Computers & Tablets

[trevortel]

 Hello. I am Interested in getting a scanner to make some record keeping simpler. I have a few questions about user friendlyness and scanner capabilities. Also what scanner is the best option.

First off I am curious as to if it is possible for a scanner to scan a "reciept" for lack of better terminology and take information and put it directly into preset excel Columns. I would like to be able to scan each recieptt and have the information (mostly numbers) put into its assigned excel column. Each "Reciept" would have its own row and the information such as ticket #, Price, Time, Date, and other things all be put into its assigned column. 

Second off I am curious how hard this is to set up. Do you need to be an expert on computer programing to make this work effieciently or is it fairly simple to do for the average person. 

Lastly what would your recomendation be for a scanner. Brand, Model, Etc.

[bobberuchi]

You need specialized software to convert scanned images to text.  This type of software is called Optical Character Recognition software or OCR

Years ago I would have told you that you will need a very expensive scanner to get the job done.  However, these days even inexpensive scanners are pretty good.

A good option may be to go with a combo printer scanner copier machine. I have a Epson All in one and it does a really good job.  I can scan things and they go directly to a preseleced folder on my computer.

The Epson Perfection line of scanners are a good way to go.  They are dedicated scanners and are going to result in a quality scan.  Scanner output resolution is measured in Dots Per Inch DPI.  Generally speaking the higher the resolution the cleaner the scan will be.  Meaning the edges of the characters will be sharper and more defined.  Making it easier for the OCR to make a match.

Keep in mind the OCR software is not going to be berfect.  It will work best on common fonts.  Also a receipt often has lighter and more thin printing.  The OCR software recognizes the character and tries to match it up to what it knows.  It will probably not be able to get it in a format readily usable in Excel so you may have to manually the result.

If you decide to go the route of an all in one printer Best Buy has a really good selection.  Brother, Canon, Epson and HP have been (in my opinion) world leaders in quality image capture and reproduction.  I currently have an Epson All in one wireless machine, my father has a Canon and I have owned several models of HP printers over the years and have been happy with them all.  I used to own a Canon Canoscan flatbed scanner that would do an incredible job.

[bobberuchi]

Another route I may suggest for a scanner if your going to do a lot of this would be to look at a Sheet Feed Scanner.

They are basically dedicated to scanning things like sheets of paper and receipts.

Best Buy carries the Neat NeatRecipts premium Sheetfed mobile scanner that is designed for what you want to do.

Caviet to that. I do not know about scanning it and automatically having it be formatted for Excel.  I would think you would manually have to adjust columns and spacing for that .

[hockeycanuckjc Community Veteran]

I have PaperPort, you don't need a scanner if you have a high quality camera either stand alone camera or camera on your cell phone. Program is a bit pricey but you can see it here: http://www.bestbuy.com/site/f309a-g00-14-0-paperport-professional-14-retail-windows/6554097.p?id=121...

[AWBrown Valued Contributor]

All you need is a scanner that can put stuff to PDF. From there copy the PDF material to an excel worksheet. After you have done this you can set up your columns etc as needed.

There may be more specific software out there for data management.

I used to use a program called PDFComplete to perform a lot of pdf to whatever extensions or Word to PDF etc. Adobe has gotten better conversions even though it should be noted unless you have Adobe PRO there are some conversions you can't do automatically and you may have to do manually by copy/pasting and then fixing the editing.

As far as a scanner as long as it says it can save in PDF (or even in Excel) you shouldn't have an issue.

I've sold this printer to a few people and have always received great feedback

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/hp-officejet-pro-6830-wireless-e-all-in-one-printer-black/8010007.p?id=1...