The front-end scanner is installed behind a cross-cut saw. It scans the cut parts from both sides. This allows defects inside the boards, such as pith, to be detected via their contrast. This information is used for subsequent sorting of products for finger jointing or shared profiles and forwarding of these to a new ejector. This reduces revisions and maximizes recovery. The front-end scanner can be retrofitted with existing scanner systems. Use with cross-cut saws with manual marking is also possible.