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Launched in 2002, the IQSmart2 and IQSmart3 were designed to be more compact, as well as easy to use and maintain than rival models on the market. Built on the success of Creo’s highly popular Eversmart family, they were unveiled under the Creo name before the firm was bought by Kodak in 2005.

The IQSmart replaced the lower-end EverSmart Jazz and Pro II models, and was a quicker scanner with a high true optical resolution of 4,300dpi from edge to edge on the IQSmart2, and 5,500dpi on the IQSmart3.

Both models featured inverted charge couple device technology that prevented fine-dust particles setting on the scan bed. When Kodak acquired Creo, it phased out the EverSmart range, leaving the IQSmart to attack the creative market.
The IQSmart series was targeted at design firms, libraries and the photographic and creative industries. It was designed to be versatile enough to scan everything from books to artwork at high resolution, all marketed at an affordable price.

Consistent resolution
IQSmart1 was launched in 2004, with a modest production speed of 50 scans per hour compared to the 85 scans per hour of later versions. Its biggest competitor was the Imacon, which was made to specific individual needs and, according to Peter Tjeerdsma, European scanners channel manager for Kodak, was not so versatile.

On the technology front, the scanner does not use the common large enlargement lenses to capture the image,
but scans it stripe by stripe, then stitches it in CAD information. This ensures consistent sharpness and resolution, without the image quality being compromised due to the original’s size or where it’s placed on the scanning bed.

Reliability
Updates have been made to the scanner, which are application, rather than technology, based. These include improvements to ICC colour management, user interface, connectivity and FireWire, all of which are retrofittable.

Optional extras include Oxygen Open Dot software, which allows for offline image processing. There’s also Oxygen Dot Solution which offers copydot scanning. The machine can scan up to 96 35mm slides in one job and its large scanning bed can accommodate 10 A4-size films, or one A3-size film.

The latest versions support both Mac and Windows platforms. Optional extras include CMYK workflow.

Kodak offers full one-year warranties on the IQSmart range and customers can extend these for as long as they wish. “The scanners are quite reliable, so they don’t need to be serviced often,” says Tjeerdsma. “The lens should be serviced every one to two years.”

A new IQSmart1 will cost £5,600, rising to £9,700 for the IQSmart2. A fully refurbished IQSmart2 sold through Kodak will cost £7,800.