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Fujitsu

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Scanner for PC

    • Based on 1,196 reviews
Condition: Used - Very Good
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Arrives May 4 – May 12
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Features

  • One button searchable PDF creation
  • Intelligent paper feed detection
  • Blazing 20ppm color scanning
  • 50-page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
  • Comes with Adobe Acrobat X Standard

Description

The ScanSnap S1500 provides Windows users an effective way to greatly reduce paper clutter, storage space, and security risk associated with unmanaged paperwork at home or office. Even better, documents scanned by ScanSnap take on a higher level of accessibility and usefulness once liberated into the digital realm.What's in the box: Fujitsu S1500 ScanSnap Sheet-Fed Scanner with ADF, 1-Year Manufacturer's Limited Warranty, Power Cable, Power Adapter, USB Cable, Installation CDs, User Manuals and Carrier Sheet. From the Manufacturer The ScanSnap S1500 provides Windows users an effective way to greatly reduce paper clutter, storage space, and security risk associated with unmanaged paperwork at home or office. Even better, documents scanned by ScanSnap take on a higher level of accessibility and usefulness once liberated into the digital realm. Find out how others are freeing up time, space and even money. Greatly reduce paper clutter and scan up to 20 pages per minute. View larger Seamlessly scan and save your files to the cloud The ScanSnap S1500 for PC scans up to 20 pages per minute in color, grayscale, or black & white at an uncompromising 300 dpi resolution. Stack up to 50 pages into the automatic document feeder (ADF) and press the "SCAN" button to scan both sides of each page in a single pass. The S1500 automatically recognizes the size of each document, detects and corrects for skew, and shows images in their proper orientation with blank pages removed. Load a stack of documents and simply press "Scan" to begin. View larger With Intelligent Scan correction documents are organized quickly Intelligent Paper-Feed DetectionScanSnap S1500 for PC is equipped with a multi-feed detection sensor that can be turned on to help you avoid losing images. What's more, an interactive interface allows users to easily and quickly bypass intentional double-feeds such as a taped-receipt on an expense report or even a sticky note.Fast ScanningSimply load a stack of documents into the automatic document feeder and press the "Scan" button. Capable of holding up to 50 pages in the feeder, ScanSnap S1500 scans both sides simultaneously at a speed of up to 20 pages per minute.ScanSnap Carrier SheetsThe included carrier sheet allows ScanSnap S1500 the flexibility to digitize large double-letter size documents (A3/B4), photographs, as well as magazine and newspaper clippings. Carrier sheets can be scanned in succession or mixed in with paper documents.Scanning to the CloudThe ScanSnap S1500 provides users direct scanning to Evernote and Google Docs, as well as Salesforce CRM and SharePoint Online (for Windows). It also brings two additional cloud syncing functions: Scan to SugarSync and Scan to Salesforce Chatter. Now you can seamlessly scan and save your scanned files to the cloud for fast and easy accessibility from just about anywhere.Intelligent Features for Nearly Effortless ScanningThe ScanSnap S1500 features a powerful set of automated image processing functions including Auto skew correction, Auto orientation, and Auto color detection. These intelligent features work behind the scenes to help ensure scanned content looks great without effort.Generate Editable Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint FilesNeed to make a quick alteration, enhance productivity by scanning paperwork with machine-print back into an editable version with the included ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap software for PC and Mac.Useful Scanning Software IncludedThe ScanSnap S1500 comes with the tools you need to get the most out of your ScanSnap. Included in the package are several useful applications that work with Mac and PC:ScanSnap Organizer V4.1 (PC)--Keep all your scans neatly organized and easily accessible with ScanSnap Organizer. View and edit scans, create filing cabinets, perform searches and more.CardMinder V4.1 (PC)--With CardMinder 4.1 for Windows adding and managing contact information is a breeze. Simply place the card in the scanner and push the button. CardMinder 4.1 captures the business card and places the information into editable fields. Foriegn language card? No problem. CardMinder 4.1 recognizes 8 different languages and can export to Outlook, Excel and other contact managers.ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap (Mac and PC)--This popular OCR (optical character recognition) software lets you scan documents with machine print directly to Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.Adobe Acrobat X Standard--With Adobe Acrobat X Standard, users can move beyond merely "seeing" and "printing" PDF documents to searching and editing them however they like. Adobe Acrobat X Standard supports password protection and digital ID creation, ideal for safeguarding personal and confidential information on PDF files.Scan to Mobile--With the free ScanSnap Connect app, you can link ScanSnap to an iPad or iPhone for viewing on the go.Compatible Operating SystemsWindows 2000 Professional, Windows XP (32-bit only), Windows Vista (32-bit & 64-bit). Note: Windows 7 Home Premium (32/64-bit), Windows 7 Professional (32/64-bit), Windows 7 Enterprise (32/64-bit), Windows 7 Ultimate (32/64-bit) compatiblity with ScanSnap Manger and ScanSnap Organizer is available via download. Visit:

