022 4 I rarely if EVER write an evualution of a product since I am quite jaded
about reviews since they are used to try to sell more of the same product to the public .
BUT , I must confess that this scan snap is a PURE JOY to use . I do a lot of bankruptcy work and we are required to do PDF documents as required by
the new bankruptcy law . I have have other scanners but without spending a
ton of money or pledging your first born , I could not afford it so I went
to the court house to scan some required docs . I needed a scanner in a
bad way and I needed a reliable , fast and cheap scanner . I went via
google and found scanner and saw this scan snap and it look just like what I needed . I sent for it ( fast shipping ) and the set up was easy and
the method to scan was 1 - 2 - 3 . . . even a GEICO caveman could do this . . . without the club ! I am not computer literate and hate reading the
technical literature they sent out ( I could write better copy for these
electronic gizmos ) but the scan snap was easy to read and was a breeze to
do . I had a minor problem and had to call their free technical support since my computer did not want to share its USB with snap . I simply plugged it in another usb port and bingo . . . not a problem . Tech support was great . I would without ANY RESERVATION buy another snap and recommend it to someone who is on the go or needs a reliable office scanner for daily use and that is fast and produces sharp clear PDF files . You can call me at 419 - 249 - 2703 for further discussions if you wish . great product . . . good price . It takes up almost no space on your desk .
028 4 I have had the scanner for almost 2 months now . I did some research on lots of different sites . I wanted something to use in my business - I consult with multiple companies and sometimes the scanners they have are great ( professional copier based ones ) and sometimes they are realllly slowwww and baaad - it takes forever to get anything accomplished when scanning documents at a slow rate . I therefore wanted something that could do duplex and simplex , with one pass , and also did color , if needed . This does all of that , and quite quickly . I have copied bank statements , contracts , invoices , some odd shaped documents ( receipts ) , and it works great ! Being able to stack up to 10 sheets ( maybe more if you feed on top of it as it is scanning ) is very time saving . A really neat and useful feature is the blank page removal , so when you are copying 2 pages duplex , but there is only something on 3 of the pages , your file will only have 3 pages , not 4 with one being blank . It works faster when plugged directly into the USB port of my laptop vs into a USB hub plugged into my laptop . I have only plugged directly into wall socket , and yes it is probably the downside of it having the extra USB cable to plug in for power if no wall outlet is available . It is portable , but it is not tiny . I kept looking at the wand type ones , but only able to do 1 page at a time , and I don't believe the speeds were any better . My goal is to clean my office & files up by making lots of scans , but we'll see when I get to that . In the meantime , it is a great productivity tool . Easy setup - follow instructions . Able to put into PDF or jpeg only . Can make the pdf scannable ; I haven't used that , but you can do that later with the file should you desire . No software to edit documents , but you can get them elsewhere as well ( ie IRIS OCR or others ) . I am not sure there is a perfect scanner , but this one really gets the job done . Bottom line is this one works , is fast , is accurate .
035 4 I had three filing cabinets full of old receipts , magazine clippings , tax forms , and office papers - - now I have only one . Most of those documents are now on computer and backed up to an external hard drive . I love not having all that paper to sort and store , mostly just in case I need it . I read that the IRS accepts scanned receipts , so seven years of business papers were done in one weekend , baby .
Scanning is very fast on my Windows XP . There's a one-click setting to change from my standard fast black 2 - sided PDF - - to a good quality color JPG for scanning in photos too . All those old shots of houses and landscapes , and things that aren't good for a frame but not quite good for the trash either , I have a copy of , just like all those mediocre digital shots we're used to now .
The software was easy to learn , and I love the drawer / folder feature , which is really just a directory in My Documents , so I can access , search , or change files in either method . Instead of printing things off the computer now , I just Save as a PDF right into that folder , and the software treats it just like something it's scanned itself .
The gadget itself is so small I don't mind keeping it on the corner of my desk - - and a good thing too - - I use it just about every day now for my home office . My paper shredder has never seen so much action .
If I could afford these for every one of my friends and family , I would . It's amazing to have all that stuff digitized and out of my office . Sending people copies of documents is a snap , sharing old photos I've scanned , and even faxing . . . my fax machine went to the Goodwill ! My office is cleaner and greener with it , possibly my best splurge in 2008 ; from now on a necessity .
034 4 Great scanner . . . . . but useless warranty and Fuji wants $39 or 10 + days just to fix their defects .
After just three months of daily usage scanning between 20 - 40 sheets , we noticed deteriorating scan quality and Fuji TeleSupport determined it was a manufacturers defect . The issue only happened with HIGH RES IMAGES BUT SINCE THE MAJORITY OF OUR USAGE IS Low / Medium Res we could still use it until the refurb / replacement arrived .
BUT THEY COULDN'T WARRANTY EXCHANGE
EVEN IF YOU OFFER THEM A CREDIT CARD FOR SECURITY ! ! ! !
Instead , you have to send yours and pay for original shipping , then wait for at least 10 DAYS OR MORE for THEM TO SEND YOU A REFURB ! ! ! ! !
The alternative is pay them $39 for some hokey warranty extension and they'll ship A REFURB exchange PLUS YOU STILL PAY THE SHIPPING CHARGES .
No one there could consistently describe why they had to collect $39 since the stories always changed , they never called back a Supervisor was never available ! ! ! !
EVEN HP WILL QUICK EXCHANGE A $500 + PRINTER WHEN YOU PROVIDE A CREDIT CARD NUMBER FOR Collateral , but Fuji hates and doesn't trust ANYBODY . ! ! ! !
But the scanner and OCR is great .
005 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This is an outstanding scanner . It really lives up to its name as it makes scanning a snap . The Scansnap's software is very user friendly , making it very simple to adjust things such as file type ( JPEG vs . PDF ) or scanning level . I also like how the Scansnap can scan both sides of a document or photo . The archiving systems also seems like it works quite well . The Fujitsu Scansnap is easy to setup and easy to use . I highly recommend it .
FOR MAC USERS
I made the mistake of assuming that the Fujitsu Scansnap would also work with a Mac . These days most things work easily with Mac , not the Fujitsu . Actually the Scansnap works nicely while I run Windows XP Pro on Parallels . The good news for Mac Users is that Fujitsu now makes a Scansnap for Mac . The bad news is that it's going to cost over $50 more ! Apparently the different color and MacOS-specific software justifies the extra cost .
006 4 This is an outstanding scanner . It really lives up to its name as it makes scanning a snap . The Scansnap's software is very user friendly , making it very simple to adjust things such as file type ( JPEG vs . PDF ) or scanning level . I also like how the Scansnap can scan both sides of a document or photo . The archiving systems also seems like it works quite well . The Fujitsu Scansnap is easy to setup and easy to use . I highly recommend it .
FOR MAC USERS
I made the mistake of assuming that the Fujitsu Scansnap would also work with a Mac . These days most things work easily with Mac , not the Fujitsu . Actually the Scansnap works nicely while I run Windows XP Pro on Parallels . The good news for Mac Users is that Fujitsu now makes a Scansnap for Mac . The bad news is that it's going to cost over $50 more ! Apparently the different color and MacOS-specific software justifies the extra cost .
036 4 Upon the recommendation of REALTORs ® in my e-Pro ® group nationwide , I looked into buying the Fujitsu Scansnap . Based on all the positive recommendations on www.amazon.com I bought it ! I love it .
It is already saving me so much money . I've spent at least $750 in the past 3 - 4 years going to Kinkos to use their slow , flatbed scanner and spending 45 cents / minute on scanning various items as I need .
I am very happy that I finally bought a scanner .
* * * There is ONE piece of advice I would give all Fujitsu Scansnap S300 users , however . * * *
It is not easy to figure out how to scan something into a . jpg file versus a . pdf file . I read the user's manual and even called Fujitsu . No one could help . So , I bought a new computer ( my last one's processor ' konked ' out after 7 good years of use ) and I still couldn't figure out how to get it to scan to a . jpg .
So , I sent an EMAIL to Fujitsu via their web site over the weekend . First thing on Monday morning , I received a simple , accurate response in how to make this work . I'm including it for everyone else's benefit .
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
To scan as jpeg you need to do the following .
Right click on your scansnap icon on the bottom right of your computer
screen and uncheck use quick menu
Right click on your scansnap icon on the bottom right of your computer
screen and choose scan button settings
Select the Application tab and choose Scan to file
Select the Scanning tab and under Color mode choose Color
Select the File option Tab and choose JPEG
Click apply and ok
Try scanning .
Best Regards ,
Technical Assistance Center
Fujitsu Computer Products of America
800 - 626 - 4686 , Opt 2
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Last note about . jpg / . jpeg scanning : I had to hunt to find where the . jpg scanned to on my hard drive , after I scanned it . It was / is not a big issue though . I just went to Windows Explorer and did a search of my C / Hard drive .
* * * It would be nice if . jpeg files would scan to the Scan Snap Organizer file system too . Are you reading this , Fujitsu ? * * *
I know this scanner is not primarly used for . jpg scanning , but it is very nice to have that option . I've already used it .
In conclusion , I think this is a GREAT scanner . I hope I think so a year from now .
Thanks to all of you who took the time to write a review on this product before I bought it .
098 4 I've been using the SnapScan S300 for about a year now and I'm very happy with it . The duplex feature is great and it's been a true workhorse as I've been moving my entire office to the digital world .
Things I like :
- Scans to PDF files .
- Has software for organizing PDF files .
- Fast and quiet .
- Duplex - - that was a requirement .
- Scans multiple-sized pages into a single PDF file .
- Files are stored as PDFs in folders on the file system . I LOVE THIS ! I'm not locked in to some proprietary system of storing my files .
Things I wish it could do :
- Scan to JPEG , TIFF and PNG files in addition to PDF .
- Let me add meta-data to the PDF while scanning , like a description of what the file is , author , notes , tags , etc . Right now all I get is a plain PDF file .
- Let me search for files based on meta-data , so it's easier to find what I'm looking for . For example , show me all files that are tagged utility bill . Currently I must hunt through a bunch of folders , hoping I organized things well .
- Let me tag PDFs with multiple tags , then be able to filter / view / sort files based on tags .
- It would be great if the software could encrypt the PDF and upload it to Amazon S3 or FTP the files to set location . Much better for disaster recovery , etc .
But all-in-all , a great product for the price and I'm VERY glad I purchased it .
135 4 This was bought a month a go . . I have scanned all my school notes / house designs , all papers from last 20 years ! ! Great device . Scanning a few 1000 pages a day . . this device is solid . compact but dense , easy to take with you . I have used this almost everyday since I bought it .
I bought a sony 505 ebook . . and can read what I scanned on this nifty book ! ! EPAPER the future
184 4 The original scanner shipped with a one of the duplex sides all messed up , so I e-mailed Amazon , got an RMA and a new device , dropped the broken one into the box the new one came in , printed out the shipping label and send it back , and the new one was everything I could hope for .
In my opinion , this is an amazing product for people on the road who get hard copies of documents and documentation and want to digitize them , and it's a wonderful full duplex scanner for anyone who wants to digitize old medical records , etc .
053 4 I have been using another scanner for years to download files during client meetings . It would not work with my new 64 bit machine . I was forced to buy the ScanSnap . It is faster , easier , and even fun to use . I have had no problems and scan documents , color and B & W photos , duplex documents and documents of various sizes , all at the same time . I now look forward to scanning in piles of documents . Just open it up and it turns on . Load the docuemts in the feeder and hit scan . All the documents shoot through in about 2 seconds a document , for both sides , in color , right side up , and create a PDF or JPG file . This is the greatest thing since sliced bread .
130 4 Its not often that you find a product like this that works the way it is supposed to , without fuss . Its compact , feeds documents flawlessly , has easy to use software . The duplex scanning is a charm , it just scans the backside only if there is something there to scan and provides you with a multi-page PDF , with all the pages you wanted in proper order . Its a keeper . Smaller is better .
061 4 I am very technology challenged so this scanner was recommended to me for clearing out a lot of paper I have in my small home office . I loved the ease of setting it up and getting started . I did have a problem with it and had to keep shutting the programs down and starting it all up again . I contacted Amazon.com and , as always , they made it good . I received a new one in 2 days and sent the 1st one back . Have had no problems with the new one at all . I like that you can do double sided with one pass . I also like how small it is . I have a mess in my office and there is still room to keep this handy . For my needs this scanner is wonderful !
157 4 Awesome product . Liked it so much , I bought a second one so I have one at home and office .
170 4 I have owned a number of scanners in my lifetime and this scanner is by leaps and bounds the best one I ever used . This was surely a great investment .
173 4 This is a great little piece of Technology . Fast beyond my expectations , convenient with the power coming from a plug in or the computer . Quality is excellent I couldn't be more satisfied . Well worth the money .
064 4 Very Nice little unit . Flawlessly scans a two sided document quietly and quickly . The unit sits in front of my second monitor screen right on my desk . When i need to scan a document or reciept , I open the lid , and press the button , thats it ! Scan snap organizer is a nice pdf file drawer program that comes with it . I bought this unit beacause of the reviews that it scans flawless , and the purchase was not a mistake . Have not used the scanner on my HP all in one since the day the fujitsu arrived . Once in a great while the scanner will tell me it could not detect paper size , but i figured out that if you are scanning multiple reciepts at the same time , feed the largest doc in first and then the smaller ones and the problem is solved . I use QB 2010 doc managment system , so every day to day reciept , doc , bill etc is turned into pdf and uploaded to QB through the local files tab within seconds . It is very easy to use , the quality is immaculate . Would buy it again !
038 4 I found this easy to install , incredibly portable , with a similar high quality scan as with my previous Fujitsu duplex scanner . Software installation was seamless .
129 4 Very impressed , easy to set up , flexible enough and exceptionally fast . I use the business card ocr function and that's easy too .
139 4 The scanner was easy to set up , easy to scan with and scanned a large number of pages without any problems . I am very pleased with it .
160 4 I purchased one of these scanners 6 months ago and was so pleased with the cost and performance that I have since purchased an additional 3 scanners for use in the office . The Fujitsu Scansnap S300 is without doubt the best small scanner available . The number of pages per minute is exceptional but especially so for a portable device . The portability allows the scanners to be easily shared among the staff . The provided software is easy to install and operate . No defects or problems have been encountered with any of the scanners or software .
117 4 I was looking for a portable scanner to use for property management . This scanner works great when I'm out in the field with clients . Just connect power and communications USB cables to my laptop running on batteries , and I'm able to save off any documents I need without being concerned with power for the scanner . Takes a few seconds before the power indicator shows it's ready , but the actual scanning is still fast . The Card Minder software to scan business cards works great also . The export to Outlook worked seamlessly . Found myself digitizing all my important personal papers at home as well . So easy to use , my kids use it for their school assignments . They make copies of worksheets and study guides to work with on the computer instead of fumbling with the paper copies . Also great for all of us to share documents by either e-mailing or faxing to clients , business partners , contractors , and class mates . Awesome scanner , highly recommend whether you need a portable scanner or not . Takes very little desk space and does a great job . Great tool for low cost .
008 4 This is not a heavy duty scanner . It is not the scanner to buy if you do a lot of 200 page documents . And it's not the scanner to buy if you scan 500 pages a day . But it is the scanner for most of us who scan 10 or 20 or even 40 pages a day who don't need a flatbed . It's simple . It's been great ( but not perfect ) at feeding one page at a time . The results are excellent . It's quiet . It gets both sides of the page at the same time ( if there's anything on the backside , and eliminating the backside if it's blank ) . It's portable and runs off the USB alone ( albeit at a slower rate ) on the go . It's small enough to take with you in the laptop bag to bring to work or bring to home or out to a site . I have great difficulty imagining how this small , simple device could be better without sacrificing the things that make it great ( small , simple , portable , runs off USB alone if necessary ) . I HIGHLY recommend this if it seems like it fits your needs . It really is a performer , and I'm VERY happy with it . One thing Fujitsu could work on : it would be nice if it did not require proprietary software and could be driven by programs such as Adobe Acrobat alone . But the proprietary software is actually pretty good . Everything should work as well as this product has for me .
