Reasonably priced scanner

[ruthc]

I have read you folks scan everything which I am intrested in doing. Some are very expensive for the number of returns I do. Has anyone bought one for a few hundred dollars?

[Lion]

Fujitsu

Fujitsu has a lot of models in many price ranges. You could also start small with something you already have, such as an all-in-one that also scans or your printer.

[PIGLEE]

If you are scanning from within your tax program. Check to see if they require "twain compatible". Some programs require it some do not. I found out the hard way.

[Koss]

Xerox

Late last year, we purchased a Xerox Documate 515. So far we have have been satisfied.

We wanted a scanner that is only a scanner, not an all-in-one.

It accepts up to fifty pages in the automatic document feeder, and it does fairly well with nonstandard sizes, i.e., scanning cancelled checks or receipts that are smaller than 8.5" x 11.00".

It also has a flatbed, so you can scan things that can't go through the feeder.

It has its limitations. It does not have wireless connectivity. It must be connected through a USB port. It does have the ability to save the scanned image directly to a network drive. If you have a small office with only a few workstations connected to a server, and you want multiple users to be able to use the scanner, you'll probably have to connect it directly to the server.

We paid $350.00. It now appears that Xerox is selling it directly on their website for $299.00.

One word of warning:

The software that comes bundled with it is garbage. The disk has four different programs on it, and none of them were satisfactory. The drivers work just fine, on PCs running Windows XP and Windows 7. But the software is worthless. One program is a trial that they expect you to pay for to continue using it. The other three programs were not trials, but one wanted us to "upgrade" to get more features and functionality.

None of them worked well. They are not user-friendly, and the interfaces are not intuitive.

Software and hardware are two different worlds. I happen to believe that this is an excellent piece of hardware that performs well in a small office, and it will probably last many years. None of the software was actually written by Xerox. It was all third-party, and all of it was junk.

After playing around with all four programs and reaching the conclusion that none of them would meet our needs, I uninstalled them, leaving only the drivers. Then I hunted for something else, and found an application called Scan to PDF:

http://www.softi.co.uk/

It's a fully functional thirty day trial, and then the application costs $29.99.

It does exactly what the name of the application says it will do: It scans your documents to PDF format, and then allows you name and save the file exactly where you want it. The simple interface allows you to control variables such as color/grayscale/B&W, and the resolution.

The problem with the apps that came with the scanner is that they try to do waaaay to much, with way too many options and variables, and it makes everything way too complicated.

Incredibly, one of the bundled programs did not allow the user to control certain fields that populate into the metadata of the PDF, such as the author. It defaulted to the PC username that was logged in, and I couldn't find a way to change it. That absolutely infuriated me. That kind of metadata can actually raise annoying questions in the audit trail.

Scan to PDF doesn't allow you to control the metadata, but it leaves all those fields blank. Keeps it simple. Nothing but the true filename.

My partner was outraged that we have to pay extra for software, after spending $350 on the hardware. I wasn't surprised. Like I said, hardware and software are two different worlds. It is actually quite rare for one company to do a good job at both. Xerox apparently doesn't even try to produce scanning applications. They publish the drivers, and then throw in whatever applications they can find and license cheaply.

You get what you pay for. The bundled software is basically free, and that's why it's not very good.

The scanner is a good machine. Here's the link:

http://www.xeroxscanners.com/en/us/products/item.asp?PN=dm515

BMK

[Terry]

Fujitsu Scansnap

I bought a Fujitsu Scansnap S1350 for around $200 last year. This year I upgraded to a ScanSnap S1500 and love it. It was around $400+. The S1350 says it accepts only 10 pages, but I know I fed it more and it did fine. Ths S1500 will accept 50 pages and scans faster. The S1500 also comes with Adobe Acrobat. I really like the S1500 and if I had to do it over, I would have just purchased it first.
I hope you find this information helpful. I have a very small practice, and can't afford some of the scanners that some have.

[taxmandan]

We've used a Xerox 515 for 3 years now and it works well for our office. Had a Xerox 510 before that, wore it out after 5 years of flawless service. We do use the PaperPort 11.0 software that came with it, it was annoying to get configured like I wanted, but once done it has been fine. It is twain complaint which is needed for some tax software as mentioned earlier. We scan at 300dpi which is fast enough and still readable as a .pdf file.

