If there is one thing I am happy about in 2013, it is that I don’t have to answer the question “When is Fujitsu coming out with a replacement for the ScanSnap S1500?” anymore. That is because today they have announced the, their new desktop document scanner.
Fujitsu hooked me up with a review unit, so let’s check it out. One iX500 To Rule Them All Like their last two scanners, the personal and the portable, Fujitsu has done away with the separate Mac and Windows models.
There is now just one black model that works on both Windows and the Mac. This simplifies things greatly for those that are trying to decide which model to get, but it does have some software implications that I will get into below. ScanSnap iX500 open Speed The first difference between the iX500 and its predecessors is speed. It scans at 25 pages per minute, as opposed to the S1500’s 20ppm and the S1300i’s 12ppm.
They’ve moved much of the processing to a new chip that they call the GI Processor, and most importantly (for me, anyways), they’ve moved OCR processing to a parallel process which means it starts while the scanning is occurring. This means no more long waits for documents to be made searchable after you finish scanning.
I’ve scanned large-ish documents and having been in the ScanSnap ecosystem since 2008 (using the S300M, S1300, and S1300i), I was in shock how fast both the scanning and processing was. More on OCR in a bit. Wireless Scanning This is the feature of the ScanSnap iX500 that is probably going to get the most press.
You have for quite some time, but it was indirect – the scanner needed to be plugged in to your computer, and your computer was the one doing the communicating. The iX500 has a Wi-Fi chip built-in (the aforementioned GI Processor), and can communicate directly with an iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch, or Android device. There is a Wi-Fi switch at the back of the scanner, and there is a light at the front of the scanner that lets you know when you are connected. ScanSnap iX500 Wi-Fi Light When you install the ScanSnap software on your computer, it asks you if you want to set the iX500 up on your wireless network, and steps you through getting it set up. Once you’ve done that, you can totally cut the computer out of the equation. ScanSnap iX500 Want Wireless I made a video that shows how it works.
The video shows scanning to an iPad, but it is the same deal with any other iOS or Android device. As it stands right now, wi-fi scanning only works scanning to an iOS or Android device. It would be cool if they made it so that you could scan to a computer too, but that is not how it works right now. Update: The iX500 Background OCR As I mentioned earlier, the ScanSnap iX500 ships with software that makes OCR much faster. However, for Mac users, there is an extra enhancement. Windows users have always been able to have background OCR using ScanSnap Organizer.
You could scan to the Organizer software and let it do its thing while you keep scanning or working. Since ScanSnap Organizer is Windows only, Mac users have been out of luck unless we did some. The iX500 ships with the Mac Searchable PDF Converter.
I’ll have another post about that as I play with it, but basically it does what the name says: it lets you scan to a folder and have OCR run in the background when the computer is idle. Mac Searchable PDF Converter Software The iX500 comes with some some software enhancements and some (cough) changes.
Scansnap Ix500 Software For Mac
Enhanced Quick Menu I am not personally a Quick Menu user, but it is definitely helpful for newer or less tech-savvy users. The first change they made is to make the Quick Menu try to detect what type of document you are scanning. For example, I threw in a business card and it helpfully suggested CardMinder. ScanSnap iX500 Quick Menu You can also control the order that Quick Menu entries appear in, and you can now add your own applications to the Quick Menu which is pretty cool. Hit the gear icon to do this. CardMinder for Mac Speaking of CardMinder, the Mac version of CardMinder is now the business card application that ships with the iX500.
I don’t have much to say about this as I am not a big bizcard guy. If you’d like me to do a post about this and dig in further, leave a note in the comments.
Bundled Software The ScanSnap iX500 comes with the following software:. ScanSnap Organizer (Windows). CardMinder (Windows, Mac). ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap (Windows, Mac). ABBYY FineReader Express (Mac). Acrobat X Standard (Windows) Update: The iX500 now comes with Nuance Power PDF (Windows) and Nuance PDF Converter (Mac).
These replace Adobe Acrobat. It also comes with the cloud scanning abilities that have been added to the ScanSnap line over the past few years: Scan To Evernote, Dropbox, SugarSync, Google Docs, Sharepoint, etc. Perceptive Mac readers will notice something right away: the ScanSnap iX500 does not ship with a Mac version of Adobe Acrobat. I always wondered how Fujitsu would handle this when they inevitably moved to a hybrid desktop ScanSnap, and now we know. I can definitely see some Mac users getting cranky about this, so it will be interesting to see what the reaction will be. The line with the desktop ScanSnaps was always “Sure they are a bit expensive, but they come with a full version of Acrobat. That’s $300 right there!” Now for Mac users at least, that is no longer true.
