click to enlarge First the all important dimensions it is 44cm long, 26cm wide and 9cm tall. It is a very dark grey in colour and has the power input and USB close together on the back and the on/off switch on the right side. There are four buttons on the front edge but everything can be managed from within Windows.

The popularity of multi-function, or all-in-one, devices has resulted in a drop in the number of standalone scanners available in the market.  Rarely does a standalone scanner cross my desk but this is one of those occasions with the arrival of the Fujistu ScanSnap S300 product.  However this is not a flatbed model but a page or document scanner.

It is 39x32x15cm and that includes the slight protrusion at the back for the power lead. You will need a few centimetres of space above to lift the lid to place items on the flatbed. You need to allow space in front for pages to come out and also access to the small paper tray at the base. When you first switch on there is no great whirring and churning noises, in fact the only way you know it's on is a blue light.

If you have the work space and an interest in photography then you might well prefer the specific functionality that is provided by a dedicated scanner.  A recent example of this specific scanning functionality can be found in the Epson Perfection V200 model which provides the means to scan general documents, photos, film strips, slides and even 3D objects with a scan resolution of 4800 x 9600 with 48 bit colour.

The DocuPen is intended to be dragged down something flat that you want to scan. The device is intended for use on the move, scanning images and storing them for later retrieval by your computer. Internal standard memory is 8Mbytes, which is fine for storing a few black and white pages of text, but is insufficient for much in the way of colour.

Canon G9 12.1 Mega-pixel digital camera As summer draws to an end (you must remember those few hours of sunshine which were our allocation this year), you know it is time for Canon to roll out its autumn collection of new and enhanced products. To mark this occasion, Canon was involved in an exercise in creating haute courtier fashion using paper decorated by Canon printers.

The comes with some excellent software that makes the scanning from whatever format just a matter of a few clicks, also included is PhotoSmart Premium that gives you control over the images once scanned, while the two work together they can be used apart should you already have a favourite package. HP G4010 The install took around 12 minutes and used just on 500MB of hard disc space.

It has been quite a while since I last had the opportunity to try out a new standalone flatbed scanner.  The main reason for this long gap is down to the popularity of multifunctional and all-in-one devices.  These types of product do have the decided advantage of saving on workspace and power source requirements.  However there are occasions when the specific functionality of a dedicated scanner outweighs these considerations.