Technical SpecificationsInterface: USB 2.0Scanner Type: ADF (Automatic Document Feeder), duplex color scanningScanning Modes: Color / Grayscale / Monochrome / Automatic DetectionImage Sensor: CCD (Charge coupled device) x 2 Light Source: White cold cathode discharge lampOptical Resolution: 600 dpi x 2Scanning Speeds: 5-20 sheets per minute (depending on quality selected)Document Sizes: A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, Business Card, Letter, Legal and Custom sizes with carrier sheetPaper Chute Capacity: Maximum 50 sheets (Letter size at 20 lb or 80 g/m2) Dimensions: 11.5" x 6.3" x 6.2" (292 x 159 x 158mm)Weight: 6.62 lb (3.0 kg)


Product Dimensions: 15.7 x 10.4 x 9.3 inches


Item Weight: 0.01 ounces


Item model number: PA03586-B005


Is Discontinued By Manufacturer: No


Date First Available: September 14, 2004


Manufacturer: Fujitsu Imaging


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Top Amazon Reviews

    • Scanner 6 stars, menu and manual -2 stars
UPDATE 12/06/13: I'm really surprised that the price here has more than doubled since I bought it. There is one really important thing to remember, too: the installation program which might be on your disk, might not be the right one. I just spent six hours trying to install this thing on another computer, so to spare you the same hassle: hit the 'CONTACT US' button on the CD when it loads. Then search on 'Scansnap S1500 downloads' and see if there's a later software program. Mine was 5.0, and it didn't work (probably because Windows Updates trash everything, so they had to rewrite the program). But when I just now downloaded the 5.1 program (which hahahaha runs in a DOS window), it works just fine. I still love my Scansnap. Couldn't be in business without it. Still haven't done the things listed in the review below which I said I would test. Been spending the last year on learning Win7, 8, and WINDOWS GLITCHES eat my life. Sorry... UPDATE re Linux, 9/8/12: Scansnap installs automatically in Linux Mint Maya, just found a link saying so. Amazon won't allow non-Amazon links, so just write me to get the link, in PC World Forums or Youtube (brainouty). Fujitsu's site doesn't offer any info about Linux compatibility or drivers; its material solely covers Windows and Mac versions (former compatibility is 32-bit through Win7, and 64-bit in Win7 but not prior). But if it installs without special effort in Linux Mint, it will probably install in most other Linux flavors. Once I port over to Linux later this year or early next, I'll report back here with my results using Debian and Zorin distros, after I groan over learning the lingo. Will convert to dual-boot, retaining 32-bit XP Professional and XP Home. I won't use networking or wi-fi at home, so can't comment on that. UPDATE, 8/8/12: I just upgraded the review to 4 stars, after 8 months' of nearly daily, light use. Also, the S1500 I bought, came BUNDLED with the Organizer software, and Acrobat 9. What I see now offered as the Scansnap (which my review got hooked up to), eliminates the BUNDLE and uses Acrobat X. That was not the product description when I bought this last December. Finally, see my review on Acrobat 9 Standard, here in Amazon, because Acrobat X is less compatible. The Scansnap DOES NOT NEED Acrobat to function well, but DOES need the Organizer, so get the BUNDLE (which is $30 more). The Organizer is useful. The ABBYY thingy and the Rack-2 filer are imo useless. But maybe you will find them helpful. Update continues below, on how to stop the Scansnap from blinking while online. Prior, edited for file size and 'text only', on 12/07/2011. Ironic date. See also comment by 'Elsa' below, and my reply, on the comparison to Neat 5, 3/16/2012. ================= This review will be long, and edited many times. I'm writing ad hoc, as I test product features. Upshot: this scanner is worth buying, and has many enthusiastic fans. I'm on the 'fan' side. But there are quirks, owing to bad menu and manual design. Still, you'll be happy you bought the machine. I am. Criticism here includes workarounds to get better use of the machine, and to alert Fujitsu on how to improve a product destined to be long-lived and loved. Look at the reviews in Google and here, so you'll understand why. UPFRONT WARNING: as Fujitsu itself says, this scanner is not TWAIN-compatible. Meaning, the scan cannot be manipulated 'as is', in Windows or other environments. It outputs as a graphic file, which means the pdf is not automatically searchable. But you can make it searchable, in whole or part, by careful menu selections just before (or even after) scanning, with