026 4 Highly recommend this VERY portable scanner . I would have given it 5 stars if it were not for the software conversion errors I received when trying to make multiple PDFs searchable via the software's batch process . One at a time works fine though . A TWAIN driver would be a welcomed upgrade .
072 4 The little device has worked extremely well . I have the larger and heavier 500 , and it works well too . The little one is very portable , and mine came with a USB power cord to use in conjunction with the USB data cord so I do not even have to use the power inverter it came with - - very cool touch . The little one seems to even jam less than the bigger one , and the software is pretty intuitive . I am very impressed , and would recommend these devices to anyone ! Happy scanning !
125 4 I have purchased and used other portable scanners in the past , such as the Pentax DSmobile 600 , the Fujitsu S300 is far more capable and reliable . Let me say that the software also works with Vista Ultimate 64 bit without a hitch . In fact I have scanned more documents in a couple of hours with the S300 than I have in days with the Pentax DSmobile 600 which does not support Vista 64 bit .
131 4 I agree with all the good reviews , my only con is that most of my receipts are long retail or supermarket receipts over 14 inches long , which is the maximum for this scanner . The NeatReceipts can scan up to 30 inches in length . It's too late to return it , I still love it , but I either have to fold the receipts in half which then prints as 2 receipts , or cut them to 14 inches max
039 4 I am very happy with this scanner . I like the small size , the speed of scanning and the quality of the scans . A + product .
054 4 I was very impressed with the Fujitsu scanner at work which is why I looked for one at home . This newer scanner is even better and was less than 1 / 2 the price . It is fast , the scanned documents are clear and concise and it is extremly quick . I wouldn't hesitate to recommend it to anyone wanting to run a paperless office / home .
059 4 I anxiously awaited the release of this small , portable scanner based on it's larger predecessor . It's size makes it easy to put in my rolling cart and take on trips . I love being able to create pdf documents , two sided , and have folders created . . . all seamlessly . Great product , worth every penny .
069 4 This is the first scanner I bought that actualy works the way it is supposed to.It connects to the laptop for power so it makes the entire system very portable.Nice clear scans with no distortion and works very quickly as well.Great all around scanner . Would highly recommend it to others .
082 4 I really like how this scanner scans both sides of the paper and scans in color , and I love how it doesn't take up that much space on my desk . It has more than met all my expectations .
124 4 This is a very good scanner for home or home office . It does a very good job of scanning all sizes of paper . I would have rated it 5 stars if it were twain compatible .
133 4 Th ScanSnap 300 is aimed at the business crowd , and for that group of folks , this is a terrific little scanner . It is amazingly fast at double-sided scans , which is a huge time-saver . It scans directly to PDF , which is quite helpful , especially for those who don't have Acrobat or other similar software that allows them to do this . Of course , much of the beauty of this is its size - - small & light enough to throw into your computer bag along with your computer . This provides me the freedom to tackle some scanning jobs at venues outside of my office , or when I am on the road - a nice feature . I've been impressed with the quality of the scans , including color graphics , though admittedly I've not tried scanning photos . This is not designed to be a photo scanner . If that's your need , look for larger , cheaper , better flatbed photo scanners . My only gripe with this is that there is more plastic than I expected , and some parts seem a bit flimsy . That said , it has traveled to / from the office with me for a month , plus an overseas trip , and has stood up well for 6 weeks . Not cheap , but a worthwhile investment for those who need a fast , reliable , portable business scanner .
030 4 Instead of returning from a business trip with a sore shoulder from luging paper I now return with all the information on PDF . Thanks to my Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 . The scanner is easy to carry with my laptop and storing the PDF's on a traveldrive make transfer to my main computer very easy .
071 4 The Fujitsu scanner is a fabulous tool , especially now that our company is Going GREEN with respect to submitting files to Head Office . No more need to send invoices and files via Snail Mail.Also making my job easier as this unit is totally portable and can scan documents right in the clients ' homes . Great and will recommend this to other colleagues ! ! !
075 4 This is a fantastic product . The setup was easy and it has a tiny footprint . The default is to scan standard documents to a pdf . The ScanSnap runs through the packet of docs surprisingly fast . The setup for scanning to jpg was a little trouble but once it is done , you can save the settings for later retrieval . The resulting jpg is a very high quality electronic image . This is one of the best technology purchases I have made in years .
106 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I love it . Very fast . Easy to hook up . Small enough to pack it around with a laptop . Did a descent job of copying a photograph.SOOOO much better than my flatbed scanner .
GRC
107 4 I love it . Very fast . Easy to hook up . Small enough to pack it around with a laptop . Did a descent job of copying a photograph.SOOOO much better than my flatbed scanner .
GRC
109 4 I did extensive research prior to deciding on the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 as I was looking for something that would scan a mess of business cards I had into Outlook , but I wanted to be able to use it for things other than just business cards as well . After reading many reviews on this scanner I decided to give it a try . It didn't let me down at all ! It plowed through about 500 business cards quickly and the software is easy to use and it flows into Outlook flawlessly . It is so small that I leave it sitting on my desk now and I only have to use the large office scanner for large projects as this little bugger does the smaller jobs nice and quick . Well worth the money if you are on the go or just want something small and compact for smaller jobs .
128 4 We love the scansnap s300 . It is compact , fast , and it does a great job . Definitely recommend it to anyone trying to convert their file cabinet to digital and go paperless . Flat bed scanners are a pain and most form feed scanners are huge . This thing fits in my laptop bag . Look at the picture , the silver part on top is about 9 inches wide ! The foot print is little bigger than half a sheet of paper folded the long way . Thanks to Tim F . for recommending it .
137 4 LIke so many others , I was looking for an inexpensive scanner . I was debating with myself for months on a Canon and then recently stumbled across the Fujitsu . Since I wanted it mainly to get a zillion documents hanging around into the computer , after reading the reviews , I decided to spend the $260 . I'm running Vista 32 . Installation was a snap . Scanning takes seconds . The Organizer is terrific . I am so glad I spent the extra money . I'll use it mainly hooked up to power , but I can see that if you're travelling , it would be a snap to take along . This thing is fabulous !
176 4 This scanner is so good I actually had tears in my eyes after using it ! Took me 2 min to setup and it gave excellent PDF's with the click of a button .
If only all scanners were that good . A MUST MUST MUST buy if you're looking for an easy , fool proof , quick scanner that is tiny .
143 4 You can create searchable PDFs , but you can't search them unless you have the full version of Adobe Acrobat . This will cost you another couple of hundred bucks ( just having Adobe Acrobat Reader won't do ) . Alternatively you will need to install Google or Windows Desktop Search to find documents that match your criteria . I found the marketing misleading in this point , and what you get is a greyed out Search button in the document organizer app , and a smallprint in the Help that says Search function requires Adobe Acrobat v 7.0 or greater .
074 4 I bought this scanner to scan bills , receipts , etc . It works great ! It is fast and compact . However I was very surprised to learn after I bought it that it does not have TWAIN drivers which means you have to use the software that comes with the device . This is not a problem for me but may be a problem for some who need the scanner to work within an application . Otherwise I am very satisfied with the scanner and its performance to date .
119 4 The product works well , but I am getting a straight line on a few lines on the right side of the scanner . This causes a few letters to not be copied on the finished scan . Maybe the paper is not perfect when being entered into scanner .
121 4 Great little desk accessory , compact , quick , easy software . Dissapointed that it'll only scan to pdf files , sometimes I want to scan and save to color jpg ( real estate survey ) and this software doesn't provide for that . But all in all a great time saver for me to scan and email contracts to clients .
134 4 It's fast . Accurate . Small form . The only complaint I have about it is that when you put papers in it , it doesn't feel like they're in there securely . It's not like they fit in a slot ( like a printer might ) . Other than that though , great product . Would definitely buy again .
159 4 The scanner works really well , but , as expected , it's pretty heavy . I am glad I got it , though I bought it for work ( and I travel a good bit ) . I wish it was a bit lighter , but the performance is so great , you don't have to babysit it as the pages go through , and I think if you really want one of these , plan on trading performance with weight of product in your decision-making .
148 4 I agree with the other reviewers . This is a great little scanner . I was looking for a device that would allow me to rapidly scan and organize my receipts for my expense reports . It's really fast . I probably make 3 - 400 scans per month . This guy works just fine ; create a folder and scan away . It's that easy . If a paper gets stuck , just pop open the cover and release . It also scans both sides of the document . Incredible . I don't travel with the scanner , but I do like the compact size and the fact that the device is powered by the usb ports . I can take the scanner and my laptop outside and do my expense reports on the back porch , even with a beer if I so choose .
083 4 This scanner is very small , easy to set up and does a great job of scanning both sides of a page . It took less than 5 min to set the whole thing up and it is easy to transport with you on trips . It is also convenient that it can use the computer power when your off the grid somewhere .
113 4 I have not scanned many documents with the scanner thus far but it's worked well for those I have . I think I like the fact that it scans from the bottom of the stack rather than from the top . This may help avoid misfeeds . It is simple to set up and simple to use . The fact that it has a document feeder which allows one to load a small stack of paper and scan them all in sequence rather than scanning one page at a time is a major plus to me . I also have a mini portable printer so when I take them both with me I can photocopy and print documents anywhere I go . I would like it if Amazon would follow up with another review in 90 days .
115 4 Bought this scanner after reading all of the good reviews . Couldn't be happier with my purchase . Amazon had the best deal , no shipping , no tax and it was about $40 cheaper than anywhere else I looked ( in store and online ) . I'm a real estate agent and use this a couple of dozen times a day . It's efficient and very easy to use . It does jamb occasionally if I try to feed more than 10pages or so . Easy fix , you just lift up the cover and take the paper out . Very small , portable . Highly recommend this product . This has made my life so much easier !
138 4 I absolutely love it . It is very easy to use . The software is easy . It takes up very little space and has really helped me in my work .
140 4 Very fast and easy to use . Amazon did not give me the option to buy the document organizing software . If you are serious user , buy Rack2 - filer .
155 4 It is a good small scanner for portability purpose . Regarding the scan quality , it is up to decent standard . Higher class scanners obviously produce more significant difference . A worth to buy item overall .
164 4 I purchased this to scan in my receipts and documents so I could get rid of some of the paper piled up around my house . It was easy to set and use . It has enabled me to get rid of boxes of old receipts while giving me the peace of mind that I still have their images if I need them . It will scan photos as well but a specialized photo scanner produces higher quality scans of photos .
167 4 The scanner is easy to set up and use . It does exactly what it is designed to do . I love the dual page scanning . Small and compact .
150 4 We've been using these portable scanners at work for a couple years . They are very compact , scan quickly , and help us perform our jobs much more efficiently . The only draw backs . . . I've not figured out how to scan pictures in jpeg format and they should sell the scanner with a carrying case .
175 4 It has been a long time since I have seen a blue screen of death in Windows . Using the RTM version of Windows 7 , I excitedly installed the software and connected my scansnap 300 to my machine . I wasn't too concerned with the 1999 look of the software but became a little more concerned when I got a BSOD the instant I tried to scan my first document . Nice , so much for the out of box experience . Anyways , like 99% of the competent companies out there , I just assumed I needed to hit fujitsu's site and download the latest drivers . Nope , looks like the s300 hasn't had an update since Vista released . I already had the latest drivers .
But wait , perhaps it was just an issue with the state my machine was in at the time ? So I tried scanning another document and lo and behold , it worked ! Using the retro looking software to save the file , a sense of optimism was returning . Maybe the device could be salvaged afterall . I then tried scanning another document and bang , BSOD . What a joke .
Needless to say , I am very disappointed with my first fujitsu product ( and obviously my last ) . Probably more disappointing is how well this thing was reviewed all across the web ! Everywhere I looked reviews were extremely positive and even tech sources I highly respected positively commented on it . I guess they are all still using vista or XP . . . .
By the look of the software , the number of software updates they made and the fact that Windows 7 has been in the public domain for almost 10 months now , it is obvious fujitsu has no interest in the product .
Utlimately , it is a shame on me for not researching the product in much higher detail .
I will be returning it to amazon .
004 4 I had been looking into replacing my flatbed scanner , but was intrigued by this small , mainly PDF unit . I decided to go for it for 2 reasons : 1 ) 99% of what I scan are documents perfect for PDFs , and 2 ) the scanner's small size . I am so happy with this scanner ! The PDFs are crisp and clear , much better than my flatbed scanner . The scanner reads both sides of a page at once and automatically removes blank pages . It's also quite a bit faster and much quieter than my other scanner ( which I'm keeping for handling photos and other types of scans ) . The software that comes with the scanner is nice - not hard to use / learn .
I'm using a PC running Windows XP , not a laptop . Don't feel that you need to be mobile to justify using this scanner , although I'm sure that would be a main selling point for those who are on the go .
018 4 I have been searching for years for a scanner like this .
I'm using the scanner with Vista SP1 . The software is a bit klunky but it doesn't get in the way , and it only installs 2 things , the driver and the manager ( which you don't need ) .
I have the software set to do OCR on every scan and it works flawlessley .
In the past few days I have scanned hundreds of pieces of paper almost eliminating my files .
I can't recommend this enough .
025 4 I have had this now for about 3 weeks and paper is fast disappearing from my office . I can put about 15 - 20 sheets of paper in the scanner ( of mixed sizes no less ) , hit a button and about 3 seconds later a page is in my computer as a pdf file-if it is two sided both sides are there . It is very slick and very accurate . The accompanying software will turn it into a searchable pdf .
I got this for two reasons . First to get rid of paper and second to get things onto my Kindle . I work at a university and most documents I get are still paper . I teach theatre and scripts are paper . To avoid carrying file cabinets of documents and scripts with me , this allows me to get anything onto my kindle . Its big brothers come with special edition Abbyy Finereader ( this one does not ) that will ocr the file . I got Abbyy finereader pro to go with it and now everything I scan is editable and transfers to my Kindle . It is not flawless . There is some editing to go with a scanned file that goes through the ocr process but a 90 page script took a half an hour to edit . I am pleased .
This is portable . It will run off usb power but is about 30% slower than when running off of ac . But it works that way . I use it at school , at home , and on the road .
I use it on PC's with xp and win 7 .
162 4 I use the S300 at work on a Windows XP PC and it works amazingly well . It was a breeze to set up and the software is easy to use . It scans pretty fast ( around 8 - 10 seconds per page ) both sides of the document and will ignore blank pages . You can only stack about 10 pages on the S300 , but I have only had one paper jam in the month or so that I've used it . I've scanned business cards and it does a decent job , but I could not get it to import the changes directly to Outlook , even though the software has an option for that . I ended up creating an excel file and importing , not a big deal but a little annoying . And the OCR software for business cards is not as good as the dedicated card software I've used with card scanner . But it's still a lot faster than having to type in dozens of business cards .
This is a great scanner for its size and if you're doing a lot of scanning with just a few pages , this guy will get the job done .
183 4 I was expecting a great all-around portable scanner from the reviews but was somewhat disappointed . Scanner is bulky for a portable scanner . Two cables needed to power and connect to computer is a nuisance . Scan quality for text is not great .
Pluses : Color scans are far better than text . Speed is good especially when plugged into AC power source .
I figure that if you already have a bulky scanner that needs two lines ( power and connection to PC ) w mediocre scan quality for text , maybe a non portable scanner will be a better value .
I have used the docketport 465 before it malfunctioned and got the scansnap instead . I'm sending the scansnap back for a new docketport instead .
check stubs , letter size , and those weird oversize insurance declaration pages .
Default operation is to scan to pdf files , but it also scans photos to . jpg format . I have little experience scanning photos , so I don't know whether these scans are high quality . They're good enough for e-mailing , or adding to the web , but I can't tell if they are publication or archive quality .
I didn't time the scanner , but a handful of pages takes only a few seconds . The manual claims that the scanner is slower when using USB power , but I didn't notice much difference using the default image quality settings .
Allows previewing of scans before saving , allows rename of files before saving and allows files to be saved in a specified folder . There are a number of options regarding image quality , compression , file locations , color detection and a host of others . Other than changing the target folder , the preset defaults are fine for me .
