Canon ImageFormula DR-C125 review

Impressive performance didn't come at the expense of image quality.

While hardly a rocketship, this is an impressive performance for such a comparatively affordable scanner. Fortunately it didn't come at the expense of image quality; we were happy with all of our test scans, although in some photographs we noticed a tendency for bright white areas to be bleached out entirely, losing any subtle shade detailing. The scanner is designed for office documents, however, and here the exposure was well-judged, and the resulting images clear and sharp.

The DR-C125 has just two consumables; the feed and retard roller, which are replaced together in an exchange roller kit. This costs around 37 and is rated at 100,000 pages, so running costs are typically low. Power consumption is also very low, with the scanner consuming just nine watts when active, dropping quickly to just one watt within 30 seconds after finishing each job. The scanner switches itself off four hours after the last scan, reducing power consumption so much that we couldn't measure it. While it seems a small gesture it does reduce the power wasted over a night or a weekend, so it's to be welcomed.

So what's our verdict?

Verdict

The ImageFormula DR-C125's compact and clever design makes it an easy scanner to live with, but that's only half the story. Paired with Canon's new CaptureOnTouch software the DR-C125 is adept at rapidly capturing and processing documents, helping users turn out consistent and predictable high-quality scans with the minimum of input or support. If you need an affordable desktop document scanner, this is one you can simply deploy and forget about.

A4 duplex sheetfed scanner Optical resolution: 600x600dpi 24-bit colour Scan speed: 25ppm/50ipm (simplex/duplex) Compatible with Windows XP/Vista/7, Mac OS X Power consumption: sleep 1W, standby 2W, scanning 9W (peak) Part code: 5005B003AA Details: www.canon.co.uk