their software. So you can convert the scan with or without first having to render it searchable, into other formats besides pdf. More on this conversion feature, follows below. Background on my usage: I desperately needed a portable scanner I can hook up at a client's office, rather than ask for copies. Paper is not the safest way to send confidential material. Electronic copies don't replace paper, they protect the paper from getting lost, and help faster recovery if the paper is damaged, etc. Email or other computer material can be better transmitted, too. It's not just about saving space, anymore. It's about saving one's private material away from prying eyes. Paper easily degrades with use, so you want to use it as seldom as possible. Most of all, electronic copies help you better FIND specific portions in text. Legally, this function alone can save you thousands of dollars in taxes, lawsuits, etc. You get the idea. A good scanner reliably reads text like a copier will; is fast; results in a file you can manipulate, search, etc. Don't skimp on price, with a scanner. Don't use those flimsy strip-scanners and fool yourself that you saved money. That being said, this scanner is a bargain at $400. The consumables will run you about $50 per year, maybe. Buy the consumables kit here in Amazon when you buy the scanner, so you'll have backup. The Fujitsu S1500 installation is clear-cut and easy, plug-and-play (I'm using Windows XP). Install the software first, then power off computer, then attach the scanner, then power back on, wait for Windows to recognize it. You'll get that red circle with the diagonal, until you open the Scansnap cover and feeder tray. Thus do you turn it on. You turn the ScanSnap off by closing its cover. While cover is open, the stupid white light beneath the scanner, blinks. Even when the computer is off. Kinda silly. Update 8/8/12: I finally solved that blinking problem in two ways, neither of which I can explain: 1) changed the USB port into which the unit is plugged. It now goes off when the computer shuts down; so maybe that problem is related to my machine's compatibility with the unit (I do have quirky USB ports, Dell 8400). 2) Close the unit after use, and the blinking continues. Open it again without using it, then close it again, and the stupid blinking stops. That is a problem related to the scanner. Hope that future 'editions' of the Scansnap don't have this problem. This scanner is about the size and shape of a portable inkjet printer, or small breadbox. On your desk, when open it takes up 16" depth, due to the USB and power cables in the back. So angle the scanner when it's open, if you need more space than you have, or turn it sideways. It's 11.5" wide, flush. Think of a child's rolling backpack or suitcase. The scanner would fit inside it comfortably. Too fat for a briefcase, would take up the bottom of an adult backpack, so easily transported on a plane. Feels like an older laptop, weight-wise. Sturdy. Far better than the typical portable scanners. 50-sheet ADF, not a flatbed. Easy to maintain. Once you figure out how to open it, you'll remember. But it's confusing, at first. Manual on opening it, is clear. Keep all the padding. Easy to repack. (I use camping foam, cheap and good at places like Walmart for $10 for 8 feet by 3 feet -- to wrap around my travelling computer and electronic equipment. Works very well, even when the suitcase/briefcase is knocked down, easy to cut to size, open for search in TAA line, etc.) If there is a problem during scanning, a screen appears telling you what the problem is, and the scan pauses rather than quits. This is a great feature, i.e., you fix the jamming problem, and there's a button to 'Continue Scanning'. Jams are easy to clear. Reading the manual is a nightmare. As usual, what you need to know, you can't find, but what you already guessed, they explain. Same with the help. The product claims to do the following important functions: 1. Speedily read documents whether handwritten or not, and convert them into pdf (or other format files) with the option of making the text SEARCHABLE, in whole or in part. 2. The option of usefully manipulating the pages after they have been scanned, using their own Organizer software. (You can't manipulate or read the file UNLESS you make it searchable PDF.) 3. Handwriting recognition. It's not usually searchable, and my test on this will follow later. It scans beautifully though, even pencil. 4. Using a plain highlighter, you can create titles and searchable keywords for documents even if the rest of the document isn't searchable. 