was mainly designed for portability and does a very good job in OCR conversion into Micro$oft applications.
It is indeed a nice idea and I am impressed by the OCR function of the unit, I am sure the price of this item will come down eventually making this a very good purchase.
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