Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac
Price at Fujitsu is much higher than the price listed on this site. You save $65.01!
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner facilitates simple PDF generation with one-touch activated automatic settings and automatic image correction functions. Just place a document in the scanner's paper chute, press the "scan" button, and Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner starts scanning right away. Furthermore, the iX500 is able to simultaneously scan up to 50 two-sided pages at a speedy 25 pages per minute. ScanSnap Carrier Sheets Use of a carrier sheet enables Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner users to digitize larger documents (A3/B4), as well as magazine and newspaper clippings and photographs. Such document-containing carrier sheets can be scanned successively or mixed in with regular paper documents. Intuitive Quick Menu for Intelligent and Flexible Operation The Quick Menu can be set up to display your 'Favorite' scanning destinations or will 'Recommend' an application. For example, scan a business card which will then be automatically recognized and a list of business card-related applications will be recommended. ScanSnap Folder--Simplify Scanning to Your Favorite Applications Does your Windows application have an import or browse command? If so you can now easily scan directly to this application even when no scanning interface is available assuming it supports .pdf or .jpg. Simply browse to the new 'ScanSnap Folder' within your local computer, hit the blue scan button and your document will then be automatically imported into your application and then deleted from 'ScanSnap Folder'. Generates Editable PDF Files Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat X Standard (for Windows only), which enables users to move beyond merely "seeing" and "printing" generated data, to editing generated PDF files however they like. It generates password and digital ID attached PDF files that are ideal for safeguarding personal information and other confidential information that needs to be protected. Efficiently Organizes Business Card Information The bundled business card scanning software scans large volumes of business cards into digital business card holders, and enables you to enter scanned data into Excel, Outlook Express, Salesforce, and other databases for future reference. Seamless Linking to Cloud Services Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner offers direct interaction with your cloud service allowing you to access your documents from any device and at any time or anywhere, the iX500 supports direct scanning to Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs, Salesforce and SugarSync. Scan via Wi-Fi to Your Smart Devices Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner now offers the unique ability to link directly with your iPad, iPhone, and Android devices via a Wi-Fi connection. Fitted with a newly-developed GI processing engine, Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner means that users can now wirelessly operate the scanner via their smart device and the ScanSnap Connect App to create high quality scanned images that can be saved to the device, manipulated, retrieved at a later date and distributed. Product Description Summary Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner provides PC and Mac users an effective way to greatly reduce paper clutter, storage space, and security risk associated with unmanaged paperwork at home or office. For even greater accessibility and usefulness, users can scan documents directly to an iOS or Android mobile device or tablet. Compact Color Duplex Scanner for Mac or PC · Advanced paper feeding system · Blazing 25ppm color scanning · 50-page Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) · Built-in GI microprocessor · PC-less scanning to iOS and Android mobile devices · Comes with Adobe® Acrobat® X Standard for Windows® · Faster searchable PDF creation · More Quick Menu Productivity Easily Transform Paper with the Touch of a Button Achieving organization with the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner starts with the touch of a single button and ends with a host of productivity features that keep you ahead of the stack. · Searchable PDF · JPG · Word (editable) · Excel (editable) · Business Cards · Mobile Scan Directly to Mobile Devices Quickly bypass the computer to scan an image enhanced Buy Now For $429.99 and save $65.01 off the original price of $495! Learn more about this company below Fujitsu Computer Products of America, Inc
|
Customer Reviews
These are some of the 5 Star Reviews From Customers Who Bought Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner For PC And Mac. See all customer reviews through the link below.
See All Customer Reviews Here See Scanner FAQ's on the Fujitsu website here. 
Recent 5 Star Reviews of the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX500 Scanner for PC and Mac (PA03656-B005) (Office Product)
Fast Scanner, March 3, 2013
I wanted to go peperless at home and this scanner has made short work of my filing cabinet full of papers. I've been able to scan and organize my files into searchable PDFs with little effort.
best scanner, March 3, 2013
I have used the Neat Desk scanner, and when I first brought it I thought it was great. Then I had problems with it after the first couple of months, wouldn't scan , read paper jam, when there was no jam, pulled paper in crooked etc. The Fujitsu scan snap is by far a superior product and easy to use. I routinely scan 20-30 pages, and there is never a paper jam, it flows easily, I download everything into dropbox and then distribute it out. I'm sure there's a better way to do this, but I'm lazy and this works for me. Love this product, highly recommend it over neat desk
A life-improving device in this digital world, March 2, 2013
This went on for 3 years. Finally, tired of staring at the boxes of stuff to scan, I decided to actually scan them. Although my all-in-one printer/scanner is a fairly nice model, it just wasn't easy or fast at scanning a bunch of stuff. It had trouble with long thin receipt paper. It had trouble with anything ripped or crumpled. When it wasn't jamming or complaining, it was making me wait. Then, I had to buy a separate $40 program to OCR my PDFs.
I didn't even make it through one box. I gave up. Then I read the eBook Paperless by Mac Sparky and decided I could do this -- with the right tools.
I bought a ScanSnap iX500 and it worked beautifully. I have a small MacBook Air with USB 2, but the ScanSnap flew through scanning all kinds of documents like a ravenous paper-eating monster. Scanning was now a breeze rather than some awful horrible task!
In just a week, I have caught up with all my scanning tasks -- everything from greeting cards and photos (* see below on photos) to medical bills and old work stuff got scanned in and thrown in a big folder. Then I used the built in Preview program to delete pages I didn't need, rotate the pages that the scanner didn't automatically rotate for me, and name files. It was so easy it was actually kind of fun… I found myself looking around the house for things to scan. Surely I missed a box! Surely there was a new bill or something.