5. Optional quality of scan, so you can make very large or very small files of the same material. This matters a lot, since both government and the most popular email servers, typically impose a 10MB limit (and some impose 5MB). 6. With or sometimes without the supplied 'carrier sheet' (a transparent plastic folder), you can mix different sizes and thicknesses of paper in one scan. This isn't quite as simple as they make it sound, but it often works. 7. Option, though scanning in a batch, of creating separate pdf files per page. That's important, since you might be in a hurry and want to reorganize the material later. Sometimes manipulating a batch pdf is harder than just doing each page in a stacking program like PaperPort. ScanSnap's own Organizer program provides limited reordering of the resulting scans, as will be covered below. The scanner can only reach an 8.5" width. So an architectural drawing or anything on 11 x 17 paper, for example, can't be scanned as is. You'd have to shrink it, first. Or -- and this is a neat feature -- you can use the Fujitsu-provided 'carrier sheet' to create a full-scale single page just like the big original -- which is clearly explained in pages 172ff and 284ff of the Scan Manager manual. I will test this, as I have a lot of large paper to scan. Report on the results will follow later on, below. There are more features, but these are most important and valuable for general use. Manual and its help are sometimes written in jargon; and measurements are in mm rather than inches. So you're constantly GUESSING at what the text means. But that problem is typical of all software help today: geeks proud of their command of the jargon, unable to fathom the customer's mind or product-usage needs. So the hard part, is trying to figure out what the product does; and what you do, to make it function as desired. For example, you MUST master the scanning options, first. The software defaults are duplex and double-feed detection, which frankly are two things you won't generally want. Biggest complaint about this machine is that it aborts when multi-feed is detected. Solution? Disable the multi-feed detection option. But until you master the scanning options tabs -- and this will take you all day to learn -- you won't know how to fix the problem. So you must learn the menu, which is unintuitive, to find out what defaults to change. So in your taskbar notification area, RIGHT CLICK the Scansnap icon and select Scan Button Settings. Bad name: it should say 'Scan Setup Options', for that's what it does. So now you MUST, if you don't want to go crazy -- set up scanning 'profiles', meaning templates of scanner setting options. After you set up the template 'profiles', you can select one and just scan easily. The first time you use this, you get the default 'Quick menu'. Its settings are kinda dumb, and very similar in all selections, not as useful compared to the many options available. So, uncheck the 'Use Quick Menu' box, and instead select the 'Customize' button. That will bring up the settings menu, which is tabbed. From here you will change the defaults to create templates of scanning options, called 'profiles'. IMPORTANT: any profile you set up stays set until you change to another one. You can only create a new profile from an existing one, and if you don't want to tear your hair out, make sure you've selected the 'Searchable PDF' profile as the default from which you create new ones. You do this by RIGHT CLICK, then disabling Quick Menu, selecting 'Searchable PDF' (from the farthest right button); click the same button again, but select 'Add Profile'. Then, you're prompted with a new name. This COPIES the 'Searchable PDF' specs, to the new name. Afterwards, you edit the profile, as explained below. You'll be prompted whether you want to override the new profile you named, which of course you do, so click 'Yes'. It's very important to do this up-front configuration. There are a bunch of nice features which obviate the problems you'll see covered in the other reviews here: for example, the complaint that if there's a misfeed, you must do the scan all over again. Not so. You can take the misfed page, scan it afterwards, then insert it where the page belonged, using the Organizer with Scansnap, or with other programs, like built-in Adobe. You can prevent the doublefeed from stopping the scan, by telling Scansnap not to detect it, etc. Once you create/edit the profile, you must exit the program; only then can you hit the blue button on the scanner, to do the scan. That profile remains until you change it. You have about 60 settings to choose from, for each scan. Hence the