Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Review
Overview
I’ve been planning to get a document scanner for a while now and it was a choice between Canon’s P225II or Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i. Fortunately one of them was discounted to make the decision easier – the ScanSnap.
Hardware
The device is approximately 5cm wider than a width of A4 paper. It folders down to just higher than ream of paper. The UK version comes with EU and UK plugs and a chunky power brick which the cable plugs into. Another down side is the USB cable is a micro instead of the mini connector type found on many EU compliant standard phones.
It can be powered by USB but that’s an addition USB cable with one end you’d plug into your computer and the other goes to a barrel type power connector. This is not ideal in terms of portability.
The paper feeder has a sensor so it can be set to turn on and off when the feeder is closed or open. A bright illuminated button tells you if it’s on or not. You can also set it to turn off after so many hours of no use in the software.
Personally I find the styling out dated and the excessive use of plastic to be unappealing. Compared to the Canon I think the Canon would win the beauty contest.
Software
The Scansnap requires software to work. There are no memory on the device which again limit’s its use as a portable scanner compared to say Doxie.
The Windows software is fairly comprehensive. There are default profiles that come preloaded (which cannot be removed) and you can also setup your own profiles. These scan profiles allow you to set things like:
Where to scan the image to
Where to save the file and the file naming
Scan settings like DPI, black & white or colour, single or duple sided
File settings like file type, OCR, etc
Paper settings like size of paper to checking the length of paper (in case more than 1 sheet is feed at the same time)
Image quality
1 profile can be active at a time and it can be switched depending using the notification icon prior to scanning. This is a great time saver for setting your own presets and switching between them.
Summary
So far the scanner has been running well. I’ve used it on Windows 8 and 10 and the software and system works as per normal.
I’ve been able to scan close to 1000 documents, OCR’d into PDF probably for 1 whole day spread over couple of weeks of night time and weekend work.
