Gigabit interface & wide format scanning

Gigabit Ethernet is a wonderful interface delivering three times the available bandwidth of USB2. Combined with Contex’s integrated and patented xDTR2 circuitry found in the new HD Ultra scanners, overall performance is unmatched, allowing you to scan a full six inches per second in 24-bit color at 200 dpi. It would not be possible to reach these speeds without these two technologies.

Connectivity is simple. Just open up WIDEsystem and then select the ‘Network’ tab. Click on the ‘Advanced’ button and make sure you have ‘Enable Gigabit Port’ selected. Close this dialog and select ‘Add a Network Scanner’ to add the Ethernet scanner you just enabled. If you are working on a standard network using DHCP, that’s it! You have finished the configuration. This topography is standard TCP/IP, so if your IT department wants to set up the scanner on a static IP address, it’s as simple as clicking on that same ‘Advanced’ button and typing in the preferred IP address.

Gigabit networks are becoming increasingly mainstream but, you may find the infrastructure on your network does not support Gigabit. No worries: a simple Gigabit switch, sold inexpensively at your local computer store, connects the scanner and the main PC being used to operate the scanner to the switch. Then you simply connect the switch to the rest of the network. This allows the scanner to communicate with the PC at very high Gigabit speeds, but also still allows the PC to communicate with the slower company network.

Also, did you know you can attach a crossover network cable directly between the PC and the scanner? This is a special Ethernet cable that allows you to attach a networked device directly to your PC without any additional external networking hardware. Even if you have no network in your office, you may still use the Gigabit interface to communicate at high speeds with your stand-alone PC.