I could not be happier. It is FAST and the Mac software is FANTASTIC. It is true that this is not a TWAIN-complaint scanner, meaning you can only scan using their software -- but I promise their software is much better and more convenient than any other scanner I have ever used.
* Photos: This is not a perfect scanner for photos, but does well in a pinch.
Superb, March 1, 2013 I spent nearly a month reviewing different desktop scanners of all different types. When the ix500 arrived I was sold. The s1500 was ~2 years older and the current ix500 sold me on components, its ability to scan to tablets (android included) and works seemlessly with Mac OS 10.6.3. I have scanned everything from handwritten material to receipts to PDFs and old birthday cards. The ix500 performs w/o interruption and quickly. You pay for what you get, this is definitely worth every penny.
Awesome, February 28, 2013
Super duper fast - and in duplex mode too. Software works great. I couldnt be happier. Great product all around
Fast & easy scanning!, February 28, 2013
I am in real estate and have to scan and send documents frequently. My old copier/scanner drove me crazy when it was time to scan. It took so much time. Now I can't wait to get something to scan because it's so fast and easy. Great Scanner!
Great Scanner, February 27, 2013
I have only had the scanner for several weeks but have enjoyed the ease and speed of its operation. I briefly had the model before this one, the Scan Snap S1500M and returned it because small waxy receipts were getting stuck in the feeder and were impossible to remove. This scanner can be opened with a simple latch so as to avoid paper jams or remove ripped items. It syncs well with a MAC and I use Evernote to back up the files online.
Love it!, February 26, 2013
Very light and compact. So easy to set up and fast. I would highly recommend it. No complaints so far.
Amazing Upgrade From S1300 Scanner, January 14, 2013
I'll start out by saying that I've been the proud owner of a Fujitsu S1300 scanner for the past two years. I have gone almost completely paperless at home through a combination of scanning to Evernote and Dropbox and haven't looked back since. The quality and convenience of my previous scanner was unmatched over the last couple years, but there had always been some items on my wish list.
Enter the iX500
I really believe this to be the end-all-be-all as far as scanners is concerned. I'll try to go through this review in a logical fashion.
Purchase/Install
I actually received this unit on the first day it was released due to a connection I had (always love to be one of the first to have something). Bringing it home and unpacking it was familiar as this is my 3rd Fujitsu scanner (s1300 and s1300i for my parents) and setup was straight-forward. The install file on my MacBook was large, as usual, but took little time and was up and running. One of the main features/draws for this product was the wireless ability which I'll go into more detail later, but was easy to get setup. Overall took less than 10 minutes to start scanning. Nothing exciting.
Initial Impressions
This thing is FAST. I never had a complaint about the speed of my s1300 or especially the s1300i, but holy cow, this thing scans documents like it's going out of style. Even at full resolution color on both sides it is hard to keep up with it.
Secondly, this is by far an improvement over the s1300 in the aesthetics category. It looks like a very high end piece of AV equipment or something. So far my wife has not even attempted to make me move it off the kitchen counter where it currently resides. When folded up it is very unobtrusive and is very unassuming.
I have to reiterate that I truly enjoy the fact that, now that this is 100% wireless, I don't have to keep it in my home office or attached to another computer (with 2 USB ports like the s1300s).
Build quality is similar to the previous generations of Fujitsu scanners - superb.
Testing
Speed - I was easily able to get the 25 pages per minute claim and even hit 32 pages while doing my latest mortgage refinance documents.
Reliability - I put several documents through that either had a business card taped to them or a post-it note to see how it would handle them. All fed through perfectly fine and showed up as desired.
Wireless - This is honestly the main reason for my upgrade. Having the ability to detach this device from any and all computers and allow for the scanning of incoming mail directly to Evernote is a godsend. The iOS app worked flawlessly to get the scanner to do whichever type of scan I wanted and instantly made available my documents. This means not having to pile up my mail on a weekly basis and batch scan it when I take everything up to the office. It also means I'm far more likely to scan a document before trashing it, ensuring that nothing is overlooked. In the past I've shied away from wireless peripherals like printers as I've had bad luck with them, but with the rigorous testing I've done this far I have yet to break this.
Quality - As good as the S1300/S1300i as far as quality and OCR accuracy. This is somewhat secondary to main my needs but works well.
Overall Thoughts
This isn't the cheapest scanner you can buy but I honestly believe it to be the most convenient and well equipped. Aside from the cost savings of having to purchase filing cabinets, the psychological benefits of nothing have paper-clutter around the house and being able to find any document you need in an instant are huge. The iX500 has lived up to all my expectations and more so far.
Future Updates
I do plan on updating this review in the future with a few items. First, I am trying to get a video of the insane speed of this device uploaded. Secondly, I'd like to give some more insight into the reliability/long-term build quality of it. Perhaps in 3-6 months the latter will come. Please comment with any questions and I'll respond ASAP.
Thanks
Enter the iX500
I really believe this to be the end-all-be-all as far as scanners is concerned. I'll try to go through this review in a logical fashion.
Purchase/Install
I actually received this unit on the first day it was released due to a connection I had (always love to be one of the first to have something). Bringing it home and unpacking it was familiar as this is my 3rd Fujitsu scanner (s1300 and s1300i for my parents) and setup was straight-forward. The install file on my MacBook was large, as usual, but took little time and was up and running. One of the main features/draws for this product was the wireless ability which I'll go into more detail later, but was easy to get setup. Overall took less than 10 minutes to start scanning. Nothing exciting.