I successfully used it for a stack of about 15 sheets of paper - the automatic document feeder ( ADF ) managed the lot easily .
Small and easy to carry around , can be powered from USB or AC ( both power cords are included ) . Folds up into a compact unit about 12 by 4 by 4 inches with all the working parts well protected , weighs just over 2.5 pounds ( without the power brick , which is not needed if you use the USB power cord when traveling ) .
The only downside I can see is that the ADF is collapsible and is made of three pieces of somewhat flimsy plastic - - handle with care to avoid damage .
The included document manager seems to be nothing more than a fancy explorer . I don't need yet more redundant software . I have not tried the optical character recognition ( OCR ) or the business card reader ( that is supposed to read a standard business card and convert to a Microsoft Outlook contact .
Other Comments :
1 . If you want to use the USB power cable , you need TWO open USB ports on your computer
2 . If you have a stack of paper that have been folded or stapled ( remove the staples first ! ! ! ) the ADF will sometimes grab two sheets at once . Slightly ' fanning ' the stack before loading the ADF helps
3 . The scanner software needs a couple of additional features : ( 1 ) ability to delete a page before saving the scan ; and ( 2 ) ability to rotate a page or more before the pdf is saved ( the auto-rotate is very good , but not perfect )
4 . The documentation states that the software is compatible with Windows XP or Vista . I installed on my Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium computer with no problems .
I'll report back in a few months when I've had more experience . . . .
010 4 After approximately 2,000 scans , I think I have a good handle on the pro's and con's :
Pro's : small footprint , easy setup , intuitive controls , duplex ( scans both sides ) , saves scans as PDF files , straightens out scans that feed crooked , OCR permits searching of your scans .
Con's : document has to be carefully fed or won't scan , the software freezes frequently ( the remedy is to unplug the scanner for a few seconds and then reconnect ) , the searchable PDF requires purchasing Adobe Acrobat ( which is expensive - - make sure you factor this large expense into your calculations ) , the software has difficulty identifying and deleting blank pages .
013 4 This is the only product I've ever purchased that worked exactly as advertised . Within 2 minutes I went from unboxing to scanning ( not including reboot time ) .
I did extensive research before purchase , and it looked like there would be no option of buying a reliable ADF scanner for less than $400 - 500 , and my intention was to get the Fujitsu S510 , but saw this and thought it would be just as good ( granted , slower speed and less sheets , but it's portable ) .
HP scanners just have the marketing , they are garbage based on what I've owned before and what I've seen in all the reviews . If you want a reasonably priced ADF , you won't get it for $99 , spend the $250 and get this one . . . remember , you get what you pay for .
In three days I scanned almost 3000 documents , I may have gotten a paper jam every 200 - 300 docs which is very easy and fast to fix .
I have zero * major * complaints about this product , I do wish it had TWAIN drivers so I could use it with Photoshop easier , but my primary use for this is document archiving so it's no big deal .
014 4 I am a real estate agent , and I wanted to be able to scan docuuments while out in the field . I already own the S510 by Fujitsu , and I am very happy with it . I plugged in the Scansnap S300 portable scanner into both my USB ports ( one is for power , the other for data ) , and voila ! it really does work ! The must-have feature for me was the sheet feeder .
The scansnap software that came with the S300 has a higher revision number than what came with the S510 . I installed the S300 ' s version of the software , and it works flawlessly with both scanners . The tray icon is solid blue with the S510 , and solid white with the S300 , so the software definitely knows which scanner it's talking to .
Overall , it works perfectly and does the job . This is a premium tool for my business and I didn't want to save money & get an inferior product . I know this will work when I need it to .
015 4 Just like the previous reviewer , this thing worked right out of the box . I installed the software ( got the update from Fujitsu ) and started scanning . I don't own anything manufactured by Fujitsu and didn't even know they had a scanner option like this . I was actually looking at the Pentax scanner , but glad I stumbled onto this one .
I almost purchased the desktop version , however this portable device suits my needs better as I do medical consulting and often need a way to copy patient documents while away from the office . Right out of the box I tried more than the recommended number of sheets to scan at once . It scanned 27 double-sided documents in 4.5 minutes on USB power ( apparently AC power allows for quicker scanning ) and no hiccups / jams .
For what I need it for I am not too concerned about the TWAIN drivers for other programs and I have a PDF editor that I can edit anything if I need to . If you use Microsoft Office Live it also has the Sharepoint option as well . The business card scan feature is also nice if you like putting all of your contacts in vCard format . Who wants all those biz cards floating around their office ?
If you are looking at this scanner and hesitate because of the price , remember it is an investment and time is money . This will save you a lot of time and clear out your filing cabinets if you want to go paperless .
016 4 I bought this mainly for scanning newspaper clippings and magazine articles that I want to keep without having to keep the hard copies . It works really well for both types of paper . The only time I've had a problem is when the newspaper article I cut out is oddly shaped . The scanner will only scan a square or rectangular shape and cut the rest off . I haven't tried attaching the article to another sheet of paper , maybe that will work . The organizer software is easy to use - I figured it out without having the read any instructions . It is very easy to delete pages from the PDF files ( if you have ads on some pages for a magazine article , for instance ) and it's also easy to copy and paste pages between files .
This Scansnap doesn't come with the full version of Adobe , but if you don't have a need to edit the files you are scanning then you don't need it and you can save some money over the more expensive Scansnap .
019 4 Scanner works great !
It does everything advertised without any fuss .
I wanted a small scanner to scan in a lot of old magazine articles I have saved over the years ( and continue to collect ) . These are usually 2 to 8 physical pages , double sided . I have scanned 10 so far and the process works great .
I was surprised by how fast the scanner is - seems like only 2 to 3 seconds per page . It zips along . So far I have scanned in up to 7 physical pages - worked fine . With the simulataneous double scan feature I go from paper to PDF file in less thatn one minute . A big difference from my one page at a time flatbed which is not practical for what I wanted to do .
I have only had one paper feed problem ( what do you expect from torn out magazine pages ) - but even that was a snap to correct and picked up scanning where I left off .
As noted , it scans directly to create a PDF file - the files are searchable if you select that option during setup - a definte requirement for me . With Vista's built in search feature , I can now find these articles and actually use them . ( btw - yes , this works on my Vista machine ) .
The only down side is the size of the PDF files . They are not the normal small baby size you have come to expect from PDF documents . I suppose that's because these are really scanned images . Average sise is about 2 to 3 MB . Not so bad sinec storage is so cheap , but will add up over time .
The only other very small thing ( which I have gotten used to already ) is that the scanner has you isnert the pages into the feeder upside down and backward . There is a label on the scanner to remind you though . Not really an issue .
Scan quality is very good for what I want - I have set it on the second lowest quality and all scans are very readable , the pictures are good .
Overall , I am very happy and will continue to use this product . Although more than I wanted to spend , I would recommend this highly .
037 4 The Fujitsu Scansnap S300 is literally the THIRD scanner that I had purchased for my home-based business in 2008 , and I am very happy that I do not have to purchase a fourth one !
Finally , a small scanner that is more powerful than ones that I've paid $150.00 more for and didn't even work well for me ( such as the Visioneer and Ambir brands ) .
This Fujitsu accomplishes what I need to do in a very efficient manner without bogging down my 7 - year-old Gateway computer with gigabytes of software I don't need ( which is the major problem for me with Visioneer scanners ) .
After just 30 minutes of setting up my Fujitsu the way I wanted it ( with a little help from customer support ) , I was off to the races and scanning dozens of documents for my business .
I'll admit that it doesn't do a great job with grocery receipts , but if I cut them up into smaller sizes , they usually scan just fine .
I've had very few jams ( the cleaner and less crinkled the document , obviously , the better the scanner will function ) .
Copying double-sided documents is a cinch . I just click on that feature via the software for my double-sided documents and they are copied front-and-back with just ONE PASS through the scanner ; pretty amazing !
I'm very happy with my scanner , even several months after purchase and highly recommend it to any small home-based business or for personal use where 8.5 x 11 documents will be the primary type of item scanned .
041 4 The Scansnap scanner is very handy , small and does the job . It is easy to use but :
- The paper stack holder is badly designed making it easy for sheets to get crushed or go misguided .
- It could be designed to hold more than 10 sheets . I would say 25 - 30 ( or more ) would be perfect .
- It is not as quick as it should be
Overall I am happy with it and would buy it again , but Fujitsu could easily resolve those 3 issues and offer the market a great scanner .
047 4 I love this scanner ! It is small enough ( 11 x3.5 x3.5 high ) to live on the desk beside the computer in my very small office . It unfolds to support a regular sheet of paper ; turns on instantly when unfolded ; and can scan anything from a piece of typing paper to the smallest , thinnest credit card receipt . It simultaneously scans both sides , and automatically attaches pages as you feed them one after the other . This little gem makes scanning a joy , rather than a chore .
I only found two downsides : 1 ) I didn't see anything in the advertising that indicated it would only work with Windows , and not Mac . For me that worked out well , but if you ONLY have a Mac , be careful which version you buy . My understanding is that the 300M is for use with a Mac . 2 ) The piece you are scanning must be able to bend a bit to feed through the scanner . This will not scan stiff or thick material . For that you need a flat screen .
I received this scanner as advertised - - in like-new condition , all components still wrapped and in the original box .
056 4 I am the first to admit that I am horrible when it comes to paper management and physical item organization . Electronic organization is anothor thing .
This beautiful piece of technology is slowly but surely liberating me from the paralyzing piles of paper stacked here and there .
This scanner is unbelievably quick . Think of it like sending a document through a fax machine memory . But it scans both sides . Got a two page document ? Put the blank sides facing each other and voila ! It's scanned !
If something goes in crooked as it is scanning , no worries . The unit self corrects the scanned image to one that is perfectly straight .
Our health care statements come in double sided : one side is portrait & one is landscape . Lo and behold it knows which orientation each page is and saves it that way in the pdf file .
The filing software that comes with it is easy to use .
If I had one design I would like to change on it is the side height on the paper tray feeder but who cares as it straightens out anything that goes in crooked !
I demonstrated this to a couple of co-workers and they have already ordered ones for themselves ! As I showed them the features I kept hearing , No way . No way . : - )
Way to go Fujitsu ! Brilliant , brilliant little machine !
058 4 I bought one of these and tried it out . Worked so incredibly well I bought one for my other office ( to have one on each desk ) . Worked so well three of my employees / colleagues wanted one . Got them all one . I am a long time believer scanning to save important notes on my computer rather than paper . This simply is the best scanner I've ever used . Easy to use , easy to understand , and the software that comes with it is the best scanning software I have ever seen or used ( esp for the purpose of scanning notes and keeping them organized in a filing system ) . I've been using Scansoft for scanning needs . For scanning notes you intend to file and keep on your computer , this is so much better . In fact , it's so much better for rapidly turning anything into a PDF .
Update : I've been using two of these units now for over a month . They are fantastic and I like the software that comes with them even better than I did at first ( and that was a lot ) . Fantastic equipment . Very usable , friendly , fast , and well thought through .
076 4 I bought this scanner this past winter after returning one of those all in one scanner , printer machines and I love it ! I was cleaning out my file cabinets at home and I wanted to save a lot of my papers on my computer since I know I'll access them more if they are saved to my computer then stuffed in some file . I use a really expensive scanner at work and I got into the habit of scanning almost everything at work so I wanted something similar for home but I couldn't spend the same kind of money and I don't have that much room and this little scanner meets all of my needs .
I didn't need one of those flat bed scanners because I wasn't looking to scan pictures , I strictly use it for paperwork , articles I rip out of magazines or newspapers , notes I might of taken , and receipts , ect . I can also use it to get a copy of something . I just put it through the scanner and when it pops up on my computer screen instead of saving it I can just hit the ' copy ' button and I'll get a print out on my printer . It scans in color and on both sides of the paper and I can scan a bunch of papers at once . I was able to clean up my files and go from two filing cabinets to one ! It was also sooo easy to set up as it plugs into my usb port at the front of my computer and I don't always have to leave it plugged in if I need the port for something else . I've never taken it with me as I don't have a laptop or a need to take the scanner with me but it's so light and portable that when I eventually do get a laptop the portability of the scanner will come in handy .
I highly recommend this if you are looking for a scanner to easily and also clearly scan your home documents into a PDF file on your computer .
080 4 easy to set up .
Great to archive bank statement or pay slips .
Organize them in their correct order , feed them to the scanner in batches of 10 or so ( i wish it would accept larger amount of paper at once ) and it will scan it on both sides very quickly .
You can choose to get one pdf per page or 2 pages or one pdf for all pages , including more that 10 pages .
When the computer is idle it will ocr the pages so you can search the text .
The data is archived in directories so it's easy to organize and backup on a mozy account for example .
you can then thrash all the paper and get rid of the huge filing cabinets .
Love it .
096 4 Remarkably easy to use . Unpack box , install software , plug in scanner , load pages into document feeder , press the SCAN button and presto - neatly arranged , clear , color , pdf files of the documents . Automatically scans both sides of the page ( duplex scanning ) , and automatically deletes any blank pages . I have already used it for papers of a number of sizes : check stubs , letter size , and those weird oversize insurance declaration pages .
Default operation is to scan to pdf files , but it also scans photos to . jpg format . I have little experience scanning photos , so I don't know whether these scans are high quality . They're good enough for e-mailing , or adding to the web , but I can't tell if they are publication or archive quality .
I didn't time the scanner , but a handful of pages takes only a few seconds . The manual claims that the scanner is slower when using USB power , but I didn't notice much difference using the default image quality settings .
Allows previewing of scans before saving , allows rename of files before saving and allows files to be saved in a specified folder . There are a number of options regarding image quality , compression , file locations , color detection and a host of others . Other than changing the target folder , the preset defaults are fine for me .
I successfully used it for a stack of about 15 sheets of paper - the automatic document feeder ( ADF ) managed the lot easily .
Small and easy to carry around , can be powered from USB or AC ( both power cords are included ) . Folds up into a compact unit about 12 by 4 by 4 inches with all the working parts well protected , weighs just over 2.5 pounds ( without the power brick , which is not needed if you use the USB power cord when traveling ) .
The only downside I can see is that the ADF is collapsible and is made of three pieces of somewhat flimsy plastic - - handle with care to avoid damage .
The included document manager seems to be nothing more than a fancy explorer . I don't need yet more redundant software . I have not tried the optical character recognition ( OCR ) or the business card reader ( that is supposed to read a standard business card and convert to a Microsoft Outlook contact .
Other Comments :
1 . If you want to use the USB power cable , you need TWO open USB ports on your computer
2 . If you have a stack of paper that have been folded or stapled ( remove the staples first ! ! ! ) the ADF will sometimes grab two sheets at once . Slightly ' fanning ' the stack before loading the ADF helps
3 . The scanner software needs a couple of additional features : ( 1 ) ability to delete a page before saving the scan ; and ( 2 ) ability to rotate a page or more before the pdf is saved ( the auto-rotate is very good , but not perfect )
4 . The documentation states that the software is compatible with Windows XP or Vista . I installed on my Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium computer with no problems .
I'll report back in a few months when I've had more experience . . . .
099 4 I travel or move and or hold too many offices to have physical textbooks , and my-type mind can remember a particular bookmark in a textbook better than a fact , sometimes : ) A textbook that uses color on every page will end up around a megabyte a page as Adobe views them as full color photos . If most pages are B & W , 1000 pages can be under 60mb .
The book publishing world is preventing a Napster like uprise in the world of textbooks and I am fully supportive . Buy the printed version , put a 60 + tooth 10 blade on a table saw , rise blade full max , place the loose sheet book edge against the rip fence then power-on per saw manual / shop safety / common sense and cut . Encrypt with Windows right click ; store the encryption key on a throwaway USB drive or that tiny memory card your camera came with , the key is well under 100 kb and unlocks your files on other desktops .
Because you are using well spaced , finely fanned , freshly unbound , and clean textbook sheets , you can fit over 25 pages into the Scansnap 300 . It is still a chore swapping wads of text , but there is no way I would have gotten this far with the best of flat bed scanners or even a manual page flip camera scanner . A fast computer multitasks well , seems some brains are on the scanner too . I'm still on the same roller assembly after 11,000 sheets no doubt because of the fresh sheets I feed it .
