Home > Consumer Reviews > Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 Deluxe Bundle Instant PDF Sheet Fed Scanner

I have gotten my Fujitsu Scansnap for over a month now. First impression was the cute small size of the scanner. I got the deluxe bundle. Together with the Rack2File software, it is a breeze to use. Very visual filing system and very easy to use and organize my now paperless filing system.

The fast scanning speed (scanning both sides with a single pass) was a definite plus. This is a very sensitive scanner. It very easily detects and stops each time there are dual sheets in the scanner.

This is a fun to use scanner. If you expect anything more than a PDF output, then this is not for you . Otherwise, it is truly a great product for a paperless office.

The standard Adove Acrobat 9 comes bundled with the Rack2file software. Very useful to have.

Verdict: Extremely satisfied with the product.

By nature I am a pack rat. I have trouble throwing anything away. I am also in a business where I must maintain records. I bought the Fujitsu ScanSnap four weeks ago. Since that time I have scanned 5 garbage bags worth of materials. All my current client files are scanned and immediately available to me. Now any document that comes in, the first thing I do is scan it to a file and pitch it. It will take me months to scan previous client files-but I am on my way to becoming a digital office. I wish I had purchased the Scansnap years ago. It is not perfect, it sometimes jams or feeds too many pages at once. Overall, I have been very please with this machine. It has already paid for itself. I will not hesitate to buy another.

PROS

I purchased this to devour 25+ years of saved paper. It has been even better than the many reviews state. Crumpled, faded paper: no problem. Some scans were easier to read than the originals.

Very fast

Not prone ot jam even with old papers


CONS:

I would skip the rack2-filer software. Seems to have been designed by non-professional developers: heavy on graphics, low on functionality and usability. I don't see why anyone would use this over the standard supplied scan software. And why would people want to save excel files as .pdf's for storage rather than save the .xls file. Seems stupid to me.

Saving paper in searchable PDF's has some risk that the file format will become obsolete (and unreadible some day), but it is probably the most likely to survive over the long haul.

If I had it to do over again I would purchase the less expensive version without the software bundle.

I think I am now an addict. I see scanning as easier than dealing with paper for most things.

My girlfriend told me that the level of paper clutter I had was unacceptable, so I began looking for a solution. I've found that for bills this device works great. For some old papers (scientific) that I scanned in, I've found a bit more difficulty. More often than not, things work great. Unfortunately, there are some paper jams. When these occur, I find that the software's simplicity works against it and it's not easy to recover from easily. Also, it takes some effort to remove the jam. But, given how rare this happens, I can still recommend this product. The speed is also amazing!

The unit was very easy to set up, worked well right out of the box with a variety of document management software titles (came with 3 titles of its own plus Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard). I found it worked seamlessly with Paperport 11 by Nuance, did not have any driver issues with any version of Windows XP, Vista or 7. Bottom line - it works as well as others are claiming. I think it is well worth the price.

Pros - It handles "custom" one at a time jobs and "large" batch jobs equally well, - by large I mean for a typical small business job - say 100 to 1000 piece jobs. Paper handling is great, copy images are very crisp and (if selected) the color is great - both sides! (I have not tried photo's or other small slick format documents).

Cons - None so far - less than a month of ownership. BTW this is more suited for "Desktop" use - if your requirements are more along the line of "portability" you might want to look at something more like a Visoneer Strobe at about half the price.. but watch out which model you choose...

If speed, ease of use (including wide compatability) high quality scans, and (reasonably) high volume scanning are top among your requirements, this is a very safe choice. You could easily spend a lot more money and not be nearly as pleased with the result. I wish everything I bought worked this well.