Initial Impressions
This thing is FAST. I never had a complaint about the speed of my s1300 or especially the s1300i, but holy cow, this thing scans documents like it's going out of style. Even at full resolution color on both sides it is hard to keep up with it.
Secondly, this is by far an improvement over the s1300 in the aesthetics category. It looks like a very high end piece of AV equipment or something. So far my wife has not even attempted to make me move it off the kitchen counter where it currently resides. When folded up it is very unobtrusive and is very unassuming.
I have to reiterate that I truly enjoy the fact that, now that this is 100% wireless, I don't have to keep it in my home office or attached to another computer (with 2 USB ports like the s1300s).
Build quality is similar to the previous generations of Fujitsu scanners - superb.
Testing
Speed - I was easily able to get the 25 pages per minute claim and even hit 32 pages while doing my latest mortgage refinance documents.
Reliability - I put several documents through that either had a business card taped to them or a post-it note to see how it would handle them. All fed through perfectly fine and showed up as desired.
Wireless - This is honestly the main reason for my upgrade. Having the ability to detach this device from any and all computers and allow for the scanning of incoming mail directly to Evernote is a godsend. The iOS app worked flawlessly to get the scanner to do whichever type of scan I wanted and instantly made available my documents. This means not having to pile up my mail on a weekly basis and batch scan it when I take everything up to the office. It also means I'm far more likely to scan a document before trashing it, ensuring that nothing is overlooked. In the past I've shied away from wireless peripherals like printers as I've had bad luck with them, but with the rigorous testing I've done this far I have yet to break this.
Quality - As good as the S1300/S1300i as far as quality and OCR accuracy. This is somewhat secondary to main my needs but works well.
Overall Thoughts
This isn't the cheapest scanner you can buy but I honestly believe it to be the most convenient and well equipped. Aside from the cost savings of having to purchase filing cabinets, the psychological benefits of nothing have paper-clutter around the house and being able to find any document you need in an instant are huge. The iX500 has lived up to all my expectations and more so far.
Future Updates
I do plan on updating this review in the future with a few items. First, I am trying to get a video of the insane speed of this device uploaded. Secondly, I'd like to give some more insight into the reliability/long-term build quality of it. Perhaps in 3-6 months the latter will come. Please comment with any questions and I'll respond ASAP.
Thanks
Upgraded my ScanSnap S1500, January 19, 2013
**UPDATED**
I've been using the previous model, the ScanSnap S1500 for almost 4 years now. I liked it so much that I bought a second one. To me, it completely transformed the concept of going paperless: from painful and time consuming to fun and even cool. If you have used a regular flat-bed scanner trying to go paperless, you probably know what I mean. I feel your pain. And this is coming from a hardcore paperless guy since 2001. Back then there weren't that many options.
If you are reading these reviews, you probably already know that the S1500 is currently (January 2013) pretty much the gold standard in the automatic document feeder (ADF) scanner consumer market with excellent user friendly software, pretty fast, reliable, built like a tank, excellent optical quality and on top of that you get the standard version of Adobe Acrobat (worth alone >$100). Not that it is a cheap scanner but compared to other consumer-grade ADF scanners it is a good deal, and like most things in life, you get what you pay for.
That said, I bought the iX500 as soon as I learned it was available on Amazon. It was hard to believe the S1500 could be improved but hey, even as a geek myself technology never cease to amaze me. Well, I've been playing with the scanner for two days so I will give you my first impressions.
Not that it matters but the first thing I noticed is that the box is now very plain and vanilla (pun intended) colored without even a handle as opposed to the fancy S1500 box. I can't care less but I just hope they put the savings in the scanner and not the profit margins because this one costs more. Upon unpacking, the iX500 has a nice sophisticated industrial look with matte/shiny black surfaces and blue LED lights. Unlike the S1500, it does not look like an old cheap plasticky silver colored ink-jet printer from the 90's. Overall the materials and quality of construction seem as good as the S1500. The paper rollers seem improved. Also new is a physical switch to turn on/off the WiFi radio and WPS button to automatically set up a secure WiFi connection.
Pros:
-Faster feeding/scan. I don't think it makes a huge practical difference compared to the S1500 but it is undeniably faster. The higher the number of pages you are scanning, the more significant it will be to you.
-Faster processing. Here is where the difference is very noticeable. With the S1500 the processing can take some time and you will always see the processing progress bar. With the iX500 you barely see it or if you see it it goes way faster!
-USB 3.0 connection. Can't argue about the advantages of having a theoretically max speed of 5 Gbps (USB 3.0) vs 480 Mbps (USB 2.0). The provided cable is truly 6 feet long which is a plus. With USB 3.0 I wouldn't recommend using extension cables because the USB 3.0 protocol is very sensitive to increased cable lengths (>2m). If the cable is not long enough for you, get a powered USB 3.0 hub not an extension cable.
-Improved paper handling mechanism. Regular paper documents rarely jam or misfeed on the S1500. Only if you have stuck, very thin, bended, irregular or wrinkled sheets. I threw in different types of papers and it seems to take them in better! This is a real usability improvement.
