IRIScan Express 2 review

A portable scanner that’s powered by your Mac

Iriscan express 2
The quality of scans produced for text documents is readable, but could definitely be improved

TechRadar Verdict

Our hopes were dashed on the rocks of invalid serial keys and the IRIScan’s inconsistent performance

Pros

  • +

    Simple setup

  • +

    Decent performance

Cons

  • -

    Sluggish scan times

  • -

    Image quality a mixed bag

  • -

    Serial key issues

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At first glance, the IRIScan Express looked like it could be great.

It's powered by the USB cable and the driver installed without a hitch. But when entering the serial number supplied to unlock our ReadIris 11 software, we were told it was 'invalid'.

A replacement number was sent, but was again 'invalid'. This meant we couldn't test the software for scanning direct to PDF, HTML or as a mail attachment. Without these tools the functionality and value of the scanner is limited.

Slow scanning

With the driver installed, though, you can still perform scans by inserting paper and photos into the scanning slot.

The quality of scans produced for text documents is readable, but it runs into trouble when dealing with different shades or grey in charts and graphics.

The speed is slow at 56 secs for an A4 document, and the scanning is poor compared to a flatbed scanner that costs around a third of the price.