Visioneer Brings Document Imaging Solutions to All Types of Users

By George Walsh, Hacienda Network Staff Writer

While it's true that most offices still have some documents in paper form, as time goes by, more and more companies are moving toward virtually "paperless" operations. To get to the point where existing paper documents (or those for which the electronic version has somehow been lost) reach their final storage point in an electronic form, most companies - and even individuals - make use of tools such as scanners. Visioneer, headquartered at 5673 Gibraltar Drive, is a major player in the imaging market, offering numerous scanners and other products for the home, office, and mobile needs of its customers.

"Our products are primarily in the area of document imaging solutions," says Murray Dennis, president and CEO of Visioneer. "We build these products under both the Visioneer brand and the Xerox brand. In fact, we just finished our first calendar year of producing products for Xerox. Predominately, the Xerox products are the higher-end tools. For example, the Xerox DocuMate 262 can scan both sides of 33 pages in one minute." Visioneer's Xerox-branded products also include digital projectors, which are becoming more and more popular for corporate presentations. "We're responsible for the development, the marketing, the sales, and the support for the products we build for Xerox. We don't just design them so that they can put their name on the products and sell them."

Founded in 1992, Visioneer introduced its first product in 1994 and has continued to expand, grow, and offer a wider range of products ever since. The company has won numerous industry awards including the Industrial Design of Excellence Award (IDEA) from Business Week, a CNET Editors' Choice Award, and a PC Magazine Editor's Choice Award. The company's products are available at CompUSA, Best Buy, Staples, Office Max, and other retailers. "We fall into what is called the 'distributed desktop document imaging market' as designated by market research firm InfoTrends," Dennis says. "It's the fastest growing segment of the overall document imaging market. Within six months of shipping a duplex [double-sided] scanner, InfoTrends rated us as one of the top three players in our market segment."

Visioneer ships millions of scanners each year. The company has around 60 employees in its Pleasanton location and approximately two dozen sales representatives in the U.S. and Europe. While the company's staff may seem small in comparison to its output, Visioneer has a history of maintaining low-cost manufacturing and infrastructure, and taking advantage of a very sophisticated logistics system to get its products to their destination.

Visioneer intends to continue its growth by addressing new market segments. "This month, we will be announcing a new line of products called ultra-dense optical storage drives," Dennis says. "Due to a number of regulatory compliance issues within both government and public companies, more and more requirements have come into effect to store certain types of documents on media that is unalterable and has a long shelf life of 50-plus years. We will be launching a line of these devices and related media under the Xerox brand in the first quarter of this year."

Photo: Murray Dennis, president and CEO of Visioneer, with two of the products the company produces for Xerox and one prototype (center).

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