-WiFi capability. Meh.. Honestly, this is not one of the main reasons I got the iX500. To me, for this specific task of scanning documents, speed, security and reliability are more important than going all wireless but that is just me. I have the scanner in my home office next to my desktop and scan a fairly regular amount of documents, some with personal, work and financial information that needs to be encrypted before storing, never online or on mobile devices.
It also has scan-to-the-cloud capability using DropBox, GDrive, EverNote, Salesforce, SugarSync (some with never heard before silly names) but seriously, would you trust a hardly profitable -except maybe Google- private online cloud company to store all your documents for the long term? Maybe temporarily until you download but that's it. I wouldn't trust them even for just a backup. Also, try downloading just 100 300-dpi full color scans online and you will realize how painfully slow it is. I do however, see some situations were this may be useful like online sharing of docs or as temporary storage of trivial stuff but only as an add-on capability and not as a main way of connectivity. I will try it with my Android phone and tablet, though but nothing serious.
Throughout the years I've learned that the most efficient way to go paperless without wasting time is to: 1)read the document once and decide if you need to scan or throw it away. 2)if its important enough to scan, do it and file the pdf right away in the corresponding computer folder. 3)shred the paper original right away otherwise later on you will waste time picking it up and reading it again. If I were to scan something without my PC I would eventually have to read that paper again online to decide where to put it so that would be 2 reads of the same damn document. Not too efficient if you have say 20+ docs. Also, keep in mind that with this scanner, it is very easy to scan lots of stuff so if you don't have your own paperless system/routine/strategy, you may end up with digital clutter rather than paper clutter. Develop a system that works best for you.
-I haven't replaced any "consumables" on my S1500 in almost 4 years so I wouldn't be worried about that with the iX500. Seems to me like a marketing ploy from Fujitsu to make more money. I have emptied two big 3-drawer file cabinets plus regular scans all these years without any problem. Just keep the rollers sticky clean and vacuum the paper dust that accumulates after a while and you should be fine.
-All the nice "smaller" features on the S1500 that make it so great are also on the iX500: ultrasonic double paper-feed sensor, automatic de-skew, double side scan, auto color detection, automatic paper orientation, scanning long papers (legal size), blank side auto deletion, etc. I'm sure they must have improved some of them too.
Cons:
-The optical sensors on the iX500 are CIS and not CCD like in the S1500. Theoretically, CCD is better, especially for color reproduction. CIS is better for text and details however, honestly, I don't see any difference compared to my S1500 which basically uses 7-year old technology. This means that probably current CIS technology has caught up with the older CCD quality in the S1500. Of course this doesn't mean that current CCD quality is not better yet. Anyway, I use a Canon flat-bed for high-quality scans like paper photographs, cards and the likes so not really an issue for me.
-no Adobe Acrobat XI, just the same version X as before even though XI has been out for a while now. (Note that the provided Acrobat is Windows only. If you have a Mac, you can use Preview which comes with MacOS). Regarding software, I will also mention that personally having gone completely paperless for many years, I avoid like the plague using commercial "paperless office managing software" (read Rack2-Filer, ScanSnap Organizer, FileCenter, PaperPort, Sharepoint, etc). Nothing wrong with them at all, its just that many of these programs and their supporting software companies may not be around 10+ years from now so you don't want to depend too much on their proprietary file indexing system or formatting or deal with some compatibility issues that may arise in the future if say you switch to a new operating system. This is very important because the reason you are digitizing documents/photos, etc is for archiving and future use. I only trust the PDF format which is an open standard (many programs and platforms can open it) and plain hierarchical file directories (regular Windows folders) for organizing the files. This will guarantee that 20, 30 or 40 years from now your files will be as organized and usable as today.
-no TWAIN support but this I knew beforehand so in my case it is not really an issue. It can be an issue for small business that rely on specific software for scanning. I mostly scan directly to PDF. TWAIN is a standard protocol that most scanners and imaging hardware use to communicate with software programs. This means that you cannot directly scan images from within some graphic or other type of software that require a TWAIN driver. You will have to scan and the open the image file.
In summary, I will say that coming from the S1500, other than the new wireless capability, the iX500's big overall improvement is in speed. The iX500 won't make your S1500 obsolete, not at all unless of course you must have the wireless connectivity. The improvements are more evolutionary than anything else because the S1500 is already very fast. We are talking about differences in seconds. If you add all the speed improvements: a faster feeding mechanism/optical scan + faster image processing due to the new "GI" dual microprocessor + USB 3.0 connection, you get a much faster experience, specially if you scan a lot. Few years ago, a scanner this good and fast would have cost thousand(s) of dollars like commercial grade Canon and Fujitsu doc scanners. I have recommended the ScanSnap series to friends and family who were interested and from their feedback I can say that the iX500 would also be perfect for both beginners and experienced users alike more so with all the improvements.
Couple more things: 1)from personal experience, having a good file backup routine is as important -if not more- as having a good scanner. Going all digital is fantastic and very practical but it also makes it extremely easy to lose it all, so I wouldn't skimp on that side. 2)The scanner doesn't come with a paper manual -that would be ironic..ha ha!. You can download the 480-page PDF manual from Fujitsu.
Hope this was helpful.
**** UPDATE 02/11/13 ****
After almost a month of daily use, I've had no problems with the iX500 whatsoever. It definitely is as reliable as the S1500. I'm very happy with my purchase. My setup is a custom built PC i7-3770 w/Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits. Haven't tried it yet on my Win 8 laptop.