If you are a Mac user and want something Acrobat-y for much less money, you might want to check out PDFPenpdfpen. Update: As mentioned above, Fujitsu has moved away from Acrobat altogether and now supplies Nuance software for both Mac and Windows. Paper Management In addition to the speed and wireless scanning enhancements, Fujitsu has made some improvements to paper handling with the ScanSnap iX500. They’ve replaced the pad assembly with brake rollers. Apparently this is something they brought in from the higher-level scanners. I certainly didn’t have any paper feed issues in my tests. They also made it so that the ScanSnap can handle heavier paper and even plastic cards.
I threw in my REI card and it fed it through easily. There is a new setting for bleed through detection, if you have paper that might be susceptible to that sort of thing. Availability So far, I don’t see the on any of the online shopping sites, but I will update it when it is available. The suggested retail price is $495. It looks like the iX500 is showing up. At the time of writing this it doesn’t have a picture yet, but it is sold by Amazon, so it seems to be legit.
Like all ScanSnaps, the iX500 does not support TWAIN, so if you think you need it, give the a look. If that still does not meet your needs, you will probably need to look elsewhere. However, if you’ve been holding out for an S1500 replacement, now you have one. This is the fastest consumer level ScanSnap they’ve released, and the wireless scanning works well.
They’ve added features while still making it fast and easy to use. I really like it. As an attorney and technology professional, I love this scanner EXCEPT for one feature. The automatic blank page removal for duplex scanning is really poor. Moreover, having owned an HP scanner before and seeing the nice document icons for each page after the scan process but before saving; was nicer. With HP I was able to select pages that were unwanted and just remove those pages before saving. I was also able to resort the pages if I needed to before final save.
I sure wish the ScanSnap would have enabled these features. I wish I had this scanner with the HP software. That said, I still love this scanner, just wish the feature set was either more dynamic or were better implemented. Hi Brooks, I use an S1300 that I’ve had for a few years now. It’s hopper limit is about 6 pages, and every now and again it misfeeds a couple of sheets and I have to go back and rescan the missing ones. (The more pages there are in the hopper the more likely you are to get misfeeds) I use Preview to add the extra pages back into the scanned document.
Big documents need multiple hopper loads. What I would like to know is is the x1500 better when it comes to misfeeds. If not then it seems to me that a bigger page hopper would not be of much help. I’ve got a few decades worth of paper to scan, so the increased speed would be good.
Can someone give me a reality check on the ScanSnap Manager for Mac (ver. Why does it create an empty 'ABBYY' folder in Home? (with three subfolders, all empty—basically a dupe of Application Support folders) 2. Why are Profiles so hard to access? I click on the Dock icon, the Profiles appear.
I move my mouse, the Profiles disappear. Click again, the Profiles may or may not hang around long enough to chose one (and if you do choose one, you get no feedback as to whether it is selected, unless of course you want to click again. So the reality check: has anyone else seen this behavior?
Fujitsu Scansnap Ix500 Scanner
And if so, why is no one complaining about it? This is really lame UI. With the S1500, the Deluxe Bundle meant inclusion of Rack2 Filer. I bought that recently with the thought it would be my central filing system, but after several trials I'm just scanning to Evernote. It has fewer restrictions and much simpler cross-platform access for pc, phones, etc. Were I buying again I'd save the $100.
Very good news about the ix500 OCR going to some form of parallel processing. This is long overdue. Honestly, I was stunned to see my S1500 did OCR in a single thread. It doesn't matter if it's one page, multi-sided, multi-page, or multi-document; My system's i7 barely hits 10% utilization while I wait.
Thanks for your review Brook. I have a question about the OCR I hope you can answer. I currently have a ScanSnap S510 that I run with Windows 7. The scanner is pretty old now but still performs like a champ. The one thing that annoys me though is the way SnanSnap Manager performs OCR. I use Evernote to manage all my scanned PDF documents but if I scan directly into Evernote the PDF is not OCR'd by the ScanSnap software.
