Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/634029
February 2016 | Overdrive | 35 U sing truck stop scanners and fax machines can be expensive and time-consum- ing, while in-cab scanners are bulky and usually require a computer with accompanying software. However, smartphone apps for mobile scanning have made it easy and afford- able to create and transmit high-quality copies of bills of lading, IFTA paperwork and other documents. While any smartphone camera can capture and send images of documents, mobile scanning apps go the extra mile by cropping, sharpening and converting images into print- able document files. Some scanner apps have a small price tag. Others are available in a free version and a paid premium version. Apps such as Transflo Mobile+ are built to be used by owner-operators in a joint membership with their fleets. Others such as uDrove are designed primarily for elec- tronically logging mileage, engine diagnostics and vehi- cle inspections. While scanning is one of a broader set of functions in those apps, the ones featured here are designed specifically for document scanning and can be used individually by any driver. DriveAxle DriveAxle automatically trims images into cropped files, but borders also can be adjusted manually by clicking and dragging. An image enhance- ment feature improves con- trast, converting shadows and gray areas into crisp text and graphics. Photos are taken with the app's camera, and scanned files can be emailed straight from the app without trans- ferring files between multiple tabs. Scanned files are stored with the load number entered by the user, creating easy access if they need to be refer- enced or resent. DriveAxle is available as a free download at the App Store and the Google Play store. CamScanner CamScanner, one of the App Store's top-selling scanner apps, has been featured on CBS News. It's easily the most expensive of the apps featured here, with the premium ver- sion costing $4.99 per month. CamScanner functions similarly to DriveAxle in that images are cropped automat- ically within the app, then converted to PDFs that can be emailed or stored in the cloud. Other features include multipage scanning, an OCR (optical character recogni- tion) search engine and the ability to sync documents quickly between multiple devices. The app can be download- ed for iOS and Android or Windows devices at no cost, but the free version places a watermark on each docu- ment. The premium version offers watermark-free scan- ning and more storage space. Genius Scan Genius Scan is designed with simplicity in mind, offering all the essen- tial scanning and sending functions in an uncluttered package. Its most notable fea- tures are its ability to correct the perspective of images taken at an angle and the option to send documents as PDF or JPEG files. Mobile scanning These smartphone apps make it a breeze to transmit documents from the road BY IAN PALMER SCANNING...