I had the opportunity to play with the wireless function... Well, the WiFI wireless function does NOT replace the USB cable. In other words, it does not connect directly to your PC via WiFi only. It only connects the iX500 to your tablet or smartphone. You cannot have both the USB cable and the WiFi mode active at the same time. Also, you *need* to turn on the ScanSnap App on your smartdevice for the iX500 to be able to start scanning (the Apps are free to download on the iTunes and Play Store). The "PC-less" wireless scanning does work as advertised, though. It is very cool and surprisingly fast. I tried it on my Google Nexus phone, tablet and iPod Touch and they all worked very well. Using a Google device you could also save files to the micro-SD memory card.
Also, it is not really standalone-connected-to-the cloud as one would think. It cannot send the scans directly to say DropBox without your intervention. Not even using the App. You must go through the Quick Menu while using your PC and choose one of the cloud services and then save "directly" to DropBox but only when connected via USB. It cannot be done just by pressing the "Scan" button on the iX500. You need a PC for that. That makes sense because you need a computer to do the log-in into a cloud file hosting service. The iX500 alone can't keep your login information. They should add that direct capability to the App, though. If you don't want a PC attached, you can still scan with your smartphone and then once in your smartphone, you can send the documents anywhere you want (Google Drive, Dropbox, text message, email, printer, SD memory card, etc).
Regarding the wireless setup process, as a first step your scanner needs to be connected to the computer via USB and run the "ScanSnap Wireless Network Setup" program. If your network is protected, you will also need the security password unless your router has a WPS button (Wireless Protected Setup). I don't like to read manuals (I'm a guy, ha ha) so I just followed the easy interactive steps. It will also tell you that your iX500 has a unique PIN number that you will need to enter in you ScanSnap App. This is in case you are in an office with more than one iX500s; it will only connect to yours. After that you can unhook the USB cable.
Again, in my specific case I don't care much for the wireless connectivity but I already can imagine interesting uses for it. BTW, I also tried to use my Google phone as a WiFi HotSpot and connect it directly to the iX500 but it doesn't work that way. Apparently the iX500 needs a common access point for both. My phone has WiFi-Direct but not the iX500.
I've been using the previous model, the ScanSnap S1500 for almost 4 years now. I liked it so much that I bought a second one. To me, it completely transformed the concept of going paperless: from painful and time consuming to fun and even cool. If you have used a regular flat-bed scanner trying to go paperless, you probably know what I mean. I feel your pain. And this is coming from a hardcore paperless guy since 2001. Back then there weren't that many options.
If you are reading these reviews, you probably already know that the S1500 is currently (January 2013) pretty much the gold standard in the automatic document feeder (ADF) scanner consumer market with excellent user friendly software, pretty fast, reliable, built like a tank, excellent optical quality and on top of that you get the standard version of Adobe Acrobat (worth alone >$100). Not that it is a cheap scanner but compared to other consumer-grade ADF scanners it is a good deal, and like most things in life, you get what you pay for.
That said, I bought the iX500 as soon as I learned it was available on Amazon. It was hard to believe the S1500 could be improved but hey, even as a geek myself technology never cease to amaze me. Well, I've been playing with the scanner for two days so I will give you my first impressions.
Not that it matters but the first thing I noticed is that the box is now very plain and vanilla (pun intended) colored without even a handle as opposed to the fancy S1500 box. I can't care less but I just hope they put the savings in the scanner and not the profit margins because this one costs more. Upon unpacking, the iX500 has a nice sophisticated industrial look with matte/shiny black surfaces and blue LED lights. Unlike the S1500, it does not look like an old cheap plasticky silver colored ink-jet printer from the 90's. Overall the materials and quality of construction seem as good as the S1500. The paper rollers seem improved. Also new is a physical switch to turn on/off the WiFi radio and WPS button to automatically set up a secure WiFi connection.
Pros:
-Faster feeding/scan. I don't think it makes a huge practical difference compared to the S1500 but it is undeniably faster. The higher the number of pages you are scanning, the more significant it will be to you.
-Faster processing. Here is where the difference is very noticeable. With the S1500 the processing can take some time and you will always see the processing progress bar. With the iX500 you barely see it or if you see it it goes way faster!
-USB 3.0 connection. Can't argue about the advantages of having a theoretically max speed of 5 Gbps (USB 3.0) vs 480 Mbps (USB 2.0). The provided cable is truly 6 feet long which is a plus. With USB 3.0 I wouldn't recommend using extension cables because the USB 3.0 protocol is very sensitive to increased cable lengths (>2m). If the cable is not long enough for you, get a powered USB 3.0 hub not an extension cable.
-Improved paper handling mechanism. Regular paper documents rarely jam or misfeed on the S1500. Only if you have stuck, very thin, bended, irregular or wrinkled sheets. I threw in different types of papers and it seems to take them in better! This is a real usability improvement.
-WiFi capability. Meh.. Honestly, this is not one of the main reasons I got the iX500. To me, for this specific task of scanning documents, speed, security and reliability are more important than going all wireless but that is just me. I have the scanner in my home office next to my desktop and scan a fairly regular amount of documents, some with personal, work and financial information that needs to be encrypted before storing, never online or on mobile devices.
It also has scan-to-the-cloud capability using DropBox, GDrive, EverNote, Salesforce, SugarSync (some with never heard before silly names) but seriously, would you trust a hardly profitable -except maybe Google- private online cloud company to store all your documents for the long term? Maybe temporarily until you download but that's it. I wouldn't trust them even for just a backup. Also, try downloading just 100 300-dpi full color scans online and you will realize how painfully slow it is. I do however, see some situations were this may be useful like online sharing of docs or as temporary storage of trivial stuff but only as an add-on capability and not as a main way of connectivity. I will try it with my Android phone and tablet, though but nothing serious.