Because of this I have to scan to ScanSnap Organiser, wait for OCR to occur on the PDF documents and THEN send the files into Evernote which I find quite frustrating. Which the new GI processor in the iX500, is that what is performing the OCR or is it still performed by the SnapSnap software on the computer? I hope the GI processor does all the OCR and PDF conversion so you have a OCR'd PDF as soon as it shows up on you PC or Mac but I can't find if this is that case or not. Can you enlighten me? I been thinking about the Wi-Fi to Mac thing, and I really doubt Fujitsu is going to do it.
The reason I think that is because I would imagine that they would be afraid of it cannibalizing sales of their network scanners, or might reduce the sales to offices. So, I would be very surprised if they end up adding the ability to scan to a Mac.As for Acrobat, I'm not sure what is going happen there, but again I will be surprised if they added it. It sounds like a licensing nightmare.But, this is all my conjecture. Thanks for the great reviews of all the ScanSnaps; I just got the S1500 for Christmas, got software installed, and have begun playing around with it.
I'm not sure if possible to swap it now; we purchased on 12/19. Though price tag was high, not a huge difference for the newer model. Not concerned about speed. Wifi is definitely appealing, but would be better if it worked with pc. What do you think about whether to try & swap for the newer model (if even possible now)? Thanks again for all the great info!
Fujitsu's been making scanners, and it's even figured how to so that you can send files straight to an iOS or Android device. The last time it released a phone-friendly scanner, though, it was more of a portable device, one that was only capable of scanning so many pages per minute. Now, the company's coming out with the ScanSnap iX500, a very similar product except for the fact that it's meant to live on your desk, and has enough power to scan documents twice as quickly. Thanks largely to a new feeder system, it can scan up to 25 double-sided pages per minute, compared with 20 ppm on Fujitsu's last desktop model. It also packs a new processor that will help the scanner auto-rotate images and make other corrections more quickly. Additionally, Fujitsu claims this does a faster job at making PDFs searchable, adding all the appropriate metadata your computer would need to find the file. Finally, the main Quick Menu is now customizable so that you can pick and choose which apps receive scanned files.
For instance, Photoshop isn't an option by default, but you can make it one through a short setup process. The scanner is available today and priced at $495: expensive, yes, but about what you would've had to pay for the last-gen model too. Fujitsu Unveils Its Next Generation ScanSnap iX500 Desktop Scanner Incorporating 'PC-Less' Scanning to Mobile Device Functionality Control and Access Documents From the Palm of Your Hand With Your Smartphones and Tablets; Instantly Send Documents to the Cloud for Easy Organizing and Sharing SUNNYVALE, Calif., Jan.
7, 2013 - Fujitsu, the market leader in document imaging scanners, today introduced the newest addition to its award-winning ScanSnap product lineup – the next generation ScanSnap iX500 featuring built-in Wi-Fi connectivity giving customers the ability to scan directly to their Android™ and iOS compatible devices. Additionally, the ScanSnap iX500, for PC and Mac users, is enhanced with faster scanning speeds, a new advanced feeding system, an intelligent and customizable Quick Menu, and functionality allowing users to easily scan to cloud-based services such as Evernote, Google Docs™, Dropbox, SugarSync and Salesforce. Equipped with a revolutionary 'GI' image processer nside the scanner, the ScanSnap iX500 is now empowered for today's ever-increasing on-the-go lifestyle and mobile professional. Now, users can instantly scan and transmit PDF or JPEG files, such as contracts, receipts, bills, invoices and business cards, to their mobile devices without the use of a computer.
Utilizing the free 'ScanSnap Connect' app on their mobile device or tablet, ScanSnap users achieve a whole new level of convenience in scanning; literally from the palm of their hand. With a simple push of a button, documents are scanned and saved to their mobile device ready to view, share or send to their favorite cloud service. The 'ScanSnap Connect' app can be downloaded in the Google Play Store and the iTunes App Store and can be used with Android compatible tablets and smartphones running OS 2.2 and both the iPad and iPhone running iOS 4.3 or later. 'There's a simple reason why ScanSnap is the top selling personal scanner on the market today – it continues to offer the most intelligent, powerful scanning tools to keep up with the growing demands of our customers,' said Scott Francis, senior vice president of marketing, Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc. 'The ScanSnap iX500's built-in GI processor allows you to scan and save optimized PDFs to your mobile device without the need for a PC, while its advanced productivity features allow consumers and business professionals to be even more productive and paperless anywhere, anytime.
