Handy Scanner – turn your Android into a Document Scanner & PDF Creator
by Paul Wilks
Mar 30, 2012 1:09 PM –
Install
Handy Scanner is a slick and professional document scanner and PDF creator for Android. Using either your camera or existing gallery files, it’s simple to edit, create and export high quality PDF files. Whether you want to de-clutter your home office, send a printed document over the Internet or simply create backups for your existing documents, Handy Scanner is the perfect solution.
Price: Free, $3.99
Tested on: HTC Desire HD
Content Rating: Everyone
Pros & Cons:
Pros
- Turn your phone into a document scanner plus easily export/import to PDF!
- Take multiple shots in one go!
- Filters and editing features!
- Great UI & Simple to use!
Cons
- I found initialization a little patchy, see below for explanation.
Features:
I remember around 10 years ago there was an especially huge push for big companies to ‘go paperless’ and have more virtual and online documents instead of printing everything. The reasons for this were varied, but mainly included; space saving, environmental and the convenience. Paper files take up loads of physical space, lots of trees are required for paper and it’s far easier to find a document by searching for keywords in a database than trawling through farms of filing cabinets. Interestingly, I worked for a company like that at the time, and it just made much more sense.
There’s absolutely no reason why we can’t do the same for our homes or much smaller offices, and apps like Handy Scanner are an absolutely ideal way to get started. Now, for the sake of not wanting to share my own documents with the world, for the sake of testing I scanned a number of pictures that my children have drawn for me. I keep an every growing file of their pictures and thought it would be pretty cool to create a gallery on my computer.
The applications for Handy Scanner are boundless. Academics and students can simply and easily share papers and resources, instead of relying on the mail service can just sign, scan and send contracts or other documents over email. Genealogists could scan record documents and certificates, you could collate all your tax receipts using the app or even scan and store photographs securely onto your computer or cloud storage spaces. The more you think about it, the more useful it becomes.
Watch on Mobile
One of the best features about Handy Scanner is that it lets you take multiple pictures- in fact, with the Pro version you can take as many as you like. Other solutions I’ve experienced in the past forces you to check, edit and save each document which is incredibly cumbersome. With Handy Scanner you can scan through any number of documents quickly. Once you have snapped all the docs you need, you move onto the editing. This consists of principally two functions. Handy Scanner will take a usually very accurate guess at the corners of the document in order to cut the background, but you can alter this if you choose. Additionally, you can add effects to the document: enhance the colour, change to grayscale, enhance contrast and make the document print ready. It is also easy to rotate the document here too. Finally you can turn the document into either a JPEG or a PDF document and export.
Naturally you can pretty much export to wherever you wish, from your own device storage to Gmail, Dropbox or places like Minus. This is very intuitive and simple to do. What I liked most about Handy Scanner is how quick it was. Ultimately, most often the files you absolutely need to scan aren’t the most exciting and you just want the job done fast. Being able to take multiple shots, the accuracy of the editing and the ability to quickly export is really great. You can also file manage and export whole files in one go, ideal for document management.
-
-
Handy Scanner Promo
-
-
Handy Scanner – Scanning view
-
-
Handy Scanner – Documents menu
-
-
Handy Scanner – Tutorial page 2
-
-
Handy Scanner – Tutorial page 4
-
-
Handy Scanner – Confirm scan
-
-
Handy Scanner – Import images from gallery
-
-
Handy Scanner – Images are clipped and saved
-
-
Handy Scanner – Rotate and after editing
-
-
Handy Scanner – Preview information
-
-
Handy Scanner – Effects menu
-
-
Handy Scanner – Save document
Usefulness:
For scanning important documents Handy Scanner is ideal. Not only is it quick, it lets you place any number of files and documents onto your computer. Whether you want to make one of your kids pictures into your computer wallpaper or need to send an important document to your office or to a client, the application is there to do so quickly and without fuss.
Ease of Use:
The only issue I found with the app was when I first got started with it. The camera didn’t seem to initialize properly and I’d have to take one picture for it to display. This minor blip aside, I don’t think I’ve encountered a scanning app as fast and responsive as Handy Scanner. The way the app picks up the edges and corners of the document is an important technology for saving you time, and I found this function to be incredibly accurate in Handy Scanner.
Frequently Used:
I recall when the office I worked in a decade ago went ‘paper-less’ and dozens of temps scanned thousands of documents over a number of weeks. Initially, if this is your intention, it’s quite intensive to get all the documents scanned and uploaded. After this it reduces down to ‘as and when needed’. For example, I have a great deal of my kids pictures to scan-in (they’re prolific in their volume of art work!), but once I’m done it will only be when they do a new one. Same with a home office… you’ll initially scan a lot but then only as and when you need to.
Ultimately this will depend on you; how many documents you have, if you want to upload everything or just start ‘as of now’.
Interface:
The interface is pretty basic to be fair, there is perhaps room for it to be a little more polished. However, this matters very little really as the functionality is so good. The interface does exactly what you would need it to do and still looks professional.
Tags:
Android App,
Android Apps,
AndroidTapp.com App Review,
Export,
Handy Scanner,
JPEG,
PDF,
Portable Scanner,
Scanner Apps,
Scanning
Categorised in: Productivity
Submit apps for review,
promote apps, get more installs with better
app videos.