Throughout the years I've learned that the most efficient way to go paperless without wasting time is to: 1)read the document once and decide if you need to scan or throw it away. 2)if its important enough to scan, do it and file the pdf right away in the corresponding computer folder. 3)shred the paper original right away otherwise later on you will waste time picking it up and reading it again. If I were to scan something without my PC I would eventually have to read that paper again online to decide where to put it so that would be 2 reads of the same damn document. Not too efficient if you have say 20+ docs. Also, keep in mind that with this scanner, it is very easy to scan lots of stuff so if you don't have your own paperless system/routine/strategy, you may end up with digital clutter rather than paper clutter. Develop a system that works best for you.
-I haven't replaced any "consumables" on my S1500 in almost 4 years so I wouldn't be worried about that with the iX500. Seems to me like a marketing ploy from Fujitsu to make more money. I have emptied two big 3-drawer file cabinets plus regular scans all these years without any problem. Just keep the rollers sticky clean and vacuum the paper dust that accumulates after a while and you should be fine.
-All the nice "smaller" features on the S1500 that make it so great are also on the iX500: ultrasonic double paper-feed sensor, automatic de-skew, double side scan, auto color detection, automatic paper orientation, scanning long papers (legal size), blank side auto deletion, etc. I'm sure they must have improved some of them too.
Cons:
-The optical sensors on the iX500 are CIS and not CCD like in the S1500. Theoretically, CCD is better, especially for color reproduction. CIS is better for text and details however, honestly, I don't see any difference compared to my S1500 which basically uses 7-year old technology. This means that probably current CIS technology has caught up with the older CCD quality in the S1500. Of course this doesn't mean that current CCD quality is not better yet. Anyway, I use a Canon flat-bed for high-quality scans like paper photographs, cards and the likes so not really an issue for me.
-no Adobe Acrobat XI, just the same version X as before even though XI has been out for a while now. (Note that the provided Acrobat is Windows only. If you have a Mac, you can use Preview which comes with MacOS). Regarding software, I will also mention that personally having gone completely paperless for many years, I avoid like the plague using commercial "paperless office managing software" (read Rack2-Filer, ScanSnap Organizer, FileCenter, PaperPort, Sharepoint, etc). Nothing wrong with them at all, its just that many of these programs and their supporting software companies may not be around 10+ years from now so you don't want to depend too much on their proprietary file indexing system or formatting or deal with some compatibility issues that may arise in the future if say you switch to a new operating system. This is very important because the reason you are digitizing documents/photos, etc is for archiving and future use. I only trust the PDF format which is an open standard (many programs and platforms can open it) and plain hierarchical file directories (regular Windows folders) for organizing the files. This will guarantee that 20, 30 or 40 years from now your files will be as organized and usable as today.
-no TWAIN support but this I knew beforehand so in my case it is not really an issue. It can be an issue for small business that rely on specific software for scanning. I mostly scan directly to PDF. TWAIN is a standard protocol that most scanners and imaging hardware use to communicate with software programs. This means that you cannot directly scan images from within some graphic or other type of software that require a TWAIN driver. You will have to scan and the open the image file.
In summary, I will say that coming from the S1500, other than the new wireless capability, the iX500's big overall improvement is in speed. The iX500 won't make your S1500 obsolete, not at all unless of course you must have the wireless connectivity. The improvements are more evolutionary than anything else because the S1500 is already very fast. We are talking about differences in seconds. If you add all the speed improvements: a faster feeding mechanism/optical scan + faster image processing due to the new "GI" dual microprocessor + USB 3.0 connection, you get a much faster experience, specially if you scan a lot. Few years ago, a scanner this good and fast would have cost thousand(s) of dollars like commercial grade Canon and Fujitsu doc scanners. I have recommended the ScanSnap series to friends and family who were interested and from their feedback I can say that the iX500 would also be perfect for both beginners and experienced users alike more so with all the improvements.
Couple more things: 1)from personal experience, having a good file backup routine is as important -if not more- as having a good scanner. Going all digital is fantastic and very practical but it also makes it extremely easy to lose it all, so I wouldn't skimp on that side. 2)The scanner doesn't come with a paper manual -that would be ironic..ha ha!. You can download the 480-page PDF manual from Fujitsu.
Hope this was helpful.
**** UPDATE 02/11/13 ****
After almost a month of daily use, I've had no problems with the iX500 whatsoever. It definitely is as reliable as the S1500. I'm very happy with my purchase. My setup is a custom built PC i7-3770 w/Windows 7 Ultimate 64-bits. Haven't tried it yet on my Win 8 laptop.
I had the opportunity to play with the wireless function... Well, the WiFI wireless function does NOT replace the USB cable. In other words, it does not connect directly to your PC via WiFi only. It only connects the iX500 to your tablet or smartphone. You cannot have both the USB cable and the WiFi mode active at the same time. Also, you *need* to turn on the ScanSnap App on your smartdevice for the iX500 to be able to start scanning (the Apps are free to download on the iTunes and Play Store). The "PC-less" wireless scanning does work as advertised, though. It is very cool and surprisingly fast. I tried it on my Google Nexus phone, tablet and iPod Touch and they all worked very well. Using a Google device you could also save files to the micro-SD memory card.
