Posted by Jarrod Levitan on Wed, Sep 10, 2008
If you're thinking of scanning all your documents and getting more paperless, and looking for a scanner, read this. We recommend the Fujitsu ScanSnap to all our customers who are now big fans and can't live without them.
Here's why;
• They're small and compact and fit neatly on a desk. No more time wasted walking to the central copier to scan.
• Scans straight to pdf, even if adobe acrobat the application isn't open.
• Software included is easy to setup and use. You can save scanning profiles for particular projects and decide where all the files should be saved, ie on a network drive on a directory. There's even a direct to email profile which will open an email with a pdf attached, with one scan button push.
• It does a great job with color as well as black and white.
• It scans both sides, with a high resolution at a speedy 18 pages per minute. Auto-deletes blank pages for you. Great for docs that have info on both sides.
• It auto-detects different size pages. Does good job with those pesky little restaurant or retail receipts.
• They have models for both mac and pc.
• They're reliable and not too costly, two models approx:
o 310 - $275
o 510 - $400
• The only real difference between the models is scan speed and their size. All the software is the same. All said it's worth the extra buying the 510.
• It includes the latest version of adobe acrobat free ($200+ in value).
A few negatives are;
• The scanner needs a dedicated pc or mac. So if it's shared you need to either connect it to a computer no one is using, or hardly using, or the person doesn't mind their machine being used to scan once in a while.
• They're not widely available at the big box stores, Staples or Office depot, Best Buy... Best bet is to buy one online.
• Finally, I'd say it's what to do with the scans after you scan them that's challenging, but that's for another blog.
Lets us know if you have one, or bought one and like it, or have something to say. If there's another scanner out there that rumbles your hamburger, we want to know about it.
