Canon’s imageFormula DR-S350NW ($945) is a medium-volume workgroup document scanner that’s fast, accurate, and easy to connect. It’s a significant upgrade to the Canon imageFormula DR-S250N that adds Wi-Fi connectivity, bumps up the size of the built-in screen, and substantially increases the manufacturer’s suggested peak daily duty cycle. Like the DR-S250N, the DR-S350NW can display a QR code for quick mobile-device connections, and it can save its scans to a wide variety of file formats. The DR-S350NW isn’t quite as fast or full-featured as the Brother ADS-4900W, which is our current Editors’ Choice pick for network-capable document scanners. However, the DR-S350NW’s onboard support for as many as 99 workflow profiles could give it an edge with organizations that need an extensive array of custom profiles or workflow-targeted settings.
Design: Capable and Efficient
Given its paper capacity and speed, the DR-S350NW is a little bulky in size. Coming in at 9.5 by 11.5 by 10.5 inches (HWD), it has the same measurements as the DR-S250N. That’s 3.5 inches deeper than the Brother ADS-4900W. And it’s not nearly as compact as the Epson DS-800WN, which measures 6.6 by 11.7 by 6.7 inches (HWD). When fully opened up, all of these models will take up considerably more space on top, in front, and in back of the unit. A fully extended DR-S350NW will grow to 14.9 inches in height and 23.7 inches in depth. If that’s a problem, you may want to consider one of the smaller non-Ethernet-compatible scanners that are designed specifically to be space efficient, such as the Epson DS-C480W or Ricoh Image Scanner fi-800R.
Weight-wise, there’s very little variation within this category of scanners. Both the DR-S350NW and DR-S250N weigh in at 7.5 pounds. The Brother ADS-4900W is only slightly heavier at 7.8 pounds. The Epson DS-800WN is another notch heavier, though still quite reasonable at 8.2 pounds. These models are lightweight enough to move from desk to desk, which might make it more convenient to bring the scanner to the documents rather than the other way around. Just one lightweight document scanner could serve an entire organization, where departments are asked to periodically scan any relevant documents from their own work areas.
The DR-S350NW is reasonably well-equipped for moderate-duty scanning. Like the DR-S250N, it has a 60-sheet automatic document feeder (ADF). That’s large enough for most workloads, though it does seem a bit underwhelming at this point for a network-capable scanner. Both the Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN are equipped with considerably larger 100-sheet ADFs.
The DR-S350NW does fare better with some of its other specifications. Where the DR-S250N is rated for a peak daily duty cycle of 6,000 sheets, the DR-S350NW boosts that figure to 9,000 sheets. By comparison, the Epson DS-800WN is rated for 8,000 sheets, while the Brother ADS-4900W is also rated for 9,000 sheets. Perhaps most importantly, the DR-S350NW adds Wi-Fi, which the DR-S250N does not have. Adding that wireless connectivity brings the DR-S350NW up to par with both the Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN. All three support USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connections.
Are you planning to scan your documents directly to a thumb drive? That won’t be possible with the DR-S350NW. It doesn’t seem to be a priority for Canon, as that feature is also missing on the DR-S250N and DR-M260. If scanning to a USB drive is important for you, that capability is available on the Brother ADS-4900W, Epson DS-800WN, and many other office scanners.
(Credit: David English)
And even though these are network-capable scanners, where you may not need to interact with the onboard control panel, having a large and bright display can still be a desirable feature. The DR-S350NW doesn’t disappoint with its 4.3-inch color touch screen. That’s a step up from the non-touch 1.3-by-1.1-inch screen on the DR-S250N, even though that display is an OLED screen. The Brother ADS-4900W and Epson DS-800WN also have 4.3-inch color touch screens. Given the relative size of these models, that 4.3-inch screen seems to be a comfortable fit.
Like the DR-S250N, the DR-S350NW lets you create and store as many as 99 job profiles. A job profile can include the color mode, page size, scanning sides, output destination, and file-naming rules. You might route one type of scan directly to a password-protected printer. Another might go to a supervisor’s email address, while also being saved to that department’s network folder. You can assign a project name, scan quality, and file format to each job. And all job profiles are available directly on the scanner, with the menus distinguishing between those that were created and saved on the scanner and those that were created and saved on a connected computer. It’s a comprehensive, workflow-oriented system that could be very useful for large organizations.
The Brother ADS-4900W has a similar workflow system that lets you save profiles and settings as custom panels. With that model, you can create as many as 56 custom panels. If that number seems limiting, the 99 job profiles on the DR-S350NW might be a deciding factor for which model to choose.
Setup: Unusually Easy to Connect
The DR-S350NW offers a wide assortment of ways to connect to other devices. In addition to USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity, the DR-S350NW shares the DR-S250N’s easy method of connecting to mobile devices without having to install anything on the mobile device.
The scanner’s built-in CaptureOnTouch Lite Web feature allows other devices to control the scanner’s functions through a simple browser-based interface. You initiate the connection by displaying a QR code on the DR-S350NW’s LCD screen, and use that to launch the control interface without having to install a dedicated app. You can also directly access the scanner from your internet-connected PC using the scanner’s web address without having to install any drivers or software. The available functions are limited, but no more so than you might find with similar-purposed mobile apps.
