VirtualReScan (VRS) 4.0 Frequently Asked Questions

NOTE: Support for the VirtualReScan (VRS) 4.0 product ended on 06/08/09. The VRS 4.0 Technical Support Web pages will continue to be available until 06/08/10.

VRS 4.5 Service Pack 1 is the most recent release of the VirtualReScan (VRS) product.

To access the following Web pages for this release, please click on the desired page's link.

Application Notes - Error Codes - Frequently Asked Questions - Revision Levels  - Supported Configurations

1. What's new in VRS 4.0

2.VRS 4.0 certified scanners

3. VRS 4.0 supported operating systems

4. VRS 4.0 supported endorser scanners

5. VRS 4.0 supported applications

6. Is Version 4.0 a hardware or software product?

7. VRS 4.0 license categories

8. What are the VRS Standard features?

9. What are the VRS Plus features?

10. VRS 4.0 certified interfaces

11. VRS 4.0 and USB or FireWire interface installations

12. VRS 4.0 installation sequence

13. VRS Plus features demo

14. VRS 4.0 Certified vs. Non-Certified Scanners

15. VRS 4.0 discontinued scanners

16. VRS 4.0 upgrade process

17. Restore Default Values utility installation

18. Where is the Scan Demo program?

If the FAQs below do not provide you with the information you need, please visit our Knowledgebase to search for the information.

1. What are the new features in VRS 4.0?

VRS 4.0 supports the following new features, known as VRS Plus features. These features are available to users who have a VRS Plus license:

  • Automatic color detection
  • Background smoothing
  • Content-based rotation
  • Blank page deletion
  • White background cropping and deskew
  • QC Later mode for Ascent Capture 7.0 users (license dependent)

Note: If you implement all of the VRS Plus features simultaneously, there is some potential for performance degradation.

Additionally, VRS 4.0 includes the following:

  • Improved user interface updated to support the Windows XP look and feel
  • Ability to download product updates

For more information about new features, refer to the VRS 4.0 User’s Manual or the VRS 4.0 online help.

2. What scanners are certified in VRS 4.0?

  • For information about scanners supported with VRS 4.0, use the Kofax Scanner Configurator. The Configurator provides up-to-date information about scanners supported with Kofax products.

3. What Operating Systems are supported by VRS 4.0?

VRS 4.0 supports the following operating systems.

  • Windows 2000 Professional SP4
  • Windows XP Professional SP2

4. What VRS 4.0 scanners support endorsing?

The VRS 4.0 release product supports endorsing with the following scanners:

  • Böwe Bell & Howell 8000 Spectrum (EGSA II Hardware)
  • Canon DR-5080C
  • Fujitsu fi-4340C
  • Fujitsu fi-4530C
  • Fujitsu fi-4640S
  • Fujitsu fi-4750C (GSA II Hardware)
  • Fujitsu fi-4750L (GSA II Hardware)
  • Fujitsu fi-4860C (EGSA II Hardware)
  • Fujitsu fi-4990C (EGSA II Hardware)
  • Fujitsu M4097D (GSA II Hardware)
  • Fujitsu M4099D (GSA II Hardware)
  • Kodak i200 Series

5. What types of applications are supported by VRS 4.0?

VRS 4.0 is designed to work with any application based on the Kofax ImageControls toolkit, an ISIS programming interface, or a TWAIN programming interface. VRS 4.0 is certified for use with a wide range of ImageControls-developed applications including Kofax Ascent Capture 6.x, and Capio 1.1.

6. Is VRS 4.0 a hardware or software product?

Version 4.0 is a VRS solution that supports a wide range of scanners, from desktop models to production color models. Some of these scanners incorporate Kofax hardware to assist in the image processing due to their very fast performance.

The lower end models do not require the assistance and the image processing can be done on the PC. Regardless of the type of scanner, VRS 4.0 provides the same look and feel as well as the same great results.

7. What are the available VRS 4.0 license categories and how do they differ?

The VRS license categories are based on support for feature sets (VRS Standard and VRS Plus), as well as scanner throughput (pages per minute or ppm). VRS can be used with a wide range of certified scanners that accommodate different levels of throughput.

  • The VRS Standard license category supports standard VRS features and is used primarily with certified scanners with throughput up to 40 ppm.
  • The VRS for Desktop Scanners license category supports standard VRS features, VRS Plus features, and certified scanners with throughput up to 25 ppm.
  • The VRS for Workgroup/Departmental Scanners license category supports standard VRS features, VRS Plus features, and certified scanners with throughput from 25 to 50 ppm. Also supports the Adrenaline Image Processing Engine with Enhanced Bar Code features.
  • The VRS for Production Scanners license category is the same as VRS for Workgroup/Departmental Scanners, with additional support for scanner throughput that exceeds 50 ppm.
8. What are the VRS 4.0 "VRS Standard" features?