120 4 This Fujitsu Scansnap S300 portable scanner is a fabulous piece of equipment .
For the price , it is a great investment . I am a Real Estate and Mortgage Loan Broker . Now I am able to scan my clients documents into my laptop in a snap .
It really works . Great product .
122 4 Wow scansnap S300 . I'm lovestruck . Why didn't we meet 10 years ago ? You have changed my life so much already , in just three days ! What a liberation to power through those big piles of papers and receipts . I've finished off or restarted long postponed or forgotten tasks along the way . I so much better and in control of things now .
This little scanner is truly a marvel of human ingenuity and practical design . The scansnap organizer software is also a pretty darn simple yet effective tool that can be easily adapted to work with other pieces of software ( Evernote , Onenote , windows desktop search , Adobe Acrobat . . . ) or you can set things up to bypass the organizer and dump scans straight into folders or one of these other applications .
The reviews here say it all . Have you ever seen so many high marks for the same product ?
If you are on the fence about this purchase , just buy it ( and send me the check in the mail later thanking me for helping you take the leap ) it is well worth it .
142 4 I bought this device to digitize all of the papers I've accumulated over the years but have not been able to throw away - - receipts , tax forms , magazine articles , old college papers on which I got good grades , etc . I really hate having physical papers around and this lets me reduce the clutter around the house .
One particularly great feature is that it can simultaneously scan both sides of a document .
One caveat is that it's not great at reproducing all of the details in photographic / color docs , not to mention that it outputs only in PDF format . You wouldn't be using this to scan your old photos .
145 4 I did quite a bit of research before purchasing a mobile scanner . I work in the litigation support industry and my needs are not the same as the rest of the business community at large . For example , within the legal field , a tiff image is industry standard for legal support software . ( ie Sanction II , Trial Director , Summation , Concordance . . . . . . . and so on ) My research turned up a total of 0 scanners that will scan to a tiff image with thier bundled software . So , I moved on to try and find a scanner with TWAIN dirvers to use in other scanning applications . My problem here was that at the time , none of these scanners had driver support for 64 - bit operating systems . It seems I was stuck .
I chose to go with the Scansnap S300 because when I checked the manufacturer web site I found Windows 7 support drivers ready to go . My trade off with using this scanner is that I have to go through one more step to get to my desired tiff images . The bundled software will allow me to scan directly to Acrobat , although it is in a sort of back door approach . I can set a scan profile in the software management utility and have it scan to acrobat . So you do not open Acrobat , click create new PDF from scanner and go from there . Rather , you load your paper into the scanner , select your PDF scan profile , and press the button . Your paper is scanned and then opened in Acrobat . From here , as I have a full version of Acrobat and not just the reader , I can save my scan to a tiff image for my litigation support-ware . It is an extra step , but as I will list below , I am very pleased with this scanner thus far .
My Pros and cons are : Pros - Outstanding scan quality . Outstanding scan speeds . Document feeder that works very well . Windows 7 ( 64 - bit ) support and good instructions on how to properly load said drivers as they are not yet included on the packaged CD . Quiet operation . Design allows for easy cleaning of the scan lens and replacement of feed rollers . Color scans of photos look fantastic as well .
Cons - No TWAIN drivers , and in a call to customer support it does not seem likely there ever will be . Scanner needs separate connections for data and power . So you need to be near A / C power or tie up two usb ports on your computer .
My needs are different from the general business traveler so my review may not speak to very many . This scanner is an outstanding piece of gear and I am very glad I chose this one . On a side note , while poking around on the Fujitsu web site I came a across an offer for a free carrying case . I believe this offer expires soon , so check the web site for more details .
152 4 This got great reviews everywhere . . . and I must say it works great for me . The big deal is the built in PDF generation which is super fast and with a setting or two adjusted to just a little higher resolution than the defaults I find I can pretty much read even the smallest print with ease .
My only complaint is that for some smaller documents it does not always pull through fully straight . . however there is a software function to deal with it and it works ok most of the time . Some documents ( like thermal rcpt paper ) are a little hard for it to handle . If the first pass doesn't get it right and a REALLY want to keep the scanned copy I will take a sheet of paper and tape the receipt to it to act as a holder . . this works well . I tried inserting small docs into a plastic carrier like a sheet protector . . the the plastic is a bit too slick for the rollers to handle reliably .
For anyone wanting to purge a lot of paper that piles on your desk and store it electronically this is a great tool . The dual-sided scanning is very fast .
The ornanizing app they supply w / the scanner is ok . . . and supposedly indexes the PDF files from the scanner on words it sees . . I've not messed with this too much but what little I have seems to work as advertized .
161 4 My only complaint is that the S300 for Windows does not work on OS X , but I believe that this will be corrected in future versions of the scanner .
Scansnap : wow ! Finally ! I wish I had bought 6 of these for the price of Fujitsu's 6010N network scanner !
178 4 Overall , a great sheet feed scanner .
Pros : Auto duplex and color . Great images . Auto aligns scanned pages . Solid , reliable operation . Good scanning speeds .
Cons : Scan software only remembers the default location for images . Card scanner can't print card images or list . Locked in to Fujitsu's card mgmt software .
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
My reasoning : ( Vista Ultimate laptop )
1 ) It intelligently waits until the computer is idle , to auto-perform OCR chores . You have the option to do so as you scan , but this slows down scanning . There's also a menu click which yields a list of scans awaiting OCR - - really nice touch !
2 ) Unlike proprietary organizers , the cabinets created within the organizer software are actual directories on your hard disk . Likewise , folders created within the organizer's cabinets are subdirectories on your disk . So , you get the best of all worlds - - use the organizer knowing you're not locked in , as it's just a slick interface for what is actually existing on your drive . ( i.e . , Create a cabinet = create a directory )
3 ) Thermal receipts , even trying-to-fade ones , come thru crisp and clear , miraculously , when scanning .
4 ) I have Adobe Acrobat Professional 8 , which is a necessary evil in my business . I can now avoid that bloated monster altogether when it comes to receipts and anything else I choose to scan using this system . That alone is worth the price of entry !
5 ) The duplex scanning is wondrous - - paper goes thru only once , with both sides captured simultaneously - - speedily . This still blows my mind ( I have a duplex Canon MP830 multifunction - - for all practical purposes , its scanner has been blown away by this device . )
6 ) Let's face it - - sometimes , paper jams . This is the FIRST machine encountered - - since the late 80 ' s when I started computing - - which makes it so easy to fix things . You just push the little square silver arrow atop the scanner , open , get the paper , and close it . Incredibly easy and no-fuss ! And yes , the wrinkled paper then flows thru fine ( I gently kept a finger on that one item as it scanned thru , just to be safe . ) BTW , I had scanned upwards of 300 items before a jam occurred .
7 ) Lots of options , re speed , resolution , etc . All easy to get to , all quick to implement . These folks actually used this thing during the creation process , as it seems they didn't miss a trick in making this a genuinely consumer friendly device !
8 ) The consumables are comparatively cheap . The pad assembly ( Part # PA03541 - 0002 ) needs replacement every 10,000 sheets or a year - - google the actual part # to see the $8 retailers ) ; the pick roller ( Part # PA03541 - 0001 ) lasts about 100,000 sheets - - about $12 . I noticed a huge price variation among retailers while googling , so I placed my order today ; they're not in stock at most places , but I have plenty of time so who cares . This is bound to be a profoundly popular scanner per word-of-mouth , and consumable prices may increase accordingly . BTW , right-click the ScanSnap Manager tray icon for check consumable supplies to get a tally on current sheet usage , which you can reset during the replacement process .
9 ) Small footprint - - lives in a bookcase shelf atop my desk .
10 ) One of the rare occasions where I've had absolutely no post-purchase regrets with an electronic item !
Long and short of it is this : I've finally lived long enough to see one hardware manufacturer get everything right . There's a pdf manual , but I read it only to investigate consumables ( thought it would be a gotcha ! but was pleasantly suprised at the reasonable cost ) . I assume you're reading these reviews carefully ( as I did ) , trying to decide between the ScanSnap and a lower priced alternative . For once , I decided not to play cheapskate , and boy oh boy , am I glad ! ! ( The price here has already escalated a bit , so do it now , my friend ! )
001 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
My reasoning : ( Vista Ultimate laptop )
1 ) It intelligently waits until the computer is idle , to auto-perform OCR chores . You have the option to do so as you scan , but this slows down scanning . There's also a menu click which yields a list of scans awaiting OCR - - really nice touch !
2 ) Unlike proprietary organizers , the cabinets created within the organizer software are actual directories on your hard disk . Likewise , folders created within the organizer's cabinets are subdirectories on your disk . So , you get the best of all worlds - - use the organizer knowing you're not locked in , as it's just a slick interface for what is actually existing on your drive . ( i.e . , Create a cabinet = create a directory )
3 ) Thermal receipts , even trying-to-fade ones , come thru crisp and clear , miraculously , when scanning .
4 ) I have Adobe Acrobat Professional 8 , which is a necessary evil in my business . I can now avoid that bloated monster altogether when it comes to receipts and anything else I choose to scan using this system . That alone is worth the price of entry !
5 ) The duplex scanning is wondrous - - paper goes thru only once , with both sides captured simultaneously - - speedily . This still blows my mind ( I have a duplex Canon MP830 multifunction - - for all practical purposes , its scanner has been blown away by this device . )
6 ) Let's face it - - sometimes , paper jams . This is the FIRST machine encountered - - since the late 80 ' s when I started computing - - which makes it so easy to fix things . You just push the little square silver arrow atop the scanner , open , get the paper , and close it . Incredibly easy and no-fuss ! And yes , the wrinkled paper then flows thru fine ( I gently kept a finger on that one item as it scanned thru , just to be safe . ) BTW , I had scanned upwards of 300 items before a jam occurred .
7 ) Lots of options , re speed , resolution , etc . All easy to get to , all quick to implement . These folks actually used this thing during the creation process , as it seems they didn't miss a trick in making this a genuinely consumer friendly device !
8 ) The consumables are comparatively cheap . The pad assembly ( Part # PA03541 - 0002 ) needs replacement every 10,000 sheets or a year - - google the actual part # to see the $8 retailers ) ; the pick roller ( Part # PA03541 - 0001 ) lasts about 100,000 sheets - - about $12 . I noticed a huge price variation among retailers while googling , so I placed my order today ; they're not in stock at most places , but I have plenty of time so who cares . This is bound to be a profoundly popular scanner per word-of-mouth , and consumable prices may increase accordingly . BTW , right-click the ScanSnap Manager tray icon for check consumable supplies to get a tally on current sheet usage , which you can reset during the replacement process .
9 ) Small footprint - - lives in a bookcase shelf atop my desk .
10 ) One of the rare occasions where I've had absolutely no post-purchase regrets with an electronic item !
Long and short of it is this : I've finally lived long enough to see one hardware manufacturer get everything right . There's a pdf manual , but I read it only to investigate consumables ( thought it would be a gotcha ! but was pleasantly suprised at the reasonable cost ) . I assume you're reading these reviews carefully ( as I did ) , trying to decide between the ScanSnap and a lower priced alternative . For once , I decided not to play cheapskate , and boy oh boy , am I glad ! ! ( The price here has already escalated a bit , so do it now , my friend ! )
002 4 My reasoning : ( Vista Ultimate laptop )
1 ) It intelligently waits until the computer is idle , to auto-perform OCR chores . You have the option to do so as you scan , but this slows down scanning . There's also a menu click which yields a list of scans awaiting OCR - - really nice touch !
2 ) Unlike proprietary organizers , the cabinets created within the organizer software are actual directories on your hard disk . Likewise , folders created within the organizer's cabinets are subdirectories on your disk . So , you get the best of all worlds - - use the organizer knowing you're not locked in , as it's just a slick interface for what is actually existing on your drive . ( i.e . , Create a cabinet = create a directory )
3 ) Thermal receipts , even trying-to-fade ones , come thru crisp and clear , miraculously , when scanning .
4 ) I have Adobe Acrobat Professional 8 , which is a necessary evil in my business . I can now avoid that bloated monster altogether when it comes to receipts and anything else I choose to scan using this system . That alone is worth the price of entry !
5 ) The duplex scanning is wondrous - - paper goes thru only once , with both sides captured simultaneously - - speedily . This still blows my mind ( I have a duplex Canon MP830 multifunction - - for all practical purposes , its scanner has been blown away by this device . )
6 ) Let's face it - - sometimes , paper jams . This is the FIRST machine encountered - - since the late 80 ' s when I started computing - - which makes it so easy to fix things . You just push the little square silver arrow atop the scanner , open , get the paper , and close it . Incredibly easy and no-fuss ! And yes , the wrinkled paper then flows thru fine ( I gently kept a finger on that one item as it scanned thru , just to be safe . ) BTW , I had scanned upwards of 300 items before a jam occurred .
7 ) Lots of options , re speed , resolution , etc . All easy to get to , all quick to implement . These folks actually used this thing during the creation process , as it seems they didn't miss a trick in making this a genuinely consumer friendly device !
8 ) The consumables are comparatively cheap . The pad assembly ( Part # PA03541 - 0002 ) needs replacement every 10,000 sheets or a year - - google the actual part # to see the $8 retailers ) ; the pick roller ( Part # PA03541 - 0001 ) lasts about 100,000 sheets - - about $12 . I noticed a huge price variation among retailers while googling , so I placed my order today ; they're not in stock at most places , but I have plenty of time so who cares . This is bound to be a profoundly popular scanner per word-of-mouth , and consumable prices may increase accordingly . BTW , right-click the ScanSnap Manager tray icon for check consumable supplies to get a tally on current sheet usage , which you can reset during the replacement process .
9 ) Small footprint - - lives in a bookcase shelf atop my desk .
10 ) One of the rare occasions where I've had absolutely no post-purchase regrets with an electronic item !
Long and short of it is this : I've finally lived long enough to see one hardware manufacturer get everything right . There's a pdf manual , but I read it only to investigate consumables ( thought it would be a gotcha ! but was pleasantly suprised at the reasonable cost ) . I assume you're reading these reviews carefully ( as I did ) , trying to decide between the ScanSnap and a lower priced alternative . For once , I decided not to play cheapskate , and boy oh boy , am I glad ! ! ( The price here has already escalated a bit , so do it now , my friend ! )
003 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I had been looking into replacing my flatbed scanner , but was intrigued by this small , mainly PDF unit . I decided to go for it for 2 reasons : 1 ) 99% of what I scan are documents perfect for PDFs , and 2 ) the scanner's small size . I am so happy with this scanner ! The PDFs are crisp and clear , much better than my flatbed scanner . The scanner reads both sides of a page at once and automatically removes blank pages . It's also quite a bit faster and much quieter than my other scanner ( which I'm keeping for handling photos and other types of scans ) . The software that comes with the scanner is nice - not hard to use / learn .
I'm using a PC running Windows XP , not a laptop . Don't feel that you need to be mobile to justify using this scanner , although I'm sure that would be a main selling point for those who are on the go .
007 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This is not a heavy duty scanner . It is not the scanner to buy if you do a lot of 200 page documents . And it's not the scanner to buy if you scan 500 pages a day . But it is the scanner for most of us who scan 10 or 20 or even 40 pages a day who don't need a flatbed . It's simple . It's been great ( but not perfect ) at feeding one page at a time . The results are excellent . It's quiet . It gets both sides of the page at the same time ( if there's anything on the backside , and eliminating the backside if it's blank ) . It's portable and runs off the USB alone ( albeit at a slower rate ) on the go . It's small enough to take with you in the laptop bag to bring to work or bring to home or out to a site . I have great difficulty imagining how this small , simple device could be better without sacrificing the things that make it great ( small , simple , portable , runs off USB alone if necessary ) . I HIGHLY recommend this if it seems like it fits your needs . It really is a performer , and I'm VERY happy with it . One thing Fujitsu could work on : it would be nice if it did not require proprietary software and could be driven by programs such as Adobe Acrobat alone . But the proprietary software is actually pretty good . Everything should work as well as this product has for me .