(Credit: Canon)
For access to a more comprehensive set of functions, you’ll need to install the provided software on a computer that’s connected to the DR-S350NW via a USB cable, wired Ethernet, or wireless Wi-Fi connection. The installed software includes the CaptureOnTouch V5 Pro application, as well as a Canon imageFormula Driver Setting Tool, system configuration utility, and user manual. When installing the CaptureOnTouch V5 Pro application, you’ll have the option of selecting various output modules. Currently, those modules include Dropbox, Google Drive, Microsoft OneDrive, and Microsoft SharePoint, as well as the more generic Printer, E-Mail, and FTP server.
The output modules will appear on the CaptureOnTouch V5 Pro home screen, where they can simplify the scanning process with your preselected settings for file name, file type, and destination. You can modify any of the existing modules to suit your particular needs. For example, you might have three different Google Drive modules labeled for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, that differ only in their file type.
(Credit: Canon)
The available file types are DOCX (*.docx), XLSX (*.xlsx), PPTX (*.pptx), PDF (*.pdf), JPG (*.jpg), TIFF (*.tif), PNG (*.png), and BMP (*.bmp). That’s a generous selection of file formats for a desktop document scanner, which could be valuable for businesses that frequently have to convert documents from one file type to another.
On the whole, the CaptureOnTouch V5 Pro software is easy to use, with recognizable icons and concise labels. It’s simple enough for non-technical people while also allowing the kind of under-the-hood settings that may be needed to meet highly specific corporate or departmental requirements.
Testing the Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW: Fast and Accurate
Canon gives the DR-S350NW a speed rating of 50 simplex (one-sided) pages per minute (ppm) or 100 two-sided (duplex) images per minute (ipm, where each page side is counted as an image). Those are the same rated speeds as the DR-S250N and Epson DS-800WN. However, those are slower than the rated 60ppm simplex and 120ipm duplex speeds of the Brother ADS-4900W. To see if the DR-S350NW could match or even surpass its manufacturer’s ratings, I used CaptureOnTouch V5 Pro to initiate the scans over a USB connection to our Intel Core i5 testbed PC running Windows 10 Pro.
In our stopwatch tests, the DR-S350NW performed a little better than its rated speeds. This model was able to scan our 25-page single-sided document at 53.2ppm and our 25-page (50-image) duplex document at 106.5ipm. Those test speeds were slightly better than the 51.1ppm and 101.5ipm results that we saw with the DR-S250N, even though they have the same manufacturer’s rating. Both scanners were unable to keep up with the Brother ADS-4900W, which breezed through our test scans with an impressive result of 61.2ppm and 124.4ipm.
(Credit: David English)
Fast scan speeds are important for document scanners, but not if those faster speeds negatively impact the accuracy of the scans. That is not the case with the DR-S350NW. It was able to convert printed pages to error-free editable text all the way down to 6 points on both our Arial (sans-serif) and Times New Roman (serif) font tests. That’s the same as the DR-S250N. And it’s fairly typical these days for high-quality document scanners. The Brother ADS-4900W performed slightly better with its 5-point Arial and 6-point Time New Roman font accuracy. That 1-point difference between the two models isn’t likely to matter much, as you’ll rarely encounter text smaller than 10 points in most real-world business settings.
I had no difficulties when scanning a variety of documents with the DR-S350NW. The input tray was especially easy to load with documents of varying sizes and thicknesses. And you can quickly adjust the output tray to various positions, so that it doesn’t have to extend any further out than necessary. None of the pages jammed inside the mechanism, was visibly skewed, or was otherwise mishandled. All the scans were clean and professional-looking, and scanned photographic images showed pleasing and accurate colors with an appropriate amount of contrast.
Verdict: A Scanner With Strong Corporate Appeal
The Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW is a worthy upgrade to the DR-S250N. The added Wi-Fi connectivity makes it easier to position the unit almost anywhere, no longer limited by the length of a USB or Ethernet cable. The larger 4.3-inch color touch screen is a welcome improvement over the non-touch 1.3-by-1.1-inch screen on the DR-S250N, even though that display is an OLED screen. And the expanded 9,000-sheet peak daily duty cycle brings the workload capability up to the same level as the Brother ADS-4900W.
Even though it’s significantly improved, the DR-S350NW isn’t quite ready to replace the Brother ADS-4900W as our Editors’ Choice pick for network-connected office scanners. As previously indicated, the Brother ADS-4900W has faster scan speeds (60ppm/120ipm versus 50ppm/100ipm) and a larger-capacity ADF (100 sheets versus 60 sheets). And as of this writing, the ADS-4900W is also less expensive than the DR-S350NW.
The DR-S350NW does have some unusual features that could make it a better fit for some potential buyers, such as built-in software that can provide direct access to almost any browser-based device on the same network. And large offices or workgroups might benefit from its support for as many as 99 custom profiles, as well as its ability to save scans to a wide range of file formats.
Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW
Pros
View
More
The Bottom Line
The Canon imageFormula DR-S350NW is a fast workgroup document scanner that excels in connection options and custom profiles. Though pricey, it could be a good pick for large organizations.
Like What You’re Reading?
This newsletter may contain advertising, deals, or affiliate links.
By clicking the button, you confirm you are 16+ and agree to our
Terms of Use and
Privacy Policy.
You may unsubscribe from the newsletters at any time.
About David English
Contributor