With VRS, you can ensure that every scanned image meets your quality standards. While VRS is designed to make production scanning easier and more cost-effective, VRS also provides the same advantages for all types of scanning situations. Through instant detection of poor image quality, VRS performs automatic image enhancements that greatly reduce errors related to image quality or recognition. You can be certain that every scanned image meets your standards, as VRS provides a set of interactive adjustment controls to eliminate guesswork with easy, real-time image correction.

The VRS standard feature set does the following:

  • Scans batches that consist of multiple document sizes or varying degrees of quality. This means you won't have to pre-sort mixed batches. For black background scanners, VRS will deskew images and crop them to the size of the original documents.
  • Detects and alerts you to paper jams and equipment conflicts automatically. This saves time and increases post-processing accuracy.
  • Performs automatic deskew without character degradation. Traditional deskew software produces jagged edges, but VRS character edges remain smooth and precise, even after the deskew process.

Because the VRS standard feature set has been optimized for bitonal output, it also does the following:

  • Automatically assigns brightness settings that are optimal for your document type. For batch scans in which Optical Character Recognition (OCR) precision is crucial, low-contrast documents traditionally pose significant problems. With VRS, you are able to enhance faint content, which can result in improved OCR results, even at low resolutions (such as 200 DPI).
  • Suppresses any background or noise to yield smaller image file sizes during image optimization, thus reducing storage requirements.

In addition to contrast enhancement, brightness adjustment, and high quality deskew correction, VRS offers a range of other features to help you ensure the highest level of quality for every scanned image:

  • Despeckling
  • Gamma correction
  • Character dilation/erosion
  • Long paper support
  • Access to advanced features

9. What are the VRS 4.0 "VRS Plus" features?

In addition to the standard features that are available with every VRS installation, another set of features is available to users whose license supports VRS Plus:
  • Automatic color detection.
  • Background smoothing.
  • Content-based rotation.
  • Blank page deletion.
  • White background cropping and deskew.

Users who have a Desktop, Workgroup/Departmental, or Production class license have access to VRS Plus features; users with a Standard license have the option of previewing VRS Plus features by selecting Tools | Enable Plus Features Demo from the VRS Interactive Viewer. While the VRS Plus Features Demo is enabled, users can take advantage of the features listed above and a “Kofax Demo” stamp is applied to all scanned images. For more information about the VRS Standard and VRS Plus feature sets, refer to the VRS 4.0 User’s Manual or the VRS 4.0 online help.

10. What interfaces are certified with VRS 4.0?

Only USB, SCSI, and FireWire interfaces are certified with VRS at this time.

11. VRS 4.0 and USB or FireWire interface installations.

Some VRS scanners are supported by a USB or FireWire interface. If your scanner requires a USB or FireWire interface, there may be specific installation instructions that apply to your scanner. Refer to the USB and FireWire Installations in the VRS 4.0 User's Manual on page 38 for more information.

12. Installation sequence for VRS 4.0.

VRS 4.0 should be installed in the following order:

  1. Install the VRS software.
  2. Install the SCSI scanner controller - if applicable.
  3. Attach the scanner - if applicable.
  4. Resolve the Found New Hardware Wizard Event - if applicable.
  5. Install the scanning application.

For detailed information on each of the above steps, please refer to page 14 of the VRS 4.0 User's Manual.

13. Is there a way to demo the VRS Plus features?

If you have a VRS Standard license, there is an option of previewing VRS Plus features by selecting Tools | Enable Plus Features Demo from the VRS Interactive Viewer. While the VRS Plus Features Demo is enabled, users can take advantage of the features listed above and a “Kofax Demo” stamp is applied to all scanned images.

14. VRS 4.0 Certified vs. Non-Certified Scanners

When a scanner is certified for VRS, it goes through a rigorous testing process during which the best default settings are identified and selected. For this reason, we recommend that you use VRS only with certified scanners. Also, Kofax Technical Support is available only for VRS-certified scanners. You can use the links on the VRS product pages on the Kofax Web site at www.kofax.com to view the list of VRS certified scanners. In addition to listing the scanner name and manufacturer, the VRS product pages include the following information:

  • Driver used for VRS (TWAIN, ISIS, or Kofax SCSI).
  • Black or white background support.
  • Additional memory required for optimal performance (if applicable).
  • Interface certified by VRS (SCSI, USB, or FireWire).

