High Speed Document Scanners: 9 Key Features and Advantages

From Paper Handling to Image Quality, Learn the Features to Look for in These High-Performance Devices

When the stack of invoices, patient records, or loan files keeps growing, the desktop scanner in the corner may not keep pace. Scanners provide a critical bridge between analog and digital media. While nearly all businesses rely on document scanners for digitization, many require production-level models to keep up with high volumes.

This guide covers what to look for in a high speed document scanner. From paper handling mechanics to image quality, we'll outline the features to look for in a high-performance scanning solution so you can match a scanner to the volume you handle.

Check out our guide, Document Scanners: Everything You Need to Go Digital, for even more expert advice and information.

What Is a High Speed Document Scanner?

A high speed scanner is a scanning device that can quickly and reliably process a large volume of documents. These devices can convert physical documents into digital images much faster than standard consumer models, with production models built for sustained, high-volume daily use. High speed document scanners are common in high-volume industries, including healthcare, manufacturing, financial services, and government agencies.

What Are the Benefits of a High Speed Document Scanner?

Scanners built for speed and high daily volumes can save a lot of staff time. When thousands of pages need to be captured quickly, a reliable device can digitize invoices, mortgage documents, medical records, and manuscripts without slowing your team down.

That frees knowledge workers for higher-value work, and the time savings can add up over years of use.

Key Features of a Quality High Speed Document Scanner

1. Excellent Overall Scanning Throughput

When choosing a fast document scanner, start with your peak processing needs. Then compare them to the scan rates of the models you’re evaluating. Performance is typically measured in two units: pages per minute (ppm) and pages per day (duty cycle). Our fi Series models range from about 70 ppm for front office units (fi-8170) up to 150 ppm for heavy-duty production models (fi-8950).

Pages per minute (ppm) counts sheets, while images per minute (ipm) counts sides, so a duplex scanner rated at 100 ppm captures up to 200 ipm. The daily duty cycle is the recommended number of pages a scanner can handle each day for reliable, long-term operation.

It isn't a hard limit, but it's a useful guide for planning maintenance. Roller replacement cycles also vary with the documents you scan, how often you use and clean the scanner, and your operating environment.

To size a heavy duty document scanner, start with your peak daily page count. For example, 20,000 pages a day at a rated 100 ppm works out to about 200 minutes of feed time alone. Document prep, batch changes, and exception handling add to that total, so we suggest leaving headroom above your busiest day. For very large operations, our guide to high volume scanners covers daily volume planning in more depth.

2. Streamlined Paper Handling Mechanics

The components that handle the front end of the scanning process affect how fast the scanner can operate. Poor feed mechanics can cause imaging irregularities and document jamming, necessitating time-consuming re-scans and operator adjustments.

Look for a scanner that includes hardware based features such as automatic separation control and skew reducing functionality. These can dynamically adapt to the type of paper being scanned to ensure smooth handling, even when scanning mixed sizes and thicknesses of documents in the same batch.

Skew reduction technology compensates for instances when a document rotates during its path through the scanner, causing the next document to be fed improperly. When skewing like this does occur, these scanners use independent roller control to delay processing the following document until the offset document has moved through the scanner. It then resumes paper picking, ensuring that a single document skew doesn’t cascade.

Multifeed and staple detection help keep fast batches moving. Ultrasonic multifeed detection identifies sheets stuck together so you don't miss an image, and stapled documents detection on our fi-8930 and fi-8950 helps prevent feeding paper with staples anywhere on the page. Together, these features help reduce re-scans and protect your originals during mixed-document batches.

3. Large Automatic Document Feeder Capacity

To get the most from fast speeds and paper handling, look for an input tray that holds large stacks. That lets the automatic document feeder (ADF) to process hundreds of documents in a single batch. High speed scanners often have ADF capacities above 200 pages, and high capacity models like our fi-8930 and fi-8950 hold up to 750 sheets in a single batch.

4. Post-Scan Document Stacking Control

Another feature to look for in a high speed scanner is the control over the organization of the output stack of documents. Raw document processing speed is great, but if the exit hopper is filled with a messy pile of papers instead of a neat stack, the efficiency of the entire process is significantly reduced. 