009 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
After approximately 2,000 scans , I think I have a good handle on the pro's and con's :
Pro's : small footprint , easy setup , intuitive controls , duplex ( scans both sides ) , saves scans as PDF files , straightens out scans that feed crooked , OCR permits searching of your scans .
Con's : document has to be carefully fed or won't scan , the software freezes frequently ( the remedy is to unplug the scanner for a few seconds and then reconnect ) , the searchable PDF requires purchasing Adobe Acrobat ( which is expensive - - make sure you factor this large expense into your calculations ) , the software has difficulty identifying and deleting blank pages .
011 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
The is not a super-power ultra fast scanner , and it should be be judged as such .
But it is a auto feeder duplex scanner which fits nicely in your travle bag or takes very little space on your desk . I picked this scanner because it would fit in my office without becoming a huge fixture . at 8 pages a minute it deals well with my load of paper and the start button on the scanner makes things easy .
The software is effective but not something which will change the way you see the world . I personally store all scanned items by subject on a server for this purpose so the scan storage software is not too interesting for us . We use Windows Desktop search to index and OCR all documents , easy and fast . why make things more dificult than they have to be .
Note this scanner can not be used from photoshop or similar , it does not show up as a option in paperport either . It is a dedicated maker of PDF documents .
Scanner is highly recomended for what it is - a small compact scanner with great quality scans .
017 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have been searching for years for a scanner like this .
I'm using the scanner with Vista SP1 . The software is a bit klunky but it doesn't get in the way , and it only installs 2 things , the driver and the manager ( which you don't need ) .
I have the software set to do OCR on every scan and it works flawlessley .
In the past few days I have scanned hundreds of pieces of paper almost eliminating my files .
I can't recommend this enough .
020 4 I had been looking for a while for a personal scanner that supports a basic paper-elimination workflow . What I was looking for was put paper in the scanner and get a full-text OCR PDF . Bought the ScanSnap on a recommendation from a friend , and , folks , this is the one you want .
Here's how I have it set up . It sits on top of the printer in my office . When I open the mail , any statements , etc , that I used to file go right in the scanner . I push the Scan button , and 7 seconds per double-sided scan later , the documents are in my PC . If it needs to be OCRed , I right click and schedule documents for that . The resulting documents show up in the Organizer , where I rename them to a meaningful name and drag them to the correct folder .
There's a nice profile feature , so , for example , you can have one profile for black and white double sided documents with OCR , and a separate profile for color single sided documents with no OCR . You click on a tray icon to switch profiles prior to scanning .
It's very portable - - I put it in my backpack and take it to my client's offices to handle scanning tasks there . The scanner operates at two speeds - - on wall power or dual USB , it gives the 7 seconds / sheet speed ; running solely off of a single USB connection it's slower .
024 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have had this now for about 3 weeks and paper is fast disappearing from my office . I can put about 15 - 20 sheets of paper in the scanner ( of mixed sizes no less ) , hit a button and about 3 seconds later a page is in my computer as a pdf file-if it is two sided both sides are there . It is very slick and very accurate . The accompanying software will turn it into a searchable pdf .
I got this for two reasons . First to get rid of paper and second to get things onto my Kindle . I work at a university and most documents I get are still paper . I teach theatre and scripts are paper . To avoid carrying file cabinets of documents and scripts with me , this allows me to get anything onto my kindle . Its big brothers come with special edition Abbyy Finereader ( this one does not ) that will ocr the file . I got Abbyy finereader pro to go with it and now everything I scan is editable and transfers to my Kindle . It is not flawless . There is some editing to go with a scanned file that goes through the ocr process but a 90 page script took a half an hour to edit . I am pleased .
This is portable . It will run off usb power but is about 30% slower than when running off of ac . But it works that way . I use it at school , at home , and on the road .
I use it on PC's with xp and win 7 .
027 4 This product is just outstanding in my opinion . I have used this little gem for about 2 weeks and I have just been blown away by its simplicity of use and quality of results . My initial budget was $200 but I decided based on other reviews to spend a little extra for this scanner . My personal requirements were fairly simple - ability to scan in receipts and simple documents . I have scanned in a little over 100 receipts / documents so far and here is what I see :
1 ) General scan speed is very nice . I can scan one receipt after another very quickly .
2 ) Quality of the scan is adjustable but the default setting seems just fine . The PDFs generated seem to be optimized just right between quality and size .
3 ) Small receipts are hard to scan in straight . The very first one I tried went in at an awkward angle but the software adjusted it to look right . I may just be naive about this feature ( maybe lots of other scanning software has this now ) but I was totally impressed .
4 ) The SnapScan software organizes all the files essentially into directories so I'm not locked in to a proprietary format .
5 ) Moving and renaming the PDFs are very straightforward .
6 ) The scanner itself is not the smallest but it's still small enough that carrying it around is not too bad . This was not my primary requirement so it's not an issue for me . It seems like it is solidly built but time will tell .
7 ) I have not tried the searchable PDF feature . This is really not that important for me so I can't say how well this works .
8 ) The only negative thing I have come across is that the software cannot edit PDFs that were created by other software . I had another PDF document that I wanted to append to one of the receipts I scanned in but could not . PDF format is supposed to be a standard but I understand there are different versions and nuances . This is more of an occasional nuisance than a serious issue .
Overall , I have not used this scanner for very long but everything I have experienced has been very positive , minus the one issue with external PDFs . This product is definitely worth the money I paid for . I highly recommend it .
031 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
The ScanSnap S300 has been the best electronics purchase I've made in a very long time . I've eliminated all the random paper that tends to accumulate on a desk ( and kitchen counter ) . What few bills I still receive in paper are now scanned and stored with the others electronically ( originals shredded of course ) . When the kids bring home papers that need to be kept I now just keep them electronically . No more lost project papers .
I've been using it for about 2 weeks now . It's a fantastic tool to help you organize your desk and life plus it just works well . That seems like an obvious thing but far too often in the electronics world devices have bugs or irritating shortcomings . I haven't found any on the ScanSnap S300 . The duplex scanning is amazing . It's easy to merge PDFs . It can handle most paper sizes . It doesn't jam . It even scans photos that are suitable for online use ( Facebook , etc . ) - I wouldn't recommend it for your permanent photo scanning unless you don't mind lower resolution scans . Keep in mind though , it's not intended for that . Oh yeah , and it's fast ; it scans with an incredible , breath-taking , makes-you-want-to-scan-something-else-anything-else , Top Gun speed .
032 4 The ScanSnap S300 has been the best electronics purchase I've made in a very long time . I've eliminated all the random paper that tends to accumulate on a desk ( and kitchen counter ) . What few bills I still receive in paper are now scanned and stored with the others electronically ( originals shredded of course ) . When the kids bring home papers that need to be kept I now just keep them electronically . No more lost project papers .
I've been using it for about 2 weeks now . It's a fantastic tool to help you organize your desk and life plus it just works well . That seems like an obvious thing but far too often in the electronics world devices have bugs or irritating shortcomings . I haven't found any on the ScanSnap S300 . The duplex scanning is amazing . It's easy to merge PDFs . It can handle most paper sizes . It doesn't jam . It even scans photos that are suitable for online use ( Facebook , etc . ) - I wouldn't recommend it for your permanent photo scanning unless you don't mind lower resolution scans . Keep in mind though , it's not intended for that . Oh yeah , and it's fast ; it scans with an incredible , breath-taking , makes-you-want-to-scan-something-else-anything-else , Top Gun speed .
033 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Great scanner . . . . . but useless warranty and Fuji wants $39 or 10 + days just to fix their defects .
After just three months of daily usage scanning between 20 - 40 sheets , we noticed deteriorating scan quality and Fuji TeleSupport determined it was a manufacturers defect . The issue only happened with HIGH RES IMAGES BUT SINCE THE MAJORITY OF OUR USAGE IS Low / Medium Res we could still use it until the refurb / replacement arrived .
BUT THEY COULDN'T WARRANTY EXCHANGE
EVEN IF YOU OFFER THEM A CREDIT CARD FOR SECURITY ! ! ! !
Instead , you have to send yours and pay for original shipping , then wait for at least 10 DAYS OR MORE for THEM TO SEND YOU A REFURB ! ! ! ! !
The alternative is pay them $39 for some hokey warranty extension and they'll ship A REFURB exchange PLUS YOU STILL PAY THE SHIPPING CHARGES .
No one there could consistently describe why they had to collect $39 since the stories always changed , they never called back a Supervisor was never available ! ! ! !
EVEN HP WILL QUICK EXCHANGE A $500 + PRINTER WHEN YOU PROVIDE A CREDIT CARD NUMBER FOR Collateral , but Fuji hates and doesn't trust ANYBODY . ! ! ! !
But the scanner and OCR is great .
040 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
The Scansnap scanner is very handy , small and does the job . It is easy to use but :
- The paper stack holder is badly designed making it easy for sheets to get crushed or go misguided .
- It could be designed to hold more than 10 sheets . I would say 25 - 30 ( or more ) would be perfect .
- It is not as quick as it should be
Overall I am happy with it and would buy it again , but Fujitsu could easily resolve those 3 issues and offer the market a great scanner .
042 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I am a consultant and work out of my home office about 70% of the time . I deal alot with documents and purchased this scanner in hopes of getting a good scanner for the variety of documents that I handle almost daily . I am always converting the paper document to pdf . My objective was to reduce the size of my paper files , eliminate the need for a fax machine , and increased efficiency ( example : sign agreement and immediately turn it around to conclude the deal ) . I am very happy to report the ScanSnap has exceeded my expectations in all categories . And I consider myself to be a tough judge . So let me provide some real-life experiences : ( 1 ) the scanner is very fast , ( 2 ) very small footprint , ( 3 ) so far it has successfully scanned all documents on first attempt in a wide variety of sizes and shapes and regardless of the number of pages ( max so far : 20 at one feed ) . I have set it for the 2nd best scan resolution and find that is enough to provide very readable scans . The color is excellent too , showing the signature on documents in the blue ink I always use . The software provided is great and does what I need it to do . The ScanSnap is small enough that I would consider it to be portable , although I have not carried it with me to my clients locations . I run it using Vista Business on a Dell laptop and have had zero problems to date ( about 7 months usage ) . I have had no contact with customer service . Highly recommended .
044 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I hate having paperwork sitting around my house , and this scanner has allowed me to eliminate piles of documents .
The bundled ScanSnap Manager software is okay , but you need Acrobat in order to fully realize its potential . I get around this limitation by setting up a scan profile to Scan to Evernote . I let the scanning software perform the OCR immediately , which takes a few seconds depending on the document size , but it seems to do a better job than Evernote . Using the OCR in conjunction with Evernote's tags and notebooks , I'm able to keep everything nicely organized , easily search-able and accessible wherever I am . With my smartphone and Evernote , all my documents are at the my disposal at any given time .
As for the scanner itself , the small footprint is nice , but the reality is that this thing just sits on the corner of my desk . I have no need to take it with me , but it's nice to know that if I wanted to , I easily could . It handles pretty much everything I throw at it without damaging the source material . If it jams , it's almost always my fault . I recently scanned a batch of photos at the highest resolution and they turned out great .
I've embraced the paperless lifestyle . It sounds like a hassle , but it's quick and simple : document comes in , I scan it and shred it . The scanner provides me peace of mind in knowing I have a backup available when I shred old documents and receipts . If I ever get audited ( knock on wood ) , I will not be rummaging through boxes of receipts , I'll be typing in a search field . Tax time should be relatively easy , since all tax-related documents are scanned and labeled as such . If I need to dispute a bill , I'll be able to find archived documents quickly and effortlessly . I haven't even begun to comprehend how some of the obscure documents I have scanned will come in handy .
I'm currently using this scanner with a Windows 7 PC , but if you really want to use the S300 with your Mac , I can confirm that it works . With a little help from Google , it's not that difficult .
045 4 I hate having paperwork sitting around my house , and this scanner has allowed me to eliminate piles of documents .
The bundled ScanSnap Manager software is okay , but you need Acrobat in order to fully realize its potential . I get around this limitation by setting up a scan profile to Scan to Evernote . I let the scanning software perform the OCR immediately , which takes a few seconds depending on the document size , but it seems to do a better job than Evernote . Using the OCR in conjunction with Evernote's tags and notebooks , I'm able to keep everything nicely organized , easily search-able and accessible wherever I am . With my smartphone and Evernote , all my documents are at the my disposal at any given time .
As for the scanner itself , the small footprint is nice , but the reality is that this thing just sits on the corner of my desk . I have no need to take it with me , but it's nice to know that if I wanted to , I easily could . It handles pretty much everything I throw at it without damaging the source material . If it jams , it's almost always my fault . I recently scanned a batch of photos at the highest resolution and they turned out great .
I've embraced the paperless lifestyle . It sounds like a hassle , but it's quick and simple : document comes in , I scan it and shred it . The scanner provides me peace of mind in knowing I have a backup available when I shred old documents and receipts . If I ever get audited ( knock on wood ) , I will not be rummaging through boxes of receipts , I'll be typing in a search field . Tax time should be relatively easy , since all tax-related documents are scanned and labeled as such . If I need to dispute a bill , I'll be able to find archived documents quickly and effortlessly . I haven't even begun to comprehend how some of the obscure documents I have scanned will come in handy .
I'm currently using this scanner with a Windows 7 PC , but if you really want to use the S300 with your Mac , I can confirm that it works . With a little help from Google , it's not that difficult .
046 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I love this scanner ! It is small enough ( 11 x3.5 x3.5 high ) to live on the desk beside the computer in my very small office . It unfolds to support a regular sheet of paper ; turns on instantly when unfolded ; and can scan anything from a piece of typing paper to the smallest , thinnest credit card receipt . It simultaneously scans both sides , and automatically attaches pages as you feed them one after the other . This little gem makes scanning a joy , rather than a chore .
I only found two downsides : 1 ) I didn't see anything in the advertising that indicated it would only work with Windows , and not Mac . For me that worked out well , but if you ONLY have a Mac , be careful which version you buy . My understanding is that the 300M is for use with a Mac . 2 ) The piece you are scanning must be able to bend a bit to feed through the scanner . This will not scan stiff or thick material . For that you need a flat screen .
I received this scanner as advertised - - in like-new condition , all components still wrapped and in the original box .
048 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
OCR is fast and just about as accurate as you can get . It can even recognize some handwritten or crooked text . Photocopies or dark edges never seem to be a problem - - it still gets it . The OCR component seems to be the the Adobe OCR engine cut out and inserted in the ScanSnap organizer software . You can set it to do OCR as it scans , which adds some time to the scan , or to do it in the background later , or you can right-click on a scanned document and force it to do it immediately . This is what makes this so great .
The ScanSnap software itself is usable but mediocre . It's essentially just a file browser . The good thing about it is that it is really working with real files ( not shortcuts or something ) , so if you drag a file to another folder , it really moves . I have it set up in a folder called D : / My File Cabinet with subfolders for things like Finances , Warranties , Academic , Correspondence , etc . These are real folder structures , so I can just as easily browse them in Windows and drag the PDF files elsewhere .
The only disadvantage to dropping the files outside of the ScanSnap software is that it will not auto-OCR the files later if it hasn't been done already .
I don't have the Duluxe bundle , and my impression is that it's not worth it . Rack2Filer seems no more useful than Acrobat or OneNote or a variety of other viewer or PDF annotation programs .
The hardware is what makes the ScanSnap awesome . Want good software ? Use something like Adobe Acrobat Standard ( which is not included , despite an original mistake on their website that said it was ) . That's what I use and love it .
The biggest problem is not having a TWAIN driver , which allows any program to see the scanner . As it is , you must use the scanner software that sits in the system tray to scan . Right now this means that the new program my bank put out in order to scan and deposit checks from home : I can't use !
But I still wouldn't give it the ScanSnap up , because it does what it's supposed to do - - paperless office - - very well .