You do want both flat bed and an auto feed capability, all-in-one machines don't usually have both.

[joanmcq]

I just got a Scansnap 1500 (Fujitsu) and it is so easy to use, even I could set it up and start scanning & shredding old client files. I also like the 'cabinet' software that came with it. I tried the OCR to convert a pdf to excel, but that didn't work too well. As mentioned before, it's fast, the feeder holds up to 50 pages, and it's so small it fits on top of a 15"x15" cube with room to spare. And really idiot-proof.

[taxea]

I use Brother or HP multi printers that scan, print and fax. The Brother is less than 300. and works great. I have also switched to mono printers that only print black and white. I got tired of paying for color cartridges that I never used everytime the black ran out.
I think my current Brother multi unit is model 7440n and my primary return printer is HP p4015n

[erchess]

World Doc 900

I love my World Doc 900 portable scanner that I bought back when XP was a relatively new OS. The last I checked you can still buy it from the company for the $99 I paid perhaps plus shipping. It can go twain or non twain and I use it only in twain because my tax software wants it that way. My understanding is that all or nearly all devices can use twain. The scanner comes with Scan2PDF software which works very well. When I retired my XP computer and bought one using Seven, I found that the software didn't work with Seven. I darn near made the mistake of buying another scanner but I emailed the company and they sent me for free a link to download a new version of the software.

Penpower is based in Hong Kong but the company employees with whom I have exchanged emails are able to function acceptably in English.

[Kurly]

ScanSnap 1500

I just got a Scansnap 1500 (Fujitsu) and it is so easy to use, even I could set it up and start scanning & shredding old client files. I also like the 'cabinet' software that came with it. I tried the OCR to convert a pdf to excel, but that didn't work too well. As mentioned before, it's fast, the feeder holds up to 50 pages, and it's so small it fits on top of a 15"x15" cube with room to spare. And really idiot-proof.

Is this scanner twain compliant?

[joanmcq]

No. I believe the next model up Fujitsu is.

[AZ-Tax]

The S1500 also comes with Adobe Acrobat....Pro or Standard & which Version?

Ths S1500 will accept 50 pages and scans faster. The S1500 also comes with Adobe Acrobat.

Terry, is it the Adobe Acrobat Pro or Standard? Which version?

[AZ-Tax]

Scanner and/or Software that auto detects letter size from legal size?

I purchased the Fujitsu Fi 6130 about a year ago and it kicks butt compared to my Brothers 7220 MFC. I paid about $850 from Intuit. It came with Adobe Software but I already had Adobe Acrobat Pro 8 so I posted the software on Craigslist and sold it for $75. Brought my net cost down a little. Now I am looking to adding the Fujitsu Fi 6130z but it no longer comes with Adobe Acrobat software. I need to read the manual on the Fi 6130 to see if I can set this printer to auto detect letter from legal. Now I have to scan either letter or legal size by itself, then change the setting within Adobe to scan the other size. Can you place both legal and letter size docs, some docs two side some not, in your scanner hopper and have your scanner software auto detect 1 sided from 2 sided, letter from legal size w/o having to stop and change settings?

[ATSMAN]

Flat Bed Scanner

If you have a traditional flat bed scanner that can handle odd sized paper, keep it. I still have my original Flat Bed and it comes in handy with odd shaped paper documents, journal pages etc.

[oceanlovin'ea]

Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500

I have the same one Joan has. I love it. I think it was around $450. It is a little cheaper if you don't buy the Rack 2 filer with it. But I liked it features, although I haven't got it set up to use the Rack 2 yet.

I love the scanner. There is a plastic sleeve to use if you have little things that need to be scanned. So it works for everything.

The only thing that I have noticed and it is not a negative point but just something you should know. Sometimes when people bring in the 1099's that the banks send out, be sure to tear off the little extra piece of paper that has the address on it. The scanner is sensitive and will detect that 2 pieces of paper went through the scanner and will stop and ask if you want to continue or rescan. So if you just tear that off first it eliminates the message.

Linda, EA