Customer Reviews
Works like a dream. 
2008-07-06
I'm a psychologist and consult frequently on criminal forensic cases. That means I spend a lot of time reviewing mental health & legal records. The C-Pen is a Godsend for capturing the essential information in those documents. It's incredibly accurate, very fast, convenient, easy to use, and selective. You don't have to scan the whole page, and you can scan from bound or stapled documents without disassembling them. The automatic OCR conversion lets you scan directly into your word-processor or into a specialized note-taking program like WordPerfect Lightning.
As of this writing, there is a beta version of the C-Pen software for the Mac, which you can download from their site. I haven't tried the Mac version, so can't tell you about that.
Like a charm. 2008-06-23
CPen is amazing. It takes a few minutes to get the hang of it, but after that it is great for text entry. Can read many languages, and has convenient set-up options selectable from a good interface. Trade hours of typing for CPen's few text errors. Fully functional with Vista.
This is definitely the one to get 2008-06-12
After reading all the reviews for pen scanners, I decided on this one, and it is definitely the one to get. I just installed the software, and on the first try I'd say there was 95% accuracy, which I imagine will improve as I get more practice. Overall a real time saver, and a much better option than manually typing in lines of text.
Very good 2008-05-31
I bought this item with some expectations, but they have been more than fully answered.
I am able to use it on Windows platform, and on Mac platform (You can download the driver from [...]). The accuracy rate is 98,9% on English or German text. Very good! I recommend it wholeheartedly. My research will be greatly improved. Thank you!
simply perfect 2008-04-21
I wanted to buy such a product for academic use and I was not sure which brand to choose. Finally I decided on this one. When I first used it, I got really excited by its ergonomic design, speed and accuracy. It saved me a lot of time and energy and I am so happy to have it.
Life Saver 
2008-04-11
The Ectaco C-Pen scanner is an amazingly convenient handheld data entry tool for use with the NTL-2Ch, NTL-2F, NTL-2Gm, NTL-2I, NTL-2K, NTL-2P, NTL-2Pg, NTL-2R, NTL-2S, Alpine-2Ch, Alpine-2F, Alpine-2Gm, Alpine-2I, Alpine-2K, Alpine-2P, Alpine-2Pg, Alpine-2R, Alpine-2S, Deluxe NTL-2Ch Deluxe NTL-2F, Deluxe NTL-2Gm, Deluxe NTL-2I, Deluxe NTL-2K, Deluxe NTL-2P, Deluxe NTL-2Pg, Deluxe NTL-2R, Deluxe NTL-2S and Partner 850 series devices. Letting you capture the text you need, just scan the pen over your favorite book, restaurant menu, newspaper, or anything else you can think of and the text will automatically be uploaded on to the device and translated to your language choice.
Good product overall 2008-03-26
I have type of various sizes I needed to input quickly into a text document - type size varies from 1/16" to 1/4" size, short product numbers. The pen works on 1/4" high text, but you do have to slow down a little. The smaller and/or darker the text, the quicker you can go and the less errors there are. If you scan too quickly you get gibberish or only a letter or two. Go a little slower and you get most but perhaps only one letter wrong. There is a definate range of speed that you learn to operate within and if you are in that range and the type is at least medium dark, the output is generally completely accurate. If the image is light you're going to have problems. Also, since the light in the pen operates on a pressure switch, you have to lift up the pen on a definate up stroke; otherwise it doesn't output at all. On the whole, well worth the investment.
The Only Choice for Pen Scanners! 2008-03-25
I am a money manager in NYC. I probably read over 150 pages of research everyday. In order for me to track ideas and not forget things it is important for me to have some sort of method to organize this information overload. My first purchase was the IRIS Executive pen. It did a horrible job of converting written text into MS WORD, the error rate was over 50% and made the task of cleaning it up twice what it would of been if I just decided to type it. I returned it within 5 days. I went ahead and purchased the C-PEN (with a return policy). What a Difference! I can run through 100 pages of research and condense it into 2 pages with minimal errors. Not only does it create legible conversion (over 90%) but once you lift the pen it creates a space for you..(no need to hit a button on pen) This is probably the only one that should be invested in, they have the idea and technology down pat. C-PEN has made my life easier!
All worked togather for perfect Result 2008-02-18
The Pen is Brilliant and majic I have it now for 5 minuits.
The first pen did not work. We e-mailed and tried some things out still did not work.I sent it back for them to check. They sent me a brand new one I love it. The whole process took about 3 weeks.I have a thesis to write and I am disletic and am a verry poor writer and note taker and this will help me achieve my goal.Thank you ALL TIM xxx
Great Product! Much Better Than I Expected. 2008-02-08
I am very, very pleased with this product. I took a chance based on other reviews I read on Amazon and I could not be more pleased. I have stacks and stack of magazines that I take content from. It was so tedious using a flat scanner because it would scan the entire page as an image, then I had to use an OCR program to get the text out. Another problem I had was the fact that most of my articles are printed in newspaper-style colums, and my OCR program could not maintain that format, so all the text would just be jumbled and I'd spend an eternity moving text around. The CPen has been a lifesaver for me, because now I can scan the text I need and it goes right into Wordpad. What's really nice is I can scan pretty fast and the accuracy is exceptionally good, though probably not as accurate as they claim. I think they claim 99% accuracy and I would give it a solid 95% which is more than good enough for me. I was impressed with the wide range of font sizes it can scan. I'm never gonna give mine up. In fact, it actually makes me want to work now, when I used to dread the whole process. Installation is simple, even for idiots like me. The price was very good too. Bottom line, this serves me quite well. I have no complaints at all.
