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In any small office, managing the waves of paper documents that wash in each day as regularly and irresistibly as the tide is a never-ending task. NewSoft's $80 Presto PageManager 6 helps you keep your head above water, with tools to digitize random papers you want to keep. But the software can't quite equal its more popular competitor, ScanSoft's $100 PaperPort Deluxe 9.

PageManager works with your scanner's existing driver software; in my tests of a shipping copy, it performed well with an Epson scanner and an HP multifunction printer. After scanning your data, you can save it as is or you can use the app's tools to transform it. The image editing feature and OCR worked reasonably well; but the software's PDF generator proved useless, producing unacceptably blurry text time after time.

PageManager also offers a customizable Application Bar for launching programs. Unfortunately, though you can edit which applications show up on it, you can't add folder shortcuts. In addition, the program always saves documents to a single default folder.

Beyond this annoying trait, and its poor PDF generator, PageManager rates as a less-costly alternative to the better PaperPort Deluxe 9. But either program can help you deal with daily paper pileups.

SUMMARY

NewSoft Presto PageManager 6 Price when reviewed: $80 Current prices (if available) Easily digitizes paperwork, but some features need refining.

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