Considering a ScanSnap IX500

I bought the scanner meant for both PC and Mac.

The scanning speed is fast. You can scan and send to your Mac (linked by ethernet) and your iOS devices wiressly.

After updates to the software, you can now scan wirelessly from one chosen machine.

I have since then scanned many docs using this scanner without any major hiccups. The scanning mechanism has been relatively jam free and fast.

I have the older 1500m and have been very pleased with it. In addition to documents I also used it for converting photos to digital. I have no concerns about having an older model.

Richard,

The ScanSnap is the "gold standard" for scanning documents into a Mac or PC. Don't hesitate... no other product is even in "second place". Like the previous poster, I have the older 1500M... but the IX500 is even better.

If you want the corresponding gold standard for a document database... get Devonthink Pro Office.

/Jim

Don't forget backups... If you're going paperless you will need to make sure you are diligent with them.

Regards,

I have an IX500. Very happy. I initially purchased a Canon P-150 (considerably lower $$), but had several failures to feed documents. Returned it and spent the extra for the ScanSnap. Zero regrets.

The software bundle has more "things" for PC than Mac (notably, a full copy of Adobe Acrobat 11). Not a problem for me, as I run Windows 8.1 in Parallels, so I installed the extra PC programs there.

I have 2 IX500's an Epson GT-S50 and a NeatDesk. I like all but I do have to say, I like the Neat software much better than either Fujitsu's or Epsons.

richard13 said:

Hi. I'm going to try to go paperless at my house. It seems I can reduce clutter and improve efficiency by having these papers converted into something on my computer.

I've been doing some research and it seems the ScanSnap IX500 is the way to go. Does anyone have experience they'd like to share?

Also, there seems to be two packages sold for this model. One that says it's for "Mac and PC" and the other says "Deluxe Bundle for PC". The specs show they are both for Mac and PC. But oddly enough it seems I can get the latter for less money. Is this version the exact same only with some extra PC software? I plan to use this scanner with my Macs.

Also, this scanner is relatively expensive and it came out over a year ago. I wonder if there's a possibility that it will become obsolete by a new version in a month or two?

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I've been going back and forth on this one too; it is relatively expensive, but the rave reviews seem to back that price up. I finally decided to get it, and the same day I see a special at ncixus.com for $379... a good bit cheaper than anywhere else.

Paperless office, here I come. Hopefully it will do the trick for converting all the old shoeboxes of photos too...

Am I correct in thinking that this scanner only works with loose paper?
Stapled or bound materials can't be scanned?

mgipe said:

Am I correct in thinking that this scanner only works with loose paper?
Stapled or bound materials can't be scanned?

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Correct. For those, you need a flatbed scanner, or a digital camera.

Having said that... the benefits of a full duplex sheet fed scanner like the ScanSnap are so profound that you will wonder how you ever got buy without one. I would say that my ratio of using my ScanSnap to my flatbed is about 1000:1

I've read that the percentage of people who actually continue to attempt using a flatbed scanner to maintain a paperless lifestyle is essentially zero. I can believe it.

/Jim

I have a ScanSnap S510 that I use at work and love it. I have a flatbed scanner at home (can't remember the brand) that I never use really. Just not worth it.

Paper that has been stapled together you can still scan, just remove the staple and smooth out the part with the holes. Worsecase scenario, you may have to feed the pages in separately so that it doesn't take two at a time. Not that bad, I do it all the time. I couldn't do my job nearly as well without it.

mgipe said:

Am I correct in thinking that this scanner only works with loose paper?
Stapled or bound materials can't be scanned?

Click to expand...

Stapled is easy, just remove the staples and scan. For bound works I've used a couple if different solutions. My wife had a spiral bound book she wanted in electronic format so she could use it on her iPad. I just removed the binding, scanned it in and the put the binding back on. On some other books I wanted to scan I just cut the binding edge off and it scanned fine. Book was no longer bound but I just put a binder clip on it for storage.

The ScanSnap is the favored sheetfeed scanner in law offices, and boy we lawyers love our paper, as y'all know....

One nit about it is that at least one "version" comes with Acrobat standard for Windows, but not for Mac. I've heard various things about whether you could switch that to a Mac license with Adobe, but I believe you cannot. Bummer cuz that's probably the best scanning software, and you do have to consider software and whether you're gonna OCR those scans. If you DO OCR, then finding stuff is as easy as Spotlight. If you DO NOT OCR then you've gotta come up with some software and file system for finding stuff.

And you mentioned photos. Don't bother using a sheetfeed for those. Wrong tool. And with services like DigMyPics or ScanCafe frankly it isn't worth scanning your own slides and photos; they can do a better job. And it's ridiculously cheap.

And speaking of cheap, there are good alternatives, especially if you don't use it that often. I have a Canon P150 (now P215 or something) and it rocks. It's super reliable, runs off USB, is small, and is surprisingly fast. It won't do the pleadings in Apple vs. Samsung, but it is actually better at small stuff than the big sheetfeeders I've used. And it's about $225. Perfect if you do the occasional 15 page document right at your desk, or on the road. Fujitsu makes a small one as well.

And +1 on Devonthink. The Canon lets me scan straight into Evernote (which also does a phenomenal job of OCR'ing (better than Acrobat in my case). But for office stuff I used Devon's stuff and Acrobat Pro. Another thing I liked about Canon's scanner is that it did TWAIN, while Fujitsu doesn't. That might not matter to most.

robgendreau said:

One nit about it is that at least one "version" comes with Acrobat standard for Windows, but not for Mac. I've heard various things about whether you could switch that to a Mac license with Adobe, but I believe you cannot.