Also, it is not really standalone-connected-to-the cloud as one would think. It cannot send the scans directly to say DropBox without your intervention. Not even using the App. You must go through the Quick Menu while using your PC and choose one of the cloud services and then save "directly" to DropBox but only when connected via USB. It cannot be done just by pressing the "Scan" button on the iX500. You need a PC for that. That makes sense because you need a computer to do the log-in into a cloud file hosting service. The iX500 alone can't keep your login information. They should add that direct capability to the App, though. If you don't want a PC attached, you can still scan with your smartphone and then once in your smartphone, you can send the documents anywhere you want (Google Drive, Dropbox, text message, email, printer, SD memory card, etc).
Regarding the wireless setup process, as a first step your scanner needs to be connected to the computer via USB and run the "ScanSnap Wireless Network Setup" program. If your network is protected, you will also need the security password unless your router has a WPS button (Wireless Protected Setup). I don't like to read manuals (I'm a guy, ha ha) so I just followed the easy interactive steps. It will also tell you that your iX500 has a unique PIN number that you will need to enter in you ScanSnap App. This is in case you are in an office with more than one iX500s; it will only connect to yours. After that you can unhook the USB cable.
Again, in my specific case I don't care much for the wireless connectivity but I already can imagine interesting uses for it. BTW, I also tried to use my Google phone as a WiFi HotSpot and connect it directly to the iX500 but it doesn't work that way. Apparently the iX500 needs a common access point for both. My phone has WiFi-Direct but not the iX500.
Absolutely Amazing Product...Just buy it. 250 pounds of paper - and I'm just getting started..., January 20, 2013
This is the most effusive review I've ever written. This product will blow you away.
I've had it only one week. So far I've cleaned out over 250 pounds of paper files from my once-clogged office. Everything is now filed in Evernote. It's backed up locally and in the cloud - and instantly searchable and accessible.
I've had Neat Receipts for years. Gave it up after losing 5 months of receipts (poof - gone). When looking for another solution I stumbled into the Fujitsu S1500 and it's rabid following (they are like groupies - and now I see why). After a ton of additional research (check out the many YouTube videos and reviews here on Amazon), I was about to order the 1500....then...
As I was about to buy it, Fujitsu announced this new machine; the iX500. It's not inexpensive, but based on the strong recommendations for its predecessors, I took the plunge. Amazon did not even have a picture of it up yet - but they took the order and shipped a few days later.
The product LOOKS great. It's small - amazingly small - about the same footprint as an old personal fax machine. It's sleek and it's almost silent. Most all - it's FAST. Blazing. 25 page per minute.
Look at that shelf behind you. The one will all those binders from those conferences you attended. You know you'll never read those things...but you can't throw them out, can you? I scanned over 3,000 pages of journals and binders. Throwing them out felt GREAT. I have the space back, and now can search through any of those once-dusty tomes instantly.
Receipts. What receipts? That huge box of them that was getting bigger by the day...All gone. Scanned into the system. Tagged, sorted, filed and ready for tax season.
Staples are EVIL. Make sure there are none in your docs. One week in and nearly paperless.
Look. I'll make it easy for you. Just buy it. If I'm wrong, Amazon will take it back -- but once you have it you won't let it go.
Lastly - I believe I'd give up my iPad before I'd let this thing go.
Enjoy.
I've had it only one week. So far I've cleaned out over 250 pounds of paper files from my once-clogged office. Everything is now filed in Evernote. It's backed up locally and in the cloud - and instantly searchable and accessible.
I've had Neat Receipts for years. Gave it up after losing 5 months of receipts (poof - gone). When looking for another solution I stumbled into the Fujitsu S1500 and it's rabid following (they are like groupies - and now I see why). After a ton of additional research (check out the many YouTube videos and reviews here on Amazon), I was about to order the 1500....then...
As I was about to buy it, Fujitsu announced this new machine; the iX500. It's not inexpensive, but based on the strong recommendations for its predecessors, I took the plunge. Amazon did not even have a picture of it up yet - but they took the order and shipped a few days later.
The product LOOKS great. It's small - amazingly small - about the same footprint as an old personal fax machine. It's sleek and it's almost silent. Most all - it's FAST. Blazing. 25 page per minute.
Look at that shelf behind you. The one will all those binders from those conferences you attended. You know you'll never read those things...but you can't throw them out, can you? I scanned over 3,000 pages of journals and binders. Throwing them out felt GREAT. I have the space back, and now can search through any of those once-dusty tomes instantly.
Receipts. What receipts? That huge box of them that was getting bigger by the day...All gone. Scanned into the system. Tagged, sorted, filed and ready for tax season.
Staples are EVIL. Make sure there are none in your docs. One week in and nearly paperless.
Look. I'll make it easy for you. Just buy it. If I'm wrong, Amazon will take it back -- but once you have it you won't let it go.
Lastly - I believe I'd give up my iPad before I'd let this thing go.
Enjoy.
Refreshingly excellent, January 25, 2013
It's a true delight to find a product that is as carefully thought out, as well engineered, and as user friendly as Fujitsu's ScanSnap scanners.
I've been using the S1500 at my office, and my wife and I have have been using one for our home office, since 2010. It's been a workhorse appliance that we've used every day for paperless home and business needs, with our only problem being some very occasional finickiness in document feeding. When I started seeing reviews for the iX500, I figured it was time to pass the S1500s on to some office staffers and upgrade the office and home. I did that today, and I'm very happy I did. The iX500 is much faster than the S1500, and from what I've read I don't expect even the minimal finickiness we had with the S1500s.