need for 'profiles'. Set them wrongly, and you have to scan again. So name your profiles clearly. Sadly, the default profiles provided, are destination-named, not helpful at all. So you'll rarely want to use them, but instead create your own. Sadly, while you can create 20 profiles, the left-click menu caps the list to 11; five are built-in defaults you'll rarely use. Workaround: only use the right-click 'Scan Button Settings' to access your profiles. It has all the options. So how do you make/edit a profile? HINT: Before creating any profiles, right-click on the Scansnap icon in your taskbar notification area, select 'Scan Button Settings', then at the far right (with Quick Menu disabled), use the dropdown and select 'Searchable PDF'; then map all the specs per menu tab, onto a piece of paper. Analyze them, and your scanning needs. Then condense your profiles to maybe four or five you like. (The other canned formats won't let you change ALL the available options, which is stupid.) Here's what I find as the Best Default Scan Profile. I scan handwritten class notes, photos, tax returns, legal documents. Wide range of stuff. So the best profile for all these seems to be (categorized per tab TITLE): * APPLICATION as Scan to File, * SAVE to Desktop, and 'Save File Format' (button) as 'untitled' (they will add 001 etc. per page scanned). You can rename the folder after scanning. Suggest that you always select to do so. You will go mad if you leave the default, which is an as-of-date-scanned name. * SCANNING to Auto Quality and Auto Color, Scanning Side as Simplex, with OPTION button defaults (unless it's hard to read the originals), * FILE OPTION as 'select marked text as keyword' and 'all marked sections', plus check the box to make it Searchable PDF (but read about the Organizer, below) -- and OCR Options as 'all pages' (if you want all pages searchable), OPTION button as multiple-page single pdf file, * PAPER as Auto Detect for paper size, Multifeed Detection as None, leave Carrier Sheet Settings and Custom buttons at their defaults. * COMPRESSION -- this controls the resulting size of the file, default is medium size. Quality is medium, too. Set it to the 'small' end if emailing to someone at AOL, IRS, PBGC, Comcast, Verizon, as those services cap attachments to 5MB, and allow very little storage space. (Your average pdf or good jpg file is over 1MB.) The profile above renders the resulting file most usable to other Windows programs. Then, create added profiles which are variants on the above, for: SCANNING as Duplex; Change 'Auto Color Detection' to Best or Excellent when color quality is vital (the default Auto is pretty good on colored paper scans, but may be too strong with pastels); its submenu OPTION (button) checked for 'text only' if you scan pencilled or faded material -- especially old IRS approval letters in faded dot-matrix with soy ink on slimy facsimile paper (laugh here). Also move the brightness slider two notches left of 'dark'. This feature alone is worth the price of the scanner! FILE OPTION to leave unchecked the 'marked text' option if you scan frequently-highlighted notes in multiple colors, for the machine can't well index text highlighted in multiple colors on the same page (but the scan itself, is great with color); OPTION submenu button as 'Generate one pdf file per page(s) -- very handy feature. PAPER: you might want to change the Carrier Sheet Settings to output a large page (you fold in half inside the sheet), to make that halved page output as two pages (instead of the default unified page). Large pages require the Duplex function, to get the whole page scanned in one 'go'. COMPRESSION should be set to smallest possible if you'll send the pdf or jpg in an email, especially to Verizon, ATT, AOL, and the IRS -- the allowed attachment sizes are typically 5MB. (Get gmail, instead, to avoid that low limit.) Give your profiles names that cause you to instantly recognize the feature pattern. It will take maybe all day to configure, going by the time I spent. Worth it. Now, to the ScanSnap Organizer. It allows limited reordering/organization of files like PaperPort, but since ScanSnap's searchable pdf conversion is proprietary, the Organizer is a standalone program to MAKE a previously-scanned file, searchable. It works in the background when the computer is idle, if you want; or, you can immediately convert ad hoc (about 30 seconds per page on a BW tax form). Its organizing functions are basic. You can cut/paste/reorder pages, create new 'stacks' from disparate files, even those which are not pdfs. (The Rack-2 Filer organization program which