049 4 OCR is fast and just about as accurate as you can get . It can even recognize some handwritten or crooked text . Photocopies or dark edges never seem to be a problem - - it still gets it . The OCR component seems to be the the Adobe OCR engine cut out and inserted in the ScanSnap organizer software . You can set it to do OCR as it scans , which adds some time to the scan , or to do it in the background later , or you can right-click on a scanned document and force it to do it immediately . This is what makes this so great .
The ScanSnap software itself is usable but mediocre . It's essentially just a file browser . The good thing about it is that it is really working with real files ( not shortcuts or something ) , so if you drag a file to another folder , it really moves . I have it set up in a folder called D : / My File Cabinet with subfolders for things like Finances , Warranties , Academic , Correspondence , etc . These are real folder structures , so I can just as easily browse them in Windows and drag the PDF files elsewhere .
The only disadvantage to dropping the files outside of the ScanSnap software is that it will not auto-OCR the files later if it hasn't been done already .
I don't have the Duluxe bundle , and my impression is that it's not worth it . Rack2Filer seems no more useful than Acrobat or OneNote or a variety of other viewer or PDF annotation programs .
The hardware is what makes the ScanSnap awesome . Want good software ? Use something like Adobe Acrobat Standard ( which is not included , despite an original mistake on their website that said it was ) . That's what I use and love it .
The biggest problem is not having a TWAIN driver , which allows any program to see the scanner . As it is , you must use the scanner software that sits in the system tray to scan . Right now this means that the new program my bank put out in order to scan and deposit checks from home : I can't use !
But I still wouldn't give it the ScanSnap up , because it does what it's supposed to do - - paperless office - - very well .
050 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have been using the Visioneer scanners since the days when the scanner was incorporated into the keyboard . I have over 100,000 scanned documents from Visioneer on my computer . Suffice it to say , I am a document scanning expert . So when the old Visioneer gave up the ghost , I started looking for a replacement . The Scan Snap S300 got good reviews , and so it has been sitting on my desk for 575 scans - still a way to go to match the Visoneer series . Here's what I have noticed in the short time of using this scanner .
Pro :
Fast , easy set up . It was up and scanning in less than 5 minutes . My XP operating system finds it every time . There is no Off button , instead , it comes on and loads when you raise the lid to scan .
Output is in . pdf format - universally accepted protocol .
Scans in fastest and faster mode are fast and good . Color photos scanned in best quality take some time .
I use Paperport 11 to manage the documents , but it will not scan directly into Paperport . I have to manually enter each document in the folder I want .
Will scan both sides of a document in one pass ( duplex ) . Helpful if you scan a lot of documents that have writing on the front and back . But honestly , how many business documents have writing on the front and back . Most business letters are single sided , most credit card statements are single sided . So this feature is used very rarely .
Cons :
The sheet feeder does not always load the paper in a straight path . A lot of times , it will skew the paper and run it through at an angle . However , the software can ( and does a good job ) of straightening out the scan on your screen .
Scans do not start automatically . You place the paper in the guide , and press the scan button to start the process . Does not sound like a hassle , but it's just an extra step in the process . I wish it had the instant scan feature of the Visioneers . Place the paper in the guide , and it should start automatically .
Scans in the fastest mode look okay on the monitor , but if you enlarge them , they begin to show their degraded quality . Scan at a higher resolution if you need to enlarge your document . I use Paperport to manage my documents , and I can enhance the scan with Paperport after it is in the folder .
OVERALL :
Yes , it's a good replacement , but has some shortcomings that stand out like a sore thumb to me . The lack of twain driver , not allowing me to use it directly with Paperport is one issue . Plus the fact that the scan does not start automatically . Would I buy it again ? ? ? ? ? Maybe , but I would buy another brand if I could scan directly into Paperport without having to manually drag the documents into their folders .
051 4 I have been using the Visioneer scanners since the days when the scanner was incorporated into the keyboard . I have over 100,000 scanned documents from Visioneer on my computer . Suffice it to say , I am a document scanning expert . So when the old Visioneer gave up the ghost , I started looking for a replacement . The Scan Snap S300 got good reviews , and so it has been sitting on my desk for 575 scans - still a way to go to match the Visoneer series . Here's what I have noticed in the short time of using this scanner .
Pro :
Fast , easy set up . It was up and scanning in less than 5 minutes . My XP operating system finds it every time . There is no Off button , instead , it comes on and loads when you raise the lid to scan .
Output is in . pdf format - universally accepted protocol .
Scans in fastest and faster mode are fast and good . Color photos scanned in best quality take some time .
I use Paperport 11 to manage the documents , but it will not scan directly into Paperport . I have to manually enter each document in the folder I want .
Will scan both sides of a document in one pass ( duplex ) . Helpful if you scan a lot of documents that have writing on the front and back . But honestly , how many business documents have writing on the front and back . Most business letters are single sided , most credit card statements are single sided . So this feature is used very rarely .
Cons :
The sheet feeder does not always load the paper in a straight path . A lot of times , it will skew the paper and run it through at an angle . However , the software can ( and does a good job ) of straightening out the scan on your screen .
Scans do not start automatically . You place the paper in the guide , and press the scan button to start the process . Does not sound like a hassle , but it's just an extra step in the process . I wish it had the instant scan feature of the Visioneers . Place the paper in the guide , and it should start automatically .
Scans in the fastest mode look okay on the monitor , but if you enlarge them , they begin to show their degraded quality . Scan at a higher resolution if you need to enlarge your document . I use Paperport to manage my documents , and I can enhance the scan with Paperport after it is in the folder .
OVERALL :
Yes , it's a good replacement , but has some shortcomings that stand out like a sore thumb to me . The lack of twain driver , not allowing me to use it directly with Paperport is one issue . Plus the fact that the scan does not start automatically . Would I buy it again ? ? ? ? ? Maybe , but I would buy another brand if I could scan directly into Paperport without having to manually drag the documents into their folders .
052 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have been using another scanner for years to download files during client meetings . It would not work with my new 64 bit machine . I was forced to buy the ScanSnap . It is faster , easier , and even fun to use . I have had no problems and scan documents , color and B & W photos , duplex documents and documents of various sizes , all at the same time . I now look forward to scanning in piles of documents . Just open it up and it turns on . Load the docuemts in the feeder and hit scan . All the documents shoot through in about 2 seconds a document , for both sides , in color , right side up , and create a PDF or JPG file . This is the greatest thing since sliced bread .
057 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I bought one of these and tried it out . Worked so incredibly well I bought one for my other office ( to have one on each desk ) . Worked so well three of my employees / colleagues wanted one . Got them all one . I am a long time believer scanning to save important notes on my computer rather than paper . This simply is the best scanner I've ever used . Easy to use , easy to understand , and the software that comes with it is the best scanning software I have ever seen or used ( esp for the purpose of scanning notes and keeping them organized in a filing system ) . I've been using Scansoft for scanning needs . For scanning notes you intend to file and keep on your computer , this is so much better . In fact , it's so much better for rapidly turning anything into a PDF .
Update : I've been using two of these units now for over a month . They are fantastic and I like the software that comes with them even better than I did at first ( and that was a lot ) . Fantastic equipment . Very usable , friendly , fast , and well thought through .
060 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I am very technology challenged so this scanner was recommended to me for clearing out a lot of paper I have in my small home office . I loved the ease of setting it up and getting started . I did have a problem with it and had to keep shutting the programs down and starting it all up again . I contacted Amazon.com and , as always , they made it good . I received a new one in 2 days and sent the 1st one back . Have had no problems with the new one at all . I like that you can do double sided with one pass . I also like how small it is . I have a mess in my office and there is still room to keep this handy . For my needs this scanner is wonderful !
062 4 I have the Scan Snap 1500 in the office and the 300 in my home office . They're both incredible scanners . Much nicer than any other scanner I've ever used . The 300 is nice and small , can take power from the computer ( doesn't need a separate power plug ) , easily commutes in a laptop bag , and is nice and quick .
The only downside of the form factor is that because it doesn't have a glass screen , it can be a challenge to scan receipts and odd-sized papers , as well as those that are wrinkled or otherwise damaged . The 1500 comes with a special transparent envelope that holds those kinds of documents .
Regardless , I highly recommend this scanner . If cost is not a big issue , and you do high volumes of documents , than I would consider the 1500 .
One thing I can't comment on is the organizing software that comes with the scan snap . Though I use the scanning client ( works fine ) , I use evernote to actually store the app ( I highly recommend it if you don't know what it is ) .
063 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Very Nice little unit . Flawlessly scans a two sided document quietly and quickly . The unit sits in front of my second monitor screen right on my desk . When i need to scan a document or reciept , I open the lid , and press the button , thats it ! Scan snap organizer is a nice pdf file drawer program that comes with it . I bought this unit beacause of the reviews that it scans flawless , and the purchase was not a mistake . Have not used the scanner on my HP all in one since the day the fujitsu arrived . Once in a great while the scanner will tell me it could not detect paper size , but i figured out that if you are scanning multiple reciepts at the same time , feed the largest doc in first and then the smaller ones and the problem is solved . I use QB 2010 doc managment system , so every day to day reciept , doc , bill etc is turned into pdf and uploaded to QB through the local files tab within seconds . It is very easy to use , the quality is immaculate . Would buy it again !
065 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I will definitely make a video review on this once I'm finished with scanning all my documents .
I've just started scanning - - - What a breeze . This small portable S300 ScanSnap makes life easier .
For weeks , I've been using my expensive HP photosmart printer + scanner . I told myself , Why buy a scanner solely for that purpose when I can just use the flatbed ? BIG MISTAKE . It took me hours just to scan my fave magazine articles .
I just recently quit my job to prepare for a new babe . Ive got loads of work articles and my fave hobby of cutting news articles I like . I just have to unload them bec of the babe !
ScanSnap S300 makes it so easy . I installed the software , restarted my computer , attached my scansnap and Go ! The software is intuitive . There's ScanSnap Organizer and ScanSnap Manager .
The Manager is a no-brainer . You can scan double-sided or single-sided .
The Organizer just lets you organize folders or cabinets on the left side of the screen and drag your recently scanned files from the right . So on the left side Ive got cabinet folders named recipes , projects , baby care etc . On the right side Ive got my scanned pages which i can rename and allocate . Nice and Easy !
Scanning is easy . Just touch the Scan button and it does everything for you .
Its so light and takes less space . I was going to buy the most recent version of scansnap for $400 , but I had to weigh down how much will I use it and space usage .
Since only 1 - 3 people will use this at home and I cant afford another clutter , small version it is .
ONLY QUESTIONABLE PEEVE : Will this work in Vista ?
I think its says XP , but since our technology-infused household is still loyal to XP then my S300 is still a gem to behold .
If you have Vista , then you might just consider the newer version . I dont think they have this portable small device in Vista yet or I would have gotten it . I havent looked if its possible to upgrade to Vista .
But Boy ! If this device can scan all my documents in less than a day . It's worth it ! ! ! ! ! !
I'll update my review in a few months . For now I'm back to my scanning chores . bye !
Its a KEPPER .
ITS A KEEPER .
ITS A KEEPER .
( So enthusiastic , huh ? - - - - Well you should see me scanning from my flatbed scanner . What a pain ! Now , I dont need to close / open the lid or wait for HPS slow scanning mechanism . ScanSnap just slides documents through and its scanned . Makes me want to cry . When I'm done with this I can focus on laundry for my coming baby )
I just hope it'll be durable . Almost $240 is a bit painful when I can buy more than 5 mega boxes of pampers ! Then again - - - my head's reeling bec its so efficient !
066 4 I will definitely make a video review on this once I'm finished with scanning all my documents .
I've just started scanning - - - What a breeze . This small portable S300 ScanSnap makes life easier .
For weeks , I've been using my expensive HP photosmart printer + scanner . I told myself , Why buy a scanner solely for that purpose when I can just use the flatbed ? BIG MISTAKE . It took me hours just to scan my fave magazine articles .
I just recently quit my job to prepare for a new babe . Ive got loads of work articles and my fave hobby of cutting news articles I like . I just have to unload them bec of the babe !
ScanSnap S300 makes it so easy . I installed the software , restarted my computer , attached my scansnap and Go ! The software is intuitive . There's ScanSnap Organizer and ScanSnap Manager .
The Manager is a no-brainer . You can scan double-sided or single-sided .
The Organizer just lets you organize folders or cabinets on the left side of the screen and drag your recently scanned files from the right . So on the left side Ive got cabinet folders named recipes , projects , baby care etc . On the right side Ive got my scanned pages which i can rename and allocate . Nice and Easy !
Scanning is easy . Just touch the Scan button and it does everything for you .
Its so light and takes less space . I was going to buy the most recent version of scansnap for $400 , but I had to weigh down how much will I use it and space usage .
Since only 1 - 3 people will use this at home and I cant afford another clutter , small version it is .
ONLY QUESTIONABLE PEEVE : Will this work in Vista ?
I think its says XP , but since our technology-infused household is still loyal to XP then my S300 is still a gem to behold .
If you have Vista , then you might just consider the newer version . I dont think they have this portable small device in Vista yet or I would have gotten it . I havent looked if its possible to upgrade to Vista .
But Boy ! If this device can scan all my documents in less than a day . It's worth it ! ! ! ! ! !
I'll update my review in a few months . For now I'm back to my scanning chores . bye !
Its a KEPPER .
ITS A KEEPER .
ITS A KEEPER .
( So enthusiastic , huh ? - - - - Well you should see me scanning from my flatbed scanner . What a pain ! Now , I dont need to close / open the lid or wait for HPS slow scanning mechanism . ScanSnap just slides documents through and its scanned . Makes me want to cry . When I'm done with this I can focus on laundry for my coming baby )
I just hope it'll be durable . Almost $240 is a bit painful when I can buy more than 5 mega boxes of pampers ! Then again - - - my head's reeling bec its so efficient !
067 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have owned , and still use , other scanners , but this one is the best for a small business . Quick to setup and use . So far it has worked perfectly , which is amazing in this throwaway society .
073 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I bought this scanner to scan bills , receipts , etc . It works great ! It is fast and compact . However I was very surprised to learn after I bought it that it does not have TWAIN drivers which means you have to use the software that comes with the device . This is not a problem for me but may be a problem for some who need the scanner to work within an application . Otherwise I am very satisfied with the scanner and its performance to date .
077 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I bought the ScanSnap s300 scanner for its document feeder , to supplement the flatbed scanner that I also own . It is a great scanner . It is fast , produces clean scans and is quite flexible . Contrary to some other info / reviews out there , it does scan to jpg format ( not just pdf ) . Read that again , because I almost didn't buy this scanner because others said it only scanned to pdf . It does scan to jpg !
I would definitely buy this scanner again .
078 4 I bought the ScanSnap s300 scanner for its document feeder , to supplement the flatbed scanner that I also own . It is a great scanner . It is fast , produces clean scans and is quite flexible . Contrary to some other info / reviews out there , it does scan to jpg format ( not just pdf ) . Read that again , because I almost didn't buy this scanner because others said it only scanned to pdf . It does scan to jpg !
I would definitely buy this scanner again .
079 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
easy to set up .
Great to archive bank statement or pay slips .
Organize them in their correct order , feed them to the scanner in batches of 10 or so ( i wish it would accept larger amount of paper at once ) and it will scan it on both sides very quickly .
You can choose to get one pdf per page or 2 pages or one pdf for all pages , including more that 10 pages .
When the computer is idle it will ocr the pages so you can search the text .
The data is archived in directories so it's easy to organize and backup on a mozy account for example .
you can then thrash all the paper and get rid of the huge filing cabinets .
Love it .
081 4 Feedback from the coworker I purchased this for :
I LOOOOOOVVVVEEEE that little Fujitsu scanner ! ! ! ! ! ! !
It only scans to PDF , I believe - well , that I can tell - but that works out great .
It's got searchable PDF with the ScanSnap software . . . .
So I've been up this morning , playing with the scanner , scanning in all my meeting notes .
Can't wait to shred all the paper . : - )
Thanks again !
Good purchase ! ! ! !