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The ScanSnap S1500M was a Mac-only version, and when I purchased it, it came with Adobe Acrobat. The version was typically N-1.

At the time... only the Mac version came with Acrobat. With the introduction of the IX500, they dropped Acrobat. My first ScanSnap came with Acrobat 8 (9 was the current version). I later bought one for my daughter, and her came with Acrobat 9 (X was currently shipping).

/Jim

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richard13 said:

Huh... I see it being $499/$599 at this place you mention. Maybe it was just a one day thing.

The price is one of the reasons I've been hesitating.



Based on reviews I have read I tend to agree with you on this.



This is another reason for my hesitation. When I look at the cost and then over at my flatbed scanner I think can I really justify buying another scanner? Not to mention the extra clutter on my desk. But then I also think that the ScanSnap may be easier to work with. I don't have any special software for my flatbed scanner so getting things into my computer (especially if it is 2 sided) is kind of a pain.

I'm going to look at this again today.

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Dont hesitate. Just park your flatbed scanner in a closet or in the attic. You will likely use it less often than once a year once you get the ScanSnap.

There is no comparison between a great sheetfed scanner, and a flatbed. Once you switch... the flatbed will feel like going from CDs to 8-Tracks.

/Jim

Another big fan of the IX500 here, one of the best purchases I ever made.

New buyers (and maybe others) please do yourselves a favour and spend $5 on the

Unofficial ScanSnap Setup Guide

I have no connection with the author, but suspect I would not have come near using the potential of this machine without it. The official Fuji supplied manual is like a reference book, OK for occasionally looking specific things up in, but without actually telling you how to get started.

I originally started using my IX500 in combination with DevonThink Pro Office which is described as a marriage made in heaven, which it is in some ways. But after nearly a year of trying very hard I gave up on it. Syncing is its Achilles Heel. If I had only wanted my data on one Mac and no iOS devices, I might have stuck with it.

Mike Boreham said:

Another big fan of the IX500 here, one of the best purchases I ever made.

New buyers (and maybe others) please do yourselves a favour and spend $5 on the

Unofficial ScanSnap Setup Guide

I have no connection with the author, but suspect I would not have come near using the potential of this machine without it. The official Fuji supplied manual is like a reference book, OK for occasionally looking specific things up in, but without actually telling you how to get started.

I originally started using my IX500 in combination with DevonThink Pro Office which is described as a marriage made in heaven, which it is in some ways. But after nearly a year of trying very hard I gave up on it. Syncing is its Achilles Heel. If I had only wanted my data on one Mac and no iOS devices, I might have stuck with it.

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I absolutely do NOT want my data on my IOS devices. Way too much sensitive information inside of my DevonThink library to have outside of my local network. I do have a few things synced to IOS app... but very few. My DTPO library loves on my iMac.

For me... the biggest thing that I wanted was for my wife to also have access to my DT library on her own iMac. I really nobody to be mucking around on my machine. A few versions ago (maybe 1-2 years ago)... DTPO introduced incredible syncing. I have my DTPO and my wife's synced together. If either of us adds anything to the DPTO library... it sync's between both of them and they become in sync. Flawless execution now.

/Jim

I've had an IX500 since January 2013 -- I decided to go paperless at the start of a year. All firms I do business with that offer paperless statements, I've done so, and I scan everything else including credit card receipts. Hazel does all the sorting and everything ends up on my Mac mini server which both my wife and I have access. The server drive is encrypted backed up offsite and in triplicate.

It's been a massive reduction in paper and has cleaned out my file cabinet!

I recommend the e-book, Paperless, by David Sparks, "MacSparky". That got me going.

robgendreau said:

And you mentioned photos. Don't bother using a sheetfeed for those. Wrong tool. And with services like DigMyPics or ScanCafe frankly it isn't worth scanning your own slides and photos; they can do a better job. And it's ridiculously cheap.

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Nope.

Used sheetfed for those. Absolutely the right tool for scanning bulk amounts of shoebox photos, the pics look fine. Common sense to use something like this for large amounts of point n shoot photos, and save the fancy flat-bed or the pro service for the art projects or gallery displays.

It's only worth scanning your own if you prefer to keep your money. The ridiculous part is spending 19 cents or more per photo on a company that does the same you can do at home, or even ships your pictures to India. I've already offset the cost of this scanner with the money I saved scanning the tons of the shoebox photos. In one day.

talmy said:

I recommend the e-book, Paperless, by David Sparks, "MacSparky". That got me going.

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Totally agree, that is a great iBook, chock full of good tips, as is his podcast (Mac Power Users). I'm in the midst of going paperless myself, and I've already applied some good time saving ideas.

richard13 said:

Wow! This has been a great conversation so far!

I have another question. For those that have been doing this for a while, do you ever have a problem with receipts regarding offers/warranties/taxes, etc.? I notice that sometimes they ask for the original receipt. Have you ever found this to be a problem since presumably you've scanned it in and destroyed the original?

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I have. For places which require original receipts for returns or rebates, I save the receipts. But its a small, manageable pile and I don't keep them beyond when I might do a return. Most of my receipts are restaurants and gas stations for which there are no returns.

I destroy all receipts, and when I have needed to show the original when returning or for warranty, have shown a printout or just my iPhone screen.
This has been fine for the four or five times I have done it. I suppose there could be a first time.
The info on the receipt should be enough for them to find the info in their own system quickly.

I cannot remember the last time that I've needed an original receipt. I do not save them, and have never had a problem.

/Jim

I love my Canon P215