also comes with the scanner, is silly. I won't review it.) Let's suppose you want to reorder the pages in a scan, or take out pages in a scan and put them in another file. With any common program, as well as the Organizer, you just cut the page and paste it elsewhere. Exception: you can't make the cut page end the file. HINT: so if you want to append pages, add a bogus page as the last page of the original scan. Don't use a blank page. Then you can cut and insert, in front of that bogus page. Or, do your appending in Adobe, PaperPort, or other program, after you've made the scan searchable. BEST feature of the Organizer: its handling of highlighted or box-highlighted text. That is, text you'd highlighted or boxed with a plain highlighter marker on the paper you scanned. Two different functions can then be had via the Organizer: indexing, and cropping. The latter means COPYING. The boxed sections are CROPPED but COPIED to one or more output files. Just those sections. Your actual scan files are NOT cut. The indexing means that highlighted text becomes a keyword(s). You must check afterwards to see if the highlighted text reads properly, and if your highlight doesn't conform to the manual's specifications, you'll get more or less text recognition than you want. But you can edit and even just type in, keywords. It's helpful to highlight if you're scanning multiple-client (or subject) material, and want to sort it into separate files, later. Select FILE OPTION Option button one-page-pdfs for your scan, if you'll do this. The boxing means you can specify only those boxed sections be searchable, and output only those sections to separate or a grouped file. Again follow the manual's specs about highlight marker width and length (which are confusingly described). Typical flat-felt-tip marker seems to work best. Bleeding mars the scan copy, but in my 17-page test, it didn't harm text recognition despite the bled text. Manual specs warn that highlight should be 10mm - 150mm, and as high(?) as 3mm - 20mm. 10 mm = 1 cm, for us Americans: about 3/8" or an adult's fingernail (not beyond fingertip). Highlight has to be straight over the text, even pressure. I did it on about 17 pages of tax extensions, highlighting only the client name, and all the highlighted text was recognized. Trouble is, the surrounding text, within about 3/8", was also recognized, so I got more text recognition than I wanted. When I went to Fujitsu for help, The Fujitsu agent was at a loss to explain why that happened. Organizer cannot mark selected text, nor copy swatches of text to make keywords. You can type keywords and other search terms for the file you scanned, even if you didn't make the pdf searchable. The Organizer cannot render the text of any other pdf searchable, except for Scansnap's. HOWEVER -- and this is a major plus -- if you print your unsearchable pdf and THEN scan it, the Organizer can turn all or most of it into a searchable pdf file. So all those free Google docs you want to read from the 19th century but can only search if reading them IN Google (downloads are not searchable) -- well, print the Table of Contents or Index, and scan it. The Organizer menu will be familar to Word2007 people. I hate it. TOO MUCH WHITE SPACE eats up screen real estate, with no option to have small icons, or only icons. Menu icons can be customized in the top row, thank God; but the 'Home' and 'Edit' menus can't be moved or resized, take up too much screen real estate (same problem in IE8 and Google Chrome). The LARGE AND ANNOYING Organizer menu ribbon, you can thankfully hide. You can change the glare-y blue to matte charcoal gray or black. No option to use Windows theme defaults, sadly. (Eye glare is reduced if you use off-white or darker Windows themes, so long as they are matte, rather than shiny. Unless you only use a computer an hour or two a week, you will have eyestrain, fatigue and headaches, unless you get rid of the Windows default blue and white colors.) There is no File Open command for adding files. You must DRAG the file from your Windows Explorer window into the Organizer Window to add a file. The manual doesn't explain this. I lost two hours on this question, including time with a Fujitsu rep who didn't even understand the question. Why? Any technical product is now illogically designed, just as Windows is a mediocre, customer-unfriendly design with bad memory dump problems, just as Norton Utilities explained back when Win3.1 came out. So I don't fault the Customer Service folks at Fujitsu or anywhere else, for being uninformed or confused. Solution? Management needs to think of the customer's usage, and thus improve web, manual and menu/interface design to 'think like the customer' -- make the INTERFACE and HELP clear; only then will confusion abate and Customer Service calls, decrease. But hey: Fujitsu is trying to do just that. They just need to do more of it. More on features and scanning will follow in later edits of this review. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2011 by brainout