Jen
085 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have rarely been this excited and pleased with a piece of electronic equipment . This is , without doubt , one of the best office machine purchases I have ever made . ScanSnap was a ' snap ' to set up and start using . It occupies otherwise unusable space on my desk , is simple to use ( insert document , press button ) and has worked flawlessly thus far . I've tested on color photos as well . 5x7 scanned to a 152kb PDF file and looks great . Business card scanning software works well too .
If I need to copy a document , I can scan and print right from my desk . If I need to scan and email , piece-of-cake two step process . Scan and store , just as simply . Only draw back is less exercise . No more trips to the central copy / fax / scanner to run a couple page job for me !
Best feature ? It is small and light enough for me to carry along on road trips and can be powered from my notebook computer's USB port . With this , my notebook PC , portable printer and mobile broadband dongle I can load up the RV and still be a complete office almost anywhere .
086 4 I have rarely been this excited and pleased with a piece of electronic equipment . This is , without doubt , one of the best office machine purchases I have ever made . ScanSnap was a ' snap ' to set up and start using . It occupies otherwise unusable space on my desk , is simple to use ( insert document , press button ) and has worked flawlessly thus far . I've tested on color photos as well . 5x7 scanned to a 152kb PDF file and looks great . Business card scanning software works well too .
If I need to copy a document , I can scan and print right from my desk . If I need to scan and email , piece-of-cake two step process . Scan and store , just as simply . Only draw back is less exercise . No more trips to the central copy / fax / scanner to run a couple page job for me !
Best feature ? It is small and light enough for me to carry along on road trips and can be powered from my notebook computer's USB port . With this , my notebook PC , portable printer and mobile broadband dongle I can load up the RV and still be a complete office almost anywhere .
087 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I basically bought this to help reduce the amount of paper in our home file cabinet . I've used it for about a month now - and it's been great . I appreciate the size ( can just toss it in a desk drawer when not in use ) and how simple it is to use ( I use to be an early adopter kind of guy - now 4 kids later - I just want something that works quickly / as advertised ) . You just plug in the power cable and the usb cable / open the scanner / load your the items to scan / and push one button - then you get a pdf with a simple option to email it / or save it anywhere on your drives . The icon in the system tray makes it easy to switch any of the scanning features on / off . This is not what you want to buy if you need to scan 100 page legal documents ( you can load about 15 pages at a time ) - but if you just want to remove some clutter ( think old bank statements , bills , receipts ) from your regular household life - this will do the trick . Could type a lot more about the software , etc . - but really I never have that much time . : - )
089 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
First , let me say that the best price for this product was found on Amazon and shipping was FREE ! It doesn't get better .
This scanner shocked me with its speed , accuracy , quality , etc . I have no complaints , just a wish : now , let's make one that is both a printer and scanner in the same size . That way I could carry justs one item on trips , not two . : - )
091 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This is the only product I've ever purchased that worked exactly as advertised . Within 2 minutes I went from unboxing to scanning ( not including reboot time ) . I used to have a neat receipt scanner and it is day and night difference . It is quick , and the quality looks excellent
093 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This tool keeps you organized . It takes very little space , so you can leave it plugged-in on your desk , and its one-click operation makes it easy to have the discipline to scan all your papers , cards , notes and receipts . You'll never lose a document again .
This scanner is fast , simple , and high-quality . It quickly cleared a huge pile of papers on my desk . Filing electronically is a lot easier and more-compact that dealing with tons of impossible-to-search manila folders . It OCRs papers and most business cards accurately too . Fans of GTD (
Getting Things Done : The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
) will love this because it takes under 2 minutes to clear most items , so you never have a large to do pile .
CONS : Mostly small software complaints which could be fixed in an update : One thing I wish it did was recognize when a business card is being scanned and automatically place that into the card organizer instead of the document organizer - - or provide a one-click button to do that . It's also fails at OCR'ing cards where the text is printed white-on-black ( or when the background is darker than the text ) . It also doesn't have a function to import contact data into Thunderbird ( you have to export to text file and import - - adds an extra step ) . It would be nice if you could combine and / or split documents after they've been scanned .
The hardware works almost-perfectly . Really long receipts tend to end up turning diagonally unless you hold them with our hands going in ( the side guides aren't enough to hold them ) , but otherwise paper and cards turn digital without a hitch .
Be sure to hook it up to Evernote ( google for a how-to ) or use an online backup company like SugarSync to have an extra backup of your data .
095 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Remarkably easy to use . Unpack box , install software , plug in scanner , load pages into document feeder , press the SCAN button and presto - neatly arranged , clear , color , pdf files of the documents . Automatically scans both sides of the page ( duplex scanning ) , and automatically deletes any blank pages . I have already used it for papers of a number of sizes : check stubs , letter size , and those weird oversize insurance declaration pages .
Default operation is to scan to pdf files , but it also scans photos to . jpg format . I have little experience scanning photos , so I don't know whether these scans are high quality . They're good enough for e-mailing , or adding to the web , but I can't tell if they are publication or archive quality .
I didn't time the scanner , but a handful of pages takes only a few seconds . The manual claims that the scanner is slower when using USB power , but I didn't notice much difference using the default image quality settings .
Allows previewing of scans before saving , allows rename of files before saving and allows files to be saved in a specified folder . There are a number of options regarding image quality , compression , file locations , color detection and a host of others . Other than changing the target folder , the preset defaults are fine for me .
I successfully used it for a stack of about 15 sheets of paper - the automatic document feeder ( ADF ) managed the lot easily .
Small and easy to carry around , can be powered from USB or AC ( both power cords are included ) . Folds up into a compact unit about 12 by 4 by 4 inches with all the working parts well protected , weighs just over 2.5 pounds ( without the power brick , which is not needed if you use the USB power cord when traveling ) .
The only downside I can see is that the ADF is collapsible and is made of three pieces of somewhat flimsy plastic - - handle with care to avoid damage .
The included document manager seems to be nothing more than a fancy explorer . I don't need yet more redundant software . I have not tried the optical character recognition ( OCR ) or the business card reader ( that is supposed to read a standard business card and convert to a Microsoft Outlook contact .
Other Comments :
1 . If you want to use the USB power cable , you need TWO open USB ports on your computer
2 . If you have a stack of paper that have been folded or stapled ( remove the staples first ! ! ! ) the ADF will sometimes grab two sheets at once . Slightly ' fanning ' the stack before loading the ADF helps
3 . The scanner software needs a couple of additional features : ( 1 ) ability to delete a page before saving the scan ; and ( 2 ) ability to rotate a page or more before the pdf is saved ( the auto-rotate is very good , but not perfect )
4 . The documentation states that the software is compatible with Windows XP or Vista . I installed on my Windows 7 32 bit Home Premium computer with no problems .
I'll report back in a few months when I've had more experience . . . .
097 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I've been using the SnapScan S300 for about a year now and I'm very happy with it . The duplex feature is great and it's been a true workhorse as I've been moving my entire office to the digital world .
Things I like :
- Scans to PDF files .
- Has software for organizing PDF files .
- Fast and quiet .
- Duplex - - that was a requirement .
- Scans multiple-sized pages into a single PDF file .
- Files are stored as PDFs in folders on the file system . I LOVE THIS ! I'm not locked in to some proprietary system of storing my files .
Things I wish it could do :
- Scan to JPEG , TIFF and PNG files in addition to PDF .
- Let me add meta-data to the PDF while scanning , like a description of what the file is , author , notes , tags , etc . Right now all I get is a plain PDF file .
- Let me search for files based on meta-data , so it's easier to find what I'm looking for . For example , show me all files that are tagged utility bill . Currently I must hunt through a bunch of folders , hoping I organized things well .
- Let me tag PDFs with multiple tags , then be able to filter / view / sort files based on tags .
- It would be great if the software could encrypt the PDF and upload it to Amazon S3 or FTP the files to set location . Much better for disaster recovery , etc .
But all-in-all , a great product for the price and I'm VERY glad I purchased it .
100 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have owned and used the older brother which is the larger ScanSnap S5XX model and this model operates in the exact same fashion at less than half the size .
Pros :
- - - - -
* Can be USB powered . However you need to attach two USB cables . One for Power and one for data .
* Default settings are fast . This scanner feels faster than even my S500 .
* Great PDF scans . Perfect for business operations on the go .
* There are no other product on the market that the speed , operation ease , of ScanSnap S300 and especially at the size .
Cons :
- - - - - - -
* Using USB powered mode , you need to attach total of two USB cables . It cannot draw power from the USB data line .
* The auto page orientation feature needs to be disabled as it is too inaccurate and would incorrectly flip your PDF document .
* Relatively pricey . Would be nice if it was in the $150 range not the $230 range which is out of reach for a lot of folks .
101 4 I have owned and used the older brother which is the larger ScanSnap S5XX model and this model operates in the exact same fashion at less than half the size .
Pros :
- - - - -
* Can be USB powered . However you need to attach two USB cables . One for Power and one for data .
* Default settings are fast . This scanner feels faster than even my S500 .
* Great PDF scans . Perfect for business operations on the go .
* There are no other product on the market that the speed , operation ease , of ScanSnap S300 and especially at the size .
Cons :
- - - - - - -
* Using USB powered mode , you need to attach total of two USB cables . It cannot draw power from the USB data line .
* The auto page orientation feature needs to be disabled as it is too inaccurate and would incorrectly flip your PDF document .
* Relatively pricey . Would be nice if it was in the $150 range not the $230 range which is out of reach for a lot of folks .
102 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
There's not much that I can say about this scanner that hasn't already been said in other reviews . This thing is fantastic . I gave it four stars in that its just slightly annoying that you have to use Fujitsu's mediocre software with it , but the scanner itself is still great . It quickly and accurately scans everything and is way , way better than the ADF scanner on my printer . ( I bought the scanner before I bought the printer with the ADF . Now I have two document scanners , but really , the Scan Snap is way better . ) Also , scanning directly to Evernote could not actually get any easier .
As of now , as far as I can tell , there are no Windows 7 64 - bit drivers available for this , so I can't use it with my laptop which runs this operating system . According to Fujitsu's website [ . . . ] , these drivers are in development and should be available at some point . ( Given the long period of testing for Windows 7 , one might think that Fujitsu could have started working on this somewhat sooner , but whatever . ) I can only hope .
Overall , I would definitely buy this scanner again and I highly recommend it .
103 4 There's not much that I can say about this scanner that hasn't already been said in other reviews . This thing is fantastic . I gave it four stars in that its just slightly annoying that you have to use Fujitsu's mediocre software with it , but the scanner itself is still great . It quickly and accurately scans everything and is way , way better than the ADF scanner on my printer . ( I bought the scanner before I bought the printer with the ADF . Now I have two document scanners , but really , the Scan Snap is way better . ) Also , scanning directly to Evernote could not actually get any easier .
As of now , as far as I can tell , there are no Windows 7 64 - bit drivers available for this , so I can't use it with my laptop which runs this operating system . According to Fujitsu's website [ . . . ] , these drivers are in development and should be available at some point . ( Given the long period of testing for Windows 7 , one might think that Fujitsu could have started working on this somewhat sooner , but whatever . ) I can only hope .
Overall , I would definitely buy this scanner again and I highly recommend it .
104 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This product works the way it is advertised . I love it because it is easy to setup and scan documents . The double sided capability , the color option , and automatically straightening documents are the best options . The 10 - sheet capability is perfect for most of the documents I need to scan . It is lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of space on my desk . I purchased Visioneer products in the past , but had many problems with them and had to reinstall the scanner and software many times . I finally got fed up with it and decided to try something else .
I haven't had it very long , but we scan as many documents as we can to our server to save on paper . It has worked very well so far .
108 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I did extensive research prior to deciding on the Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 as I was looking for something that would scan a mess of business cards I had into Outlook , but I wanted to be able to use it for things other than just business cards as well . After reading many reviews on this scanner I decided to give it a try . It didn't let me down at all ! It plowed through about 500 business cards quickly and the software is easy to use and it flows into Outlook flawlessly . It is so small that I leave it sitting on my desk now and I only have to use the large office scanner for large projects as this little bugger does the smaller jobs nice and quick . Well worth the money if you are on the go or just want something small and compact for smaller jobs .
110 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I honestly recommend this scanner to person who want compact one . Save your space on the desk !
You can use it after installation of the attached software easily .
112 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have not scanned many documents with the scanner thus far but it's worked well for those I have . I think I like the fact that it scans from the bottom of the stack rather than from the top . This may help avoid misfeeds . It is simple to set up and simple to use . The fact that it has a document feeder which allows one to load a small stack of paper and scan them all in sequence rather than scanning one page at a time is a major plus to me . I also have a mini portable printer so when I take them both with me I can photocopy and print documents anywhere I go . I would like it if Amazon would follow up with another review in 90 days .
114 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Bought this scanner after reading all of the good reviews . Couldn't be happier with my purchase . Amazon had the best deal , no shipping , no tax and it was about $40 cheaper than anywhere else I looked ( in store and online ) . I'm a real estate agent and use this a couple of dozen times a day . It's efficient and very easy to use . It does jamb occasionally if I try to feed more than 10pages or so . Easy fix , you just lift up the cover and take the paper out . Very small , portable . Highly recommend this product . This has made my life so much easier !
116 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I was looking for a portable scanner to use for property management . This scanner works great when I'm out in the field with clients . Just connect power and communications USB cables to my laptop running on batteries , and I'm able to save off any documents I need without being concerned with power for the scanner . Takes a few seconds before the power indicator shows it's ready , but the actual scanning is still fast . The Card Minder software to scan business cards works great also . The export to Outlook worked seamlessly . Found myself digitizing all my important personal papers at home as well . So easy to use , my kids use it for their school assignments . They make copies of worksheets and study guides to work with on the computer instead of fumbling with the paper copies . Also great for all of us to share documents by either e-mailing or faxing to clients , business partners , contractors , and class mates . Awesome scanner , highly recommend whether you need a portable scanner or not . Takes very little desk space and does a great job . Great tool for low cost .
123 4 Papers were taking over my office , so I turned to the ScanSnap to digitize & eliminate them . Once I found a home for it , I configured a new profile for Evernote and scanned my first document - it sucked it in quick & within a few seconds , the file was in Evernote .
Next , I attacked the stack of business cards sitting next to my monitor . I started one-by-one , but then dumped 6 in at a time . The card reader recognition worked well on traditional cards - the others I adjusted manually .
If you're looking for a way to digitize your paperwork , don't hesitate on buying this product . I have absolutely no regrets , and highly recommend it .
126 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I have had this for a week now and I am very impressed . I used to use the ScanSnap S510 at my office , and have been looking for a smaller version for myself to use at home and while traveling . This was recommended to me by a friend , and despite the high price , I decided to give it a try . I am glad I did .
I am a PhD student and this is perfect for my needs . I produce about 10 to 20 pages of notes a day ( on white copy paper and legal pads ) . No problem with the device or the software . In fact , it works even better than I thought it would . If you are like me and take lots of notes , but have a hard time keeping up with the process of organizing and making use of them ( besides piling them up on desks and floors ) , then I highly recommend this !
127 4 I have had this for a week now and I am very impressed . I used to use the ScanSnap S510 at my office , and have been looking for a smaller version for myself to use at home and while traveling . This was recommended to me by a friend , and despite the high price , I decided to give it a try . I am glad I did .
I am a PhD student and this is perfect for my needs . I produce about 10 to 20 pages of notes a day ( on white copy paper and legal pads ) . No problem with the device or the software . In fact , it works even better than I thought it would . If you are like me and take lots of notes , but have a hard time keeping up with the process of organizing and making use of them ( besides piling them up on desks and floors ) , then I highly recommend this !
132 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Th ScanSnap 300 is aimed at the business crowd , and for that group of folks , this is a terrific little scanner . It is amazingly fast at double-sided scans , which is a huge time-saver . It scans directly to PDF , which is quite helpful , especially for those who don't have Acrobat or other similar software that allows them to do this . Of course , much of the beauty of this is its size - - small & light enough to throw into your computer bag along with your computer . This provides me the freedom to tackle some scanning jobs at venues outside of my office , or when I am on the road - a nice feature . I've been impressed with the quality of the scans , including color graphics , though admittedly I've not tried scanning photos . This is not designed to be a photo scanner . If that's your need , look for larger , cheaper , better flatbed photo scanners . My only gripe with this is that there is more plastic than I expected , and some parts seem a bit flimsy . That said , it has traveled to / from the office with me for a month , plus an overseas trip , and has stood up well for 6 weeks . Not cheap , but a worthwhile investment for those who need a fast , reliable , portable business scanner .
