Business Card Reader II
$169.99
I.R.I.S.
(561) 921-0847
www.irisusa.com

It probably won’t surprise you to learn that when I’m not writing about computers, I’m talking about them with anyone who will listen. I was recently talking shop with John Iasiuolo, who hosts Computer Outlook, a radio show out of Las Vegas. (You can listen to him at www.computer
outlookrts.com.) He mentioned that he’d tried (and loved) NewSoft’s Presto! BizCard Reader 5.

An important part of a business card reader is its OCR (optical character recognition) program. OCR software breaks a business card’s text into categories such as the person’s name, email address, and phone number and then drops each piece of data into its contact database fields. Once you load your cards into the software’s database, you can easily export them to Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express, and several other contact programs. John liked the OCR program’s interface, so I ordered the BizCard Reader and another popular device, the I.R.I.S. Business Card Reader II, to create a card reader head-to-head.

How It Works

Although you can export contacts to your email program, you also can use the OCR software itself as your address book. In fact, both OCR programs let you enter information manually, which means you can add family members, friends, and other nonbusiness card-carrying acquaintances. NewSoft’s BizCard program lines up your contacts by name on the right side of the window. When you want to view the rest of a contact’s info, you simply click it once; the rest of the contact’s information and a picture of the business card appears on the left. You can also view multiple business cards at once. The interface is very simple. Unfortunately, the scanner scans the card in black and white. (The software supports color, though, so it can create color scans with other devices.) Despite the lack of color, the pictures are pretty clear.

I.R.I.S.’ Business Card Reader II, on the other hand, scans business cards in color, which makes for a bright, browseable address book. I.R.I.S’ OCR software displays multiple cards at once by default. However, it also lets users view one card at a time.

How Often It Works

Smart Computing’s staff collects stacks of business cards when we visit trade shows, so I had no trouble finding an array of business cards. I grabbed about 30 cards and ran them through several times.

Neither reader/software combo successfully scanned and translated all of the cards, but I wasn’t disappointed by either’s performance. You may find that the program occasionally misses a phone number or misspells a name, but you can easily read the card image and type the missing info into the right field. I learned a couple lessons about creating scanner-friendly business cardsavoid text colors that blend with the background and don’t run text along the bottom of the card. Surprisingly, glossy cards didn’t trip the readers up any more than regular paper cards.

The Last Scan

Both devices are small and draw power from the PC via the same USB cord that transfers the data. Newsoft’s reader, which is the smaller of the two, is about as big as a deck of cards. You can pocket either device.

I found that I like both OCR programsyou won’t go wrong with either one. That said, the better device is the Business Card Reader II. It’s only a little larger than the BizCard Reader, and it scans in color. The good news for users who like NewSoft’s OCR software, but not the black-and-white reader, is that many other business card readers include the program.

By the way, try putting the scanner on the edge of the desk so that the card drops straight into the trash after it’s been scanned. Oh, that feels good.

By Joshua Gulick
Send your comments to joshua@smartcomputing.com

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