    • Epson WorkForce vs Fujitsu Scansnap - tried both in same week
I've tried them both (Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50 and Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500) and the winner is Fujitsu ScanSnap. In short, the reason is bad Epson software and horrendously, awful, incompetent support from Epson, while Fujitsu gets it right in both categories. Here are the details... I've owned 2 ScanSnap scanners. When one of my older ones started acting up (not detecting paper), and when Fujitsu wanted roughly $200 to "repair" it (which probably consisted of putting in a new $10 plastic paper feed detector that a customer can't do themselves), I thought I'd try another brand. So I started out in my quest with the goal of finding something better than ScanSnap. I WANTED to love something else. I searched, read other reviews, and tried the Epson WorkForce Pro GT-S50. The Epson is definitely more solid, although larger, than the ScanSnap. I was pleased with the large feed capacity on the Epson. It also has an LCD screen, where you can create macros (e.g. B&W scan at 300 dpi). So far so good. I was liking it on my first couple one-page tests. But here's where things went wrong... Maybe I'm the only person in the world who wants to quickly scan, enter the folder and file name of my choice, and save to a PDF. Guess what? You can't do that with the Epson. I was shocked. It seems like that would be the most common task a user would want to perform. You have to scan to a pre-set folder (you can define it), using their default filename (something like img001.pdf or the mmddyyyy-hhmmss.pdf) and then rename it using Windows. I thought I must be missing something and I called tech support. More on that below... With the Epson, I tried something I had done for years with the Fujitsu -- automatic color detection. With ScanSnap, including their new S1500, it CAN automatically detect any color on the page and then scan ONLY that page in color while leaving the other pages in B&W. But, with the Epson, there are 2 methods of scanning. With one method, there is NO automatic color detection. With the other method, it will scan all pages in color mode even if only 1 page has color. This causes unnecessary increase in file size. I also noticed that the quality of scan wasn't as good with the Epson as with the ScanSnap. The Epson sometimes showed black edges around the piece of paper. If you print it out, you see the black edges, which looks dumb. And, the image appears fuzzy with the Epson, but more clear with the ScanSnap. Of course, anyone reading this will think I just didn't play with the settings, and it is possible I missed something. But, I tried all kinds of setting combinations and the Epson just didn't produce as good of a scan result as the Fujitsu, and even if you can improve it in a way I didn't try, the average user shouldn't have to do that; Scansnap was simply better. I also had problems with the Epson pulling pages into the scanner at a slight angle. Now, I don't think either scanner is perfect at pulling in pages. I've replaced rollers and assemblies with ScanSnap to avoid the occasional double feed, and I wouldn't say they are perfect by any means. But, when I was hoping Epson would have a better feeding system, I was disappointed to see that it was pulling at an angle -- something I don't get with ScanSnap. Then, the big problem for me was that the Epson software had a bug and would not scan >1 page into a single PDF file. Yeah, yeah, I know there is a setting about making a single PDF file with multiple pages, and I did have it set correctly. But, it didn't work when using their software utility for scanning. If I scanned 10 pages, only the first one showed in the PDF file. I already had Acrobat Professional installed, and I think that caused some driver problem, although it shouldn't have. The rest of my setup is a brand new Windows 7 clean machine. Other people don't seem to have this issue, but the scanner was worthless to me if I couldn't get Epson's help resolving the bug. So I called tech support, and that is when things went from bad to worse. Tech support at Epson: I dealt with a level 1 tech support rep who asked me 