136 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
LIke so many others , I was looking for an inexpensive scanner . I was debating with myself for months on a Canon and then recently stumbled across the Fujitsu . Since I wanted it mainly to get a zillion documents hanging around into the computer , after reading the reviews , I decided to spend the $260 . I'm running Vista 32 . Installation was a snap . Scanning takes seconds . The Organizer is terrific . I am so glad I spent the extra money . I'll use it mainly hooked up to power , but I can see that if you're travelling , it would be a snap to take along . This thing is fabulous !
141 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I bought this device to digitize all of the papers I've accumulated over the years but have not been able to throw away - - receipts , tax forms , magazine articles , old college papers on which I got good grades , etc . I really hate having physical papers around and this lets me reduce the clutter around the house .
One particularly great feature is that it can simultaneously scan both sides of a document .
One caveat is that it's not great at reproducing all of the details in photographic / color docs , not to mention that it outputs only in PDF format . You wouldn't be using this to scan your old photos .
144 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I did quite a bit of research before purchasing a mobile scanner . I work in the litigation support industry and my needs are not the same as the rest of the business community at large . For example , within the legal field , a tiff image is industry standard for legal support software . ( ie Sanction II , Trial Director , Summation , Concordance . . . . . . . and so on ) My research turned up a total of 0 scanners that will scan to a tiff image with thier bundled software . So , I moved on to try and find a scanner with TWAIN dirvers to use in other scanning applications . My problem here was that at the time , none of these scanners had driver support for 64 - bit operating systems . It seems I was stuck .
I chose to go with the Scansnap S300 because when I checked the manufacturer web site I found Windows 7 support drivers ready to go . My trade off with using this scanner is that I have to go through one more step to get to my desired tiff images . The bundled software will allow me to scan directly to Acrobat , although it is in a sort of back door approach . I can set a scan profile in the software management utility and have it scan to acrobat . So you do not open Acrobat , click create new PDF from scanner and go from there . Rather , you load your paper into the scanner , select your PDF scan profile , and press the button . Your paper is scanned and then opened in Acrobat . From here , as I have a full version of Acrobat and not just the reader , I can save my scan to a tiff image for my litigation support-ware . It is an extra step , but as I will list below , I am very pleased with this scanner thus far .
My Pros and cons are : Pros - Outstanding scan quality . Outstanding scan speeds . Document feeder that works very well . Windows 7 ( 64 - bit ) support and good instructions on how to properly load said drivers as they are not yet included on the packaged CD . Quiet operation . Design allows for easy cleaning of the scan lens and replacement of feed rollers . Color scans of photos look fantastic as well .
Cons - No TWAIN drivers , and in a call to customer support it does not seem likely there ever will be . Scanner needs separate connections for data and power . So you need to be near A / C power or tie up two usb ports on your computer .
My needs are different from the general business traveler so my review may not speak to very many . This scanner is an outstanding piece of gear and I am very glad I chose this one . On a side note , while poking around on the Fujitsu web site I came a across an offer for a free carrying case . I believe this offer expires soon , so check the web site for more details .
146 4 I recently upgraded all of my machines to Vista Ultimate 64x . I learned during this that my DocketPort 465 , which worked great on Vista Ulitmate 32bit , does not support Vista Ultimate 64x . I * LIVE * on my scanner while on the road , so I searched high-and-low for a mobile scanner thta supports 64bit Vista . They are FEW and FAR between .
Well , my ScanSnap 300 just got off the the FedEx truck about 30 minutes ago . I have already installed the software without flaw on my Vista Ultimate x64 machine and scanned my first document straight into a PDF file . It works great - and my stress level is way back down .
I am a happy camper !
147 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I agree with the other reviewers . This is a great little scanner . I was looking for a device that would allow me to rapidly scan and organize my receipts for my expense reports . It's really fast . I probably make 3 - 400 scans per month . This guy works just fine ; create a folder and scan away . It's that easy . If a paper gets stuck , just pop open the cover and release . It also scans both sides of the document . Incredible . I don't travel with the scanner , but I do like the compact size and the fact that the device is powered by the usb ports . I can take the scanner and my laptop outside and do my expense reports on the back porch , even with a beer if I so choose .
149 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
We've been using these portable scanners at work for a couple years . They are very compact , scan quickly , and help us perform our jobs much more efficiently . The only draw backs . . . I've not figured out how to scan pictures in jpeg format and they should sell the scanner with a carrying case .
151 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
This got great reviews everywhere . . . and I must say it works great for me . The big deal is the built in PDF generation which is super fast and with a setting or two adjusted to just a little higher resolution than the defaults I find I can pretty much read even the smallest print with ease .
My only complaint is that for some smaller documents it does not always pull through fully straight . . however there is a software function to deal with it and it works ok most of the time . Some documents ( like thermal rcpt paper ) are a little hard for it to handle . If the first pass doesn't get it right and a REALLY want to keep the scanned copy I will take a sheet of paper and tape the receipt to it to act as a holder . . this works well . I tried inserting small docs into a plastic carrier like a sheet protector . . the the plastic is a bit too slick for the rollers to handle reliably .
For anyone wanting to purge a lot of paper that piles on your desk and store it electronically this is a great tool . The dual-sided scanning is very fast .
The ornanizing app they supply w / the scanner is ok . . . and supposedly indexes the PDF files from the scanner on words it sees . . I've not messed with this too much but what little I have seems to work as advertized .
153 4 Love the scanner , as everyone detailed , it's simple and great .
Problem is , when I lost my hard drive , it was a pain to get it working again . First , you need to send them your part number and serial number for your scanner and they show a picture where you can find it . The problem is , the numbers are not there . Looked for a long time everywhere , still couldn't find it . Without these two numbers you can't get the software . Eventually I found the original box that has these two numbers - although they are outside the cardbox , a bit scraped off already . I managed to finally send them the numbers and waited for the link in the emails . a few minutes later , I got a link , login password to get the software .
Well i double clicked on the software ( manager and organizer ) and nothing happened . eventually I realized that all it did was expanding the files to a folder named of their own choosing : ScanSnap , Organizer and Card . How nice ! Any computer psychic can figure that out !
So the lesson is , as any traditional japanese electronics company products , make sure you keep a backup of your installation CD somewhere , and make sure you keep your part number and serial number stored somewhere you will not forget , either .
154 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
It is a good small scanner for portability purpose . Regarding the scan quality , it is up to decent standard . Higher class scanners obviously produce more significant difference . A worth to buy item overall .
156 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Awesome product . Liked it so much , I bought a second one so I have one at home and office .
158 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
The scanner works really well , but , as expected , it's pretty heavy . I am glad I got it , though I bought it for work ( and I travel a good bit ) . I wish it was a bit lighter , but the performance is so great , you don't have to babysit it as the pages go through , and I think if you really want one of these , plan on trading performance with weight of product in your decision-making .
171 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
I love it . It works better than I thought it would . It even lets you know if it thinks it didn't get a good scan like when the paper gets jammed or croocked . It does take a long time for the software to install even on a new PC with Vista . Not sure why that is but give yourself time . But this scanner really works .
174 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
It has been a long time since I have seen a blue screen of death in Windows . Using the RTM version of Windows 7 , I excitedly installed the software and connected my scansnap 300 to my machine . I wasn't too concerned with the 1999 look of the software but became a little more concerned when I got a BSOD the instant I tried to scan my first document . Nice , so much for the out of box experience . Anyways , like 99% of the competent companies out there , I just assumed I needed to hit fujitsu's site and download the latest drivers . Nope , looks like the s300 hasn't had an update since Vista released . I already had the latest drivers .
But wait , perhaps it was just an issue with the state my machine was in at the time ? So I tried scanning another document and lo and behold , it worked ! Using the retro looking software to save the file , a sense of optimism was returning . Maybe the device could be salvaged afterall . I then tried scanning another document and bang , BSOD . What a joke .
Needless to say , I am very disappointed with my first fujitsu product ( and obviously my last ) . Probably more disappointing is how well this thing was reviewed all across the web ! Everywhere I looked reviews were extremely positive and even tech sources I highly respected positively commented on it . I guess they are all still using vista or XP . . . .
By the look of the software , the number of software updates they made and the fact that Windows 7 has been in the public domain for almost 10 months now , it is obvious fujitsu has no interest in the product .
Utlimately , it is a shame on me for not researching the product in much higher detail .
I will be returning it to amazon .
177 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Overall , a great sheet feed scanner .
Pros : Auto duplex and color . Great images . Auto aligns scanned pages . Solid , reliable operation . Good scanning speeds .
Cons : Scan software only remembers the default location for images . Card scanner can't print card images or list . Locked in to Fujitsu's card mgmt software .
179 4 I've owned this unit for about a year now . Works well under moderate use . Good scan quality , fairly fast . Easy controls .
The software is mediocre - somewhat un-intuitive setup wise . Moderate learning curve but once it's set up it ' ok . The Cardsnap software that came with it is pretty much useless .
I originally installed under Leopard and it worked pretty much flawlessly except for the occasional unexplained crash . BUT when I upgraded to Snow Leopard , I was in for a surprise ! No longer will it Scan to Folder ! This has to be about the most used feature I'd think . Send your scans to a folder on the HDD for sorting / storage . This is broke with Snow Leopard ! It's been quite a while now and NO fix ! They give some really lame and long winded workaround but apparently they're not working too hard on a fix !
BTW , I came up with my own workaround - Scan to Print and just use OS X's native . PDF ability to Save as . pdf - it works but not as efficiently as their Save to Disk !
If Fujitsu would bother to support their existing customers , I'd probably give it a 5 , but with the lack of timely updates for a real problem , I have to be generous and give them a 3 solely for the excellent hardware + my pre-Snow Leopard experiences .
I hope this review helps someone to avoid the headaches I'm experiencing atm due to the incompatibility issues .
Namaste !
180 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Scan Snap has made my life a lot easier . . living on the west coast , the accountant on the east coast . . . will make tax time easier .
I am happy I bought it . . . definitely user friendly
181 4 Scan Snap has made my life a lot easier . . living on the west coast , the accountant on the east coast . . . will make tax time easier .
I am happy I bought it . . . definitely user friendly
186 4 This review is from :
Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner ( Electronics )
Shortest review I've probably ever written : Installed software , hooked up scanner , and attempted to use . Couldn't save or view scans . Received error message . No help on Fujitsu website . None , nada , niente , zip , zero , zilch . Attempted fixes mentioned on other websites . Still wouldn't work . This piece-of-crap scanner is going to be returned tomorrow .
The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
) will love this because it takes under 2 minutes to clear most items , so you never have a large to do pile .
CONS : Mostly small software complaints which could be fixed in an update : One thing I wish it did was recognize when a business card is being scanned and automatically place that into the card organizer instead of the document organizer - - or provide a one-click button to do that . It's also fails at OCR'ing cards where the text is printed white-on-black ( or when the background is darker than the text ) . It also doesn't have a function to import contact data into Thunderbird ( you have to export to text file and import - - adds an extra step ) . It would be nice if you could combine and / or split documents after they've been scanned .
The hardware works almost-perfectly . Really long receipts tend to end up turning diagonally unless you hold them with our hands going in ( the side guides aren't enough to hold them ) , but otherwise paper and cards turn digital without a hitch .
Be sure to hook it up to Evernote ( google for a how-to ) or use an online backup company like SugarSync to have an extra backup of your data .
029 4 This is just one great product . Scans unbeliveably fast and clear . I was impressed that the software allows me to go into a scanned document consisting of multiple pages , and add , delete or re-arrange pages . I have been scanning a lot since I got the scanner and every once in a while you miss a page or get out of sequence . No problem to make it up later .
Excellent . 10 out of 10
055 4 After using several types of scanners I decided to try this one out . I purchased it for home use and it is WONDERFUL .
I had accumulated about 4 boxes of notes from school plus another two with receipts and important docs from the last 2 years . It took me about 3 days to scan everything with outstanding quality . The best part is that I did it on my spare time . Text recognition really works , I only set it to be done after scanning when the computer is idle . Ability to save files , continue scanning on the same file or under a contiguous file name is excellent ! !
Now my little apartment is less cluttered , I have quick access to my files and can even search for stuff . Anything else ? Oh yes , it's very light and fits everywhere !
I give it 100% thumbs up ! Very good quality and value for money .
088 4 I basically bought this to help reduce the amount of paper in our home file cabinet . I've used it for about a month now - and it's been great . I appreciate the size ( can just toss it in a desk drawer when not in use ) and how simple it is to use ( I use to be an early adopter kind of guy - now 4 kids later - I just want something that works quickly / as advertised ) . You just plug in the power cable and the usb cable / open the scanner / load your the items to scan / and push one button - then you get a pdf with a simple option to email it / or save it anywhere on your drives . The icon in the system tray makes it easy to switch any of the scanning features on / off . This is not what you want to buy if you need to scan 100 page legal documents ( you can load about 15 pages at a time ) - but if you just want to remove some clutter ( think old bank statements , bills , receipts ) from your regular household life - this will do the trick . Could type a lot more about the software , etc . - but really I never have that much time . : - )
092 4 This is the only product I've ever purchased that worked exactly as advertised . Within 2 minutes I went from unboxing to scanning ( not including reboot time ) . I used to have a neat receipt scanner and it is day and night difference . It is quick , and the quality looks excellent
094 4 This tool keeps you organized . It takes very little space , so you can leave it plugged-in on your desk , and its one-click operation makes it easy to have the discipline to scan all your papers , cards , notes and receipts . You'll never lose a document again .
This scanner is fast , simple , and high-quality . It quickly cleared a huge pile of papers on my desk . Filing electronically is a lot easier and more-compact that dealing with tons of impossible-to-search manila folders . It OCRs papers and most business cards accurately too . Fans of GTD (
Getting Things Done : The Art of Stress-Free Productivity
) will love this because it takes under 2 minutes to clear most items , so you never have a large to do pile .
CONS : Mostly small software complaints which could be fixed in an update : One thing I wish it did was recognize when a business card is being scanned and automatically place that into the card organizer instead of the document organizer - - or provide a one-click button to do that . It's also fails at OCR'ing cards where the text is printed white-on-black ( or when the background is darker than the text ) . It also doesn't have a function to import contact data into Thunderbird ( you have to export to text file and import - - adds an extra step ) . It would be nice if you could combine and / or split documents after they've been scanned .
The hardware works almost-perfectly . Really long receipts tend to end up turning diagonally unless you hold them with our hands going in ( the side guides aren't enough to hold them ) , but otherwise paper and cards turn digital without a hitch .
Be sure to hook it up to Evernote ( google for a how-to ) or use an online backup company like SugarSync to have an extra backup of your data .
105 4 This product works the way it is advertised . I love it because it is easy to setup and scan documents . The double sided capability , the color option , and automatically straightening documents are the best options . The 10 - sheet capability is perfect for most of the documents I need to scan . It is lightweight and doesn't take up a lot of space on my desk . I purchased Visioneer products in the past , but had many problems with them and had to reinstall the scanner and software many times . I finally got fed up with it and decided to try something else .
I haven't had it very long , but we scan as many documents as we can to our server to save on paper . It has worked very well so far .
111 4 I honestly recommend this scanner to person who want compact one . Save your space on the desk !
You can use it after installation of the attached software easily .
163 4 This scanner was demonstrated for me by a client during our appointment . I was going to make a copy of something and mail it back to him and he said No , watch this . I was so impressed with it that I bought my own . I've had it for about a month now and am very pleased . I take it in my computer bag almost everywhere I go . I've even taken it on vacation . Its easy to set up and connect and so far has given me no trouble . I wish all peripherals were this simple and intuitive ( especially for me the original computer illiterate ) .