All of this functionality provides customers with the highest performance personal scanning experience combined with extremely easy operation. The iX500 truly pushes the performance bar to a new level.' Powerful, Intelligent and Fast The ScanSnap iX500, enhanced with USB 3.0 connectivity, provides the same easy-to-use one-button scanning and advanced imaging technology that customers have come to expect with ScanSnap, while also providing consumers and business professionals additional intuitive productivity features that no other document management company offers. New and innovative features of the ScanSnap iX500 include:. Faster Scanning Performance: Utilizing the increased power of its engine and 'GI' image processor, the iX500 can create PDF files at speeds of up to 25 double-sided color pages per minute (300dpi, color) - that's 25 percent faster than its predecessor. Advanced Document Feeding System: Inheriting the superior paper feeding technology driving the higher-end scanners from Fujitsu, the iX500 achieves exceptional feeding reliability using enhanced 'Separation Roller' technology to maximize feeding reliability across an even wider range of documents and scanning situations. Customizable Quick Menu: For additional convenience and flexibility, the ScanSnap Quick Menu is fully customizable and automatically appears after scanning providing a quick and easy way to send those scanned documents to several popular 'Scan-To' applications.
Furthermore, the Quick Menu incorporates new intelligence that anticipates the appropriate application while keeping users in the driver's seat for easy and faithful disposition of content. 'ScanSnap Folder': Stay in the moment and extend the power of one-button scanning into virtually any Windows application, even in the cloud, with the 'ScanSnap Folder' function. This easy but powerful feature essentially replicates ScanSnap as a Windows folder which the user can open from their favorite software and web applications allowing them to scan into it without making complicated setting changes in ScanSnap or their application. It's the ultimate in 'Scan there!' .
Cloud Services Support: Users can scan documents directly to Evernote, Google Docs, Dropbox, SugarSync and Salesforce Chatter from their Mac or PC, giving them even more flexibility to store, share and access their paperwork. Whether it is scanning contracts, bills, invoices, or business cards on the road or using a PC in one place and a Mac in another, consumers have the necessary tools to be even more productive and paperless virtually anywhere. Additional Productivity Features The ScanSnap iX500 comes with software for PC and software for Mac so users who use both can optimize their ScanSnap for either platform. In-box software includes:.
ScanSnap Manager (PC & Mac): Provides PC and Mac users one button searchable PDF creation, access to intelligent features and custom scan settings (profiles) for simple operation with sophisticated results. Scan-to Functions (PC & Mac): Offers users a flexible way to manage PDF, searchable PDF and JPEG files, providing them with an easy way to scan to a folder, attach scans to an email, send scans to a printer, as well as to a variety of cloud-based repositories like Evernote, Dropbox, and others. Efficient Business Card Scanning (PC & Mac): PC users can capture a business card, extract the information automatically and export it to Outlook, Excel®, Salesforce and other contact management software. While Mac users can conveniently scan their business cards and export the contact information directly to Address Book or Outlook for Mac. ScanSnap Organizer (PC): Offers PC users a convenient way to store, manage and view PDF and JPEG files as well as perform post-scan editing, keyword entry and searchable PDF conversion. ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap (PC & Mac): ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap™ allows users to be productive by quickly transforming their paperwork into editable Word®, Excel and PowerPoint files at the push of a button. Intelligent and Convenient Document Processing: Comes loaded with a full suite of intelligent scanning features, such as automatic paper size and color detection, automatic de-skew, orientation, and blank page detection & deletion, and the ability to scan a document up to 34 inches long, to support a wider range of documents.
The Scanner is also equipped with a 50-page automatic document feeder (ADF). Paper to Digital at the Push of a Button: The ScanSnap iX500 comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat X Standard for PC allowing users to quickly transform their paperwork into editable documents at the push of a button. Post Scan OCR for Mac Users: The ScanSnap iX500 comes bundled with ABBYY Fine Reader Express for Mac which quickly turns any scanned paper document or PDF file into editable and searchable formats while keeping the original layout intact. Rack2-Filer Smart (PC): Rack2-Filer Smart comes bundled with the ScanSnap iX500 Deluxe model and enables PC users to organize their digital files into graphical e-binders and virtual cabinets. Pricing & Availability The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 is available now for $495 (U.S. List) through Fujitsu authorized resellers and mail order catalogs. The ScanSnap iX500 Deluxe Bundle is now available for $595 (U.S.