101 unrelated questions, only to leave me on hold and never come back to the phone. I called back. The profile the first rep created was missing so they asked me 101 questions again. This person knew nothing about their product. I am not just being critical. He really didn't know how to perform a scan or anything. I had used the product for 2 hours and I knew far more about it than he did. I got bumped to level 2 support. I asked this next person if there was a way to scan, and type in the filename instead of using their default numeric names. He said no. I said "don't you do that when you scan papers at home?" He said he doesn't use a scanner at home. Hmmmm. The guys who are in charge of this product don't USE scanners so, of course, it shouldn't be a surprise to me that the software is so dumb. As for my "can't scan >1 page" issue, I had to get escalated again. My level 3 tech said I needed to hold on while he installed the softare! I said "you don't already have it installed?" He said he doesn't use this model scanner. Really? The level 3 rep hadn't used the software or hardware before? It was frustrating but comical. Level 3 didn't know how to solve the >1 page problem, so they said level 4 would have to help. How many levels were there? I was told level 4 would have to call me back within 24 hours. Well, no one called. 10 days later, I received an email (with my name typed incorrectly). It stated "Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response. If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days. Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you." What service? They never called. The rest of the email was a generalized summary about how to perform a basic scan. They could care less about my problem of not being able to scan >1 page. So level 4 apparently doesn't know anything more than the basics either, but even worse, they don't care that a customer is still stuck unable to scan multiple pages. On a side note, even the basic email confirmed my belief that you can't type in your own filename when doing a quick scan. The email stated "In the Filename field you can change the Prefix part of the filename only. For example, if you enter Test, the filename will be Test001.pdf." I had no choice but to send back the Epson and buy the ScanSnap S1500. Remember, I was trying NOT to give ScanSnap my money after their high price for a repair. But, I'm glad I did. Their newest software is fantastic. These guys must use their product because the software is very smart. There is a great demo video on YouTube that you should see. (By the way, there is no decent video published by Epson on YouTube.) It certainly lets you name a file anything you want at the time of scanning. These guys even came up with a neat feature that if you highlight a word with a yellow highlighter, it will use OCR and add that word to the metadata saved with the PDF file. If I didn't tell you which scanner hardware was hiding behind each scanner, and I just asked you to rate the software experience with each software package, I'm confident you'd easily say the ScanSnap had the better software. Better yet, it does what you want (naming a file!!!!, only using color for the color pages, etc.) and more. It doesn't have the LCD screen, but the purpose of that (macros) is resolved by a software popup on the Fujitsu ScanSnap anyway. The ScanSnap software asks you what you want to do with the file and even lets you create profiles via software. Now I called Fujitsu because I was stuck with a few things using their software. To my amazement, the first person who answered the phone (without a delay) did NOT ask me 101 questions to create a profile. He just started right in with helping me. He knew the product extremely well, answered my questions immediately, and was a technical person. I was on and off the call with 100% of my questions answered. I even called back another time for a follow-up question and that person was equally good. I should note for people new to scanners that the pages/minute option for any scanner is deceiving unless you use the worst quality settings. If you use better quality settings, or OCR, all scanners take longer per page. But, they are still pretty fast. People, I WANTED to love the Epson but the reality is that the ScanSnap is much better. And, Fujitsu gets the software right, and has people that actually know about the product if you call for help. They deserve your business far more than Epson. ... show more
Reviewed in the United States on July 7, 2012 by Someone Who Cares About Product Quality

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