Most top-of-the-line scanners employ processing speed regulation technology to ensure the output batch is pickup-ready. While the documents are pulled through the device at a fast clip during the initial phase of the scan, that momentum is decelerated by the rollers before the paper is dropped in the hopper. This allows each piece of paper to land in a uniform stack, facilitating streamlined pickup after each batch is complete.

5. Comprehensive Image Enhancement 

Companies can also increase their daily scanning volumes by scanning mixed sizes and types of documents in the same batch. 

While the paper handling technology above is optimized for feeding paper, the scanner must also be able to adapt to different types of documents and use the appropriate image enhancement settings to capture all of the information including small print and light pencil marks.

High speed document scanners should incorporate sophisticated dynamic thresholding technology to adapt settings to each document to ensure that all of the information is preserved and available.

6. Efficient Flatbed Scanning

If you’re in the market for a fast document scanner with flatbed scanning functionality, then one of the most important features you should be looking for is the option to keep the scanner cover open during scanning. Having to close and open a flatbed scanner between each document adds unnecessary steps to the process.

It also opens the door for more minor but time-consuming mistakes, like document skewing. You can avoid both of these issues by ensuring your model has a cover open scanning option.

These dual-purpose units are great because they can handle large volumes of documents through the ADF and also provide fast flatbed scanning for bound documents, books, and fragile documents. 

7. High-Performance Scanning Software

No matter how streamlined the hardware operations are, the scanning software determines much about the device’s processing speed. Our PaperStream Capture software, with image cleanup and ready-to-go profiles, is one example. There are numerous qualities to look for in a high speed scanner’s software feature stack, but some of the most important are:

• Image enhancement technology:Look for automatic cleanup that produces clear, readable images.
• Process efficiency: Saved profiles and batch settings should speed up routine scanning jobs.
• Centralized management and monitoring:Software should let you monitor and manage all your scanners from one place.
• Broad integrability: Your scanner should be compatible with applications across different industries including healthcare, government, finance, distribution, and education.

8. Integration with Document Management Systems

A high speed scanner can capture a huge number of documents. However, simply placing all those documents in a file directory won’t make them easy to find, reference, or manage.

Choosing a scanner that integrates with high-quality document management systems will help you unlock those gains with less time and effort, which supports advanced document management. While you may be able to manually connect all kinds of files with your document management system of choice, deep integration starting at the scanner level can make both tools more efficient and powerful.

9. Reliable On-Site Service

Regardless of the scanner that you choose, a must-have for any high speed document scanner is the ability to back up your investment with an on-site service maintenance agreement. It can help get your scanner running again quickly after a mechanical failure. Also, on-site service plans can include preventative maintenance cleaning visits that also keep your scanner at its peak performance level.

Our ScanCare premium on-site service combines preventive maintenance, scanner consumables, and training with on-site repair.

Comparing Our High Speed Document Scanners by Speed and Feeder Capacity

Our fi Series high speed document scanners range from 70 to 150 pages per minute, with automatic document feeders that hold 100 to 750 sheets. Use the table below to match your daily volume and document mix to a model.

Speeds for the fi-8820, fi-8930, and fi-8950 are rated for letter-size pages in landscape orientation. Actual speeds also depend on data transmission and software processing times.

Our Recommendation: RICOH fi-8700 Document Scanner

While your specific work needs will largely determine the right solution for you, some devices cover such a broad range of requirements they merit a general recommendation.

The RICOH fi-8700 is a powerful scanning solution with a deep set of features catering to many performance scanning contexts. Able to scan up to 100 pages per minute from a 300-sheet automatic document feeder, the fi-8700 is built for rapid and sustained performance. It also includes an integrated A3 or double letter sized flatbed, which helps with exception documents.

It’s a strong fit for those looking for a flexible but high performance document scanner. For the highest-volume, centralized operations, the fi-8950 in the comparison above may be a closer match. Request a demo from the fi-8700 product page, or shop our full production scanner line.

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