People ask me about various scanners from time to time. My answer to them is always the same: I haven’t looked at any other scanners besides the Fujitsu 1500 model. That’s the one I have and use. That’s the one that many other lawyers I know have and use, and we all love this scanner. So why would we look for anything else?
I started scanning in the year 2000, and back then it was hard to find a simple scanner that worked great for not much money. I experienced firsthand the frustration of trying to get a scanner that would work easily and reliably. About 7 years ago I found the first model that Fujitsu put out, and after that I’ve stopped looking.
The Fujitsu has a long history of being reliable, easy-to-use, and affordable. It’s maybe the only Scanner I know that comes with a full version of Acrobat (Standard on Windows, and Professional for Mac); Acrobat is indispensable in working with PDFs, so if I pay $440 for the Fujitsu 1500 I feel like I’m really only paying $200 because I get Adobe Acrobat too.
None of the other scanners I’ve come across offer the Acrobat package, so they’re actually not any cheaper than the Fujitsu. And are they as reliable? Onlyl time will tell. The Fujitsu has been around for a long time and had the long history of reliability. I don’t have time to experiment with products that may have problems, when I’ve found one that will do everything I need for a very reasonable price.
If you want the PC version get the Fujitsu ScanSnap 1500; if you have a Mac get the ScanSnap 1500M. Click on one of those links and then read the Amazon reviews if you want confirmation about how many people agree with me.
Update (Nov. 2011): Sam Glover has a great write-up of what’s wrong with the Neat Receipts Scanner, which is one that many people keep asking about. His review explains why you want to stay away from that scanner. Again, there is only one scanner. Sam’s review confirms that the Fujitsu is the one you want.