Beyond the excellence of the product, I've rarely seen such simple installation. The software installs almost entirely on its own, preserving settings from the prior version that came with the S1500. You basically just run the installation program, plug in the scanner, follow some on-screen prompts for both wireless and hard-wired connections (with built-in trouble-shooting if things don't go quite right), and you're done. Very few products are this easy. Yes, I'm pretty tech-savvy, but it's hard to imagine anyone having trouble with the setup. Both at the office and at home, everything went flawlessly. Most important, the installation preserved all my preferences, including the location of the destination folder for scans (a Dropbox folder, not the program default). Once the installation was complete, I did a scan and everything worked just as it had with the S1500, Hard to beat that.
Particularly simple is the wireless facility. This isn't a wireless connection to your computer, but rather a connection to iOS or Android devices through local Wi-Fi, so that you can send a scan to these devices. I have to say that I'm not sure why Fujitsu devoted so much attention to this -- it's not obvious to me why anyone using Dropbox or a similar service would have a regular need for it. In my case, my default folder for scanning lives in Dropbox, so when I scan something it's available on both my office and home desktop computers and on my wireless devices. So, I don't know how often this will be useful to me. That said, I can see the value of being able to do a quick scan to a handheld when the computer is turned off and I don't want to have to fire it up. Regardless, the wireless setup is as straightforward and quick as anyone could possibly want. Again, even the tech-challenged should find this easy.
And that's the real virtue of this very virtuous product: Anyone can use it.
The S1500 was absolutely solid and reliable. The ix500 continues the tradition of excellence.
Thank you, Fujitsu!
I've been using the S1500 at my office, and my wife and I have have been using one for our home office, since 2010. It's been a workhorse appliance that we've used every day for paperless home and business needs, with our only problem being some very occasional finickiness in document feeding. When I started seeing reviews for the iX500, I figured it was time to pass the S1500s on to some office staffers and upgrade the office and home. I did that today, and I'm very happy I did. The iX500 is much faster than the S1500, and from what I've read I don't expect even the minimal finickiness we had with the S1500s.
Beyond the excellence of the product, I've rarely seen such simple installation. The software installs almost entirely on its own, preserving settings from the prior version that came with the S1500. You basically just run the installation program, plug in the scanner, follow some on-screen prompts for both wireless and hard-wired connections (with built-in trouble-shooting if things don't go quite right), and you're done. Very few products are this easy. Yes, I'm pretty tech-savvy, but it's hard to imagine anyone having trouble with the setup. Both at the office and at home, everything went flawlessly. Most important, the installation preserved all my preferences, including the location of the destination folder for scans (a Dropbox folder, not the program default). Once the installation was complete, I did a scan and everything worked just as it had with the S1500, Hard to beat that.
Particularly simple is the wireless facility. This isn't a wireless connection to your computer, but rather a connection to iOS or Android devices through local Wi-Fi, so that you can send a scan to these devices. I have to say that I'm not sure why Fujitsu devoted so much attention to this -- it's not obvious to me why anyone using Dropbox or a similar service would have a regular need for it. In my case, my default folder for scanning lives in Dropbox, so when I scan something it's available on both my office and home desktop computers and on my wireless devices. So, I don't know how often this will be useful to me. That said, I can see the value of being able to do a quick scan to a handheld when the computer is turned off and I don't want to have to fire it up. Regardless, the wireless setup is as straightforward and quick as anyone could possibly want. Again, even the tech-challenged should find this easy.
And that's the real virtue of this very virtuous product: Anyone can use it.
The S1500 was absolutely solid and reliable. The ix500 continues the tradition of excellence.
Thank you, Fujitsu!
Fast and reliable scanner for unbound paper copy, February 2, 2013
I bought the first Fujitsu ScanSnap model for Mac back in 2005 or 2006, and it has been a fast and reliable workhouse for me. It handles two-sided copy automatically, and the quality and contrast of the images it produces are great for OCR to searchable PDFs. After so many years of use, the only problem was an occasional snarl in the sheet feeder.
I use a ScanSnap for scanning unbound paper copy to DEVONthink Pro Office for OCR and storage in my document databases. Desktop ScanSnaps are more expensive than some others on the market, but I recommend them highly. The added quality and performance of ScanSnaps by comparison to cheaper competitors makes them a true bargain. I've found that for achieving excellent OCR accuracy, not all scanners are equal, and ScanSnaps are among the best.
I'm pleased with my new ScanSnap iX500. This 10 pound scanner is faster, produces better images and is more reliable than "big" scanners costing thousands of dollars to digitize paper copy, only a few years ago.
Installation of the iX500 on my Mac was easy, and the setting for my previous ScanSnap were preserved.
I use a ScanSnap for scanning unbound paper copy to DEVONthink Pro Office for OCR and storage in my document databases. Desktop ScanSnaps are more expensive than some others on the market, but I recommend them highly. The added quality and performance of ScanSnaps by comparison to cheaper competitors makes them a true bargain. I've found that for achieving excellent OCR accuracy, not all scanners are equal, and ScanSnaps are among the best.
I'm pleased with my new ScanSnap iX500. This 10 pound scanner is faster, produces better images and is more reliable than "big" scanners costing thousands of dollars to digitize paper copy, only a few years ago.
Installation of the iX500 on my Mac was easy, and the setting for my previous ScanSnap were preserved.