VRS is capable of working with some non-certified or “compatible” scanners, if they have been configured with the Kofax Source Manager (KSM). It is important to be aware that you may experience less than optimal image quality when using a non-certified scanner with VRS. Not every scanner can be used with VRS. To be compatible with VRS, a non-certified scanner must meet the following requirements:

  • Ability to output a 256-level grayscale image as a single image.
  • TWAIN driver or ISIS driver support. While VRS works best with an ISIS driver, it also supports some scanners with TWAIN drivers.

For more information about using non-certified scanners with VRS, refer to the VRS 4.0 Installation Guide.

15. VRS 4.0 discontinued scanners

As of the release of VRS 4.0, the following scanners are no longer supported for use with VRS:

  • Canon DR-4080U
  • Canon DR-4580U
  • Canon DR-5080C
  • Epson GT-10000+
  • Epson Perfection 1640SU with ADF
  • Fujitsu ScanPartner 15C
  • Fujitsu ScanPartner 620C
  • HP ScanJet 7400C
  • HP ScanJet 7450C
  • HP ScanJet 7490C
  • Kodak DS 1500
  • Kodak DS 2500
  • Panasonic KV-S6040W (black background)
  • Panasonic KV-S6040W (white background)
  • Panasonic KV-S6045W (black background)
  • Panasonic KV-S6045W (white background)

16. VRS 4.0 Upgrade Process

Follow the guidelines below when upgrading to VRS 4.0 from an earlier VRS version.

  • VRS 4.0 cannot be successfully installed over a version of VRS that is earlier than VRS 3.5.
  • You can install VRS 4.0 over an existing version of VRS 3.5. It is not necessary to remove VRS 3.5 before upgrading to VRS 4.0. When installing VRS 4.0 over an existing instance of VRS 3.5, the installer will detect the earlier version and display the message, "VRS 4.0 Installation had detected a previous version of VRS. The installation will continue and install the new version." In this case, click OK and then proceed with the installation procedure according to the instructions in the VRS 4.0 Installation Guide.

17. Restore Default Values utility installation

Some minor changes were made to the Restore Default Values (RDV) utility since the VRS 4.0 User’s Manual was published. If you need to use the utility, please note the following details, which differ slightly from the information in the user’s manual:

  • Although the RDV utility is available from the VRS installation CD, it is not automatically added to your VRS installation. You must follow the procedure below to add the utility to your installation.
  • The RDV user interface no longer includes a “Restore factory default settings” option. Default settings are automatically updated when you use the RDV utility to change the default scanner.

To download and install the VRS Restore Default Values utility

  1. Insert the VRS 4.0 installation CD into your CD-ROM drive.
  2. From your Windows taskbar, select Start | Run, browse to the RDV folder on the CD and select Setup.exe
    The RDV installation will begin as indicated by the RDV Setup Welcome screen.
  3. Click Next to begin the RDV setup.
    When the progress indicator disappears, the RDV installation will be complete and an RDV folder will be added to your VRS installation.

Once the utility is installed, you can launch it according to the instructions in the VRS User’s Manual.

18. Where is the Scan Demo program that used to be installed with VRS?

The Scan Demo program is no longer automatically installed with the VRS 4.0 program. It is still included on the VRS 4.0 CD. To install the Scan Demo program, browse to the \subdirectory on the VRS 4.0 CD and run the Setup.exe program.

Please note that the VRS Scan Demo program is, as the name indicates, software to demonstrate the capabilities of VRS (both Hardware VRS and Software (VRS). This program has the following limitations.

  • It is only possible to scan 100 images in 1 document.
  • It is not possible to produce more than 1 document
  • When the limit of 100 images is exceeded, Scan Demo will generate a prompt to delete images in order to be able to continue scanning.

For details on how VRS Scan Demo works, please refer to the VRS Scan Demo Quick Reference.

Kofax VirtualReScan Support

Kofax provides two types of support for all non-legacy VirtualReScan releases including General and OEM, as described below.

  • "No-Charge"
    “No-Charge” support consists of Web-Based support that includes the Kofax Knowledgebase and the Kofax Customer Portal for both General and OEM releases of VRS.
  • "Fee-Based"
    "Fee-Based" support via telephone from Kofax, is available for All General releases, Basic and Professional OEM releases of VRS. However, Basic OEM releases of VRS are first referred to the scanner manufacturer for 1st level support.

For additional details, click here to review the Kofax Technical Support No-Charge and Fee-Based Support options available.

For details regarding technical support available for all Kofax products, please review the current Support Overview & Options and Product Support Eligibility Matrix Web pages.