Epson DS-970 Color Duplex Workgroup Document Scanner 85 ppm 170 ipm at 200 and 300 dpi 100-Sheet ADF USB 3.0 B11B251201

Key Features

• Sheetfed one-pass duplex scanner. There is no flatbed in this unit, and the Flatbed Scanner Dock B12B819011 that adds one is a separate purchase.
• 85 ppm and 170 ipm at 200 and 300 dpi, and Epson quotes that figure for Black-and-White, Colour and Gray alike.
• At 400 and 600 dpi throughput falls to 16 ppm and 32 ipm, a second tier Epson publishes and most listings leave out.
• Peak daily duty cycle of 14,000 sheets, Epson's current figure and the highest of the Epson scanners we list.
• 100-sheet automatic document feeder, rated by Epson against 80 g/m2 stock.
• Ultrasonic double-feed detection with Paper Protection. This is the only one of these scanners where Epson names the sensor type.
• Feeds 27 to 413 g/m2, including rigid plastic ID cards to less than 1.24 mm with emboss.
• Captures long documents to 240 inches at 200 dpi, shortening to 215 inches at 300 dpi.
• SuperSpeed USB 3.0 only. There is no Ethernet and no wireless on this scanner, and neither can be added.
• TWAIN and ISIS drivers are both included, so established capture software does not need a licensed ISIS add-on.
• Ships with the scanner, a Start Here poster, a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 cable and the AC adapter with power cable.
• Three-year limited warranty in the United States and Canada.

Key Specifications

• Type: Sheet-fed, 1-pass, duplex colour scanner. No flatbed
• Sensor and resolution: Colour CIS with three-colour RGB LED; 600 dpi optical, 50 to 1200 dpi output, 1200 dpi interpolated, 5100 x 9300 effective pixels
• Scan speed: 85 ppm / 170 ipm at 200 and 300 dpi (Black-and-White, Colour, Gray); 16 ppm / 32 ipm at 400 and 600 dpi
• ADF capacity: 100 sheets
• Peak daily duty cycle: 14,000 sheets (Epson's current figure)
• Document size: 2 x 2 in minimum; 8.5 x 240 in maximum at 200 dpi, 8.5 x 215 in at 300 dpi
• Media weight: 27 to 413 g/m2; cards to less than 1.24 mm thick with emboss
• Double-feed detection: Ultrasonic, with Paper Protection
• Interface: SuperSpeed USB 3.0 only. No Ethernet, no wireless. Front panel LCD with push buttons
• Roller assembly kit: B12B819711, recommended every 200,000 scans
• Dimensions and weight: 11.6 x 8.3 x 8.5 in (W x D x H), 7.9 lb. Epson publishes imperial only
• Warranty: 3-year limited warranty in the U.S. and Canada

What this scanner is

The DS-970 is a sheetfed one-pass duplex scanner: a stack of loose paper goes into the feeder and both sides of every sheet are imaged in a single pass. There is no flatbed platen in the chassis, so a bound book, a passport or anything else that cannot be fed will not scan on this machine unless the optional Flatbed Scanner Dock B12B819011 is bought alongside it. Against its own sibling the position is simple. The DS-870 shares this chassis, this sensor, this 100-sheet feeder, the same 27 to 413 g/m2 media range and the same roller kit. What the DS-970 adds is speed, 85 ppm against 65, and duty cycle, 14,000 sheets a day against 10,000. Nothing else material separates the two part numbers.

Speed and conditions

Epson's figure for this scanner is 85 ppm and 170 ipm, and the conditions carry as much weight as the number. Both figures are quoted at 200 and 300 dpi, and both are quoted for Black-and-White, Colour and Gray alike, so there is no colour penalty to plan around: a colour batch runs at the headline rate. The ppm figure is the simplex rate and the ipm figure the duplex rate, and because this is a one-pass duplexer the ipm figure is exactly twice the ppm figure. Above 300 dpi the picture changes sharply. At 400 and 600 dpi Epson publishes 16 ppm and 32 ipm, an 81 per cent collapse, so a workflow that captures at 600 dpi should be sized on 16 ppm rather than on the headline.

Duty cycle

Peak daily duty cycle on this scanner is 14,000 sheets. That is Epson's current figure, carried on the Epson US product page and in Epson's own joint brochure, and it is worth stating plainly because the spec-sheet PDF that most of the trade mirrors still prints the original launch figure of 9,000 sheets. Epson revised the number upward and never re-issued that document. Anyone comparing this scanner with the DS-870 on the strength of the old PDFs sees the faster, more expensive machine apparently rated below the cheaper one, which is not the case: the DS-870 is 10,000 sheets a day and this is 14,000. Duty cycle is a peak rating rather than a daily target, and sizing a scanner to run at it every day is how roller intervals arrive early.

Media and originals

Media range is where a workgroup scanner earns its price. This one takes originals from 2 x 2 inches up to 8.5 x 240 inches, with the long-paper maximum shortening to 215 inches once the resolution goes to 300 dpi, and it feeds stock from 27 to 413 g/m2, which spans onionskin at one end and card at the other. Rigid plastic ID cards are supported, embossed ones included, to a thickness of less than 1.24 mm, so a mixed batch of correspondence, receipts and membership cards can go through the feeder together instead of being sorted first. Ultrasonic double-feed detection stops the job when two sheets travel as one, and Paper Protection halts the feed when a sheet starts to skew. For folded or fragile originals Epson lists the B12B819051 carrier sheets as compatible; they are a separate purchase.

Connections and box

There is one interface on this scanner and it is SuperSpeed USB 3.0. No Ethernet port and no wireless radio is fitted, and neither can be added by an option card, so this is a scanner for one workstation rather than a shared network device. That is the most common way to buy the wrong Epson: where the requirement is a unit several people send jobs to across a site, this is not it. Operation at the machine is through a front panel LCD with push buttons. Epson's box list for this part number is the scanner, a Start Here poster, a SuperSpeed USB 3.0 cable and the AC adapter with its power cable, so the unit is complete out of the carton and needs no second line on the order.

Software and drivers

Epson bundles Epson Scan 2 with Document Capture Pro, and both TWAIN and ISIS drivers are included. The ISIS entitlement is worth more than it looks. A great deal of established capture software, the kind already sitting in a records room or a claims department, talks ISIS and nothing else, and on competing hardware the ISIS driver is often a licensed extra bought from a third party. Here it is part of the purchase, though Epson's own brochure describes it as a web download rather than something supplied on media. What is not included is Epson ScanSmart. That is the front end for Epson's consumer and prosumer lines and it is bundled with none of the DS business scanners, so any listing promising it against this part number is wrong.

Roller kit

The consumable on this scanner is the roller assembly kit, the part number is B12B819711, and Epson recommends replacing it every 200,000 scans. Get this one right, because a customer orders directly from it. Epson US publishes three roller kits across the DS range and they are not interchangeable: B12B819711 covers the DS-870 with the DS-970, B12B819671 covers the DS-530 II with the DS-770 II, and B12B819031 covers the first-generation DS-530 and DS-770. All three carry the same 200,000 interval, so the interval cannot be used to tell them apart. Epson's own joint DS-870/DS-970 brochure prints B12B819031 against these two scanners, which contradicts Epson US's accessory pages; the compatibility list on each accessory page settles it, and B12B819711 is the kit for this machine.

Barcode Printer Shop supplies Epson document scanners to US businesses with the scan-speed conditions, the current duty cycles and the exact consumable part numbers stated on the page rather than left to a footnote. Contact us to learn more or secure this solution for your business today.