Fujitsu ScanSnap S300 Color Mobile Scanner

OCR is fast and just about as accurate as you can get. It can even recognize some handwritten or crooked text. Photocopies or dark edges never seem to be a problem--it still gets it. The OCR component seems to be the the Adobe OCR engine cut out and inserted in the ScanSnap organizer software. You can set it to do OCR as it scans, which adds some time to the scan, or to do it in the background later, or you can right-click on a scanned document and force it to do it immediately. This is what makes this so great. The ScanSnap software itself is usable but mediocre. Its essentially just a file browser. The good thing about it is that it is really working with real files (not shortcuts or something), so if you drag a file to another folder, it really moves. I have it set up in a folder called D:/My File Cabinet with subfolders for things like Finances, Warranties, Academic, Correspondence, etc. These are real folder structures, so I can just as easily browse them in Windows and drag the PDF files elsewhere. The only disadvantage to dropping the files outside of the ScanSnap software is that it will not auto-OCR the files later if it hasnt been done already. I dont have the Duluxe bundle, and my impression is that its not worth it. Rack2Filer seems no more useful than Acrobat or OneNote or a variety of other viewer or PDF annotation programs. The hardware is what makes the ScanSnap awesome. Want good software? Use something like Adobe Acrobat Standard (which is not included, despite an original mistake on their website that said it was). Thats what I use and love it. The biggest problem is not having a TWAIN driver, which allows any program to see the scanner. As it is, you must use the scanner software that sits in the system tray to scan. Right now this means that the new program my bank put out in order to scan and deposit checks from home: I cant use! But I still wouldnt give it the ScanSnap up, because it does what its supposed to do--paperless office--very well.

I agree with the other reviewers. This is a great little scanner. I was looking for a device that would allow me to rapidly scan and organize my receipts for my expense reports. Its really fast. I probably make 3-400 scans per month. This guy works just fine; create a folder and scan away. Its that easy. If a paper gets stuck, just pop open the cover and release. It also scans both sides of the document. Incredible. I dont travel with the scanner, but I do like the compact size and the fact that the device is powered by the usb ports. I can take the scanner and my laptop outside and do my expense reports on the back porch, even with a beer if I so choose.

I have been using another scanner for years to download files during client meetings. It would not work with my new 64 bit machine. I was forced to buy the ScanSnap. It is faster, easier, and even fun to use. I have had no problems and scan documents, color and B&W photos, duplex documents and documents of various sizes, all at the same time. I now look forward to scanning in piles of documents. Just open it up and it turns on. Load the docuemts in the feeder and hit scan. All the documents shoot through in about 2 seconds a document, for both sides, in color, right side up, and create a PDF or JPG file. This is the greatest thing since sliced bread.

The scanner is easy to set up and use. It does exactly what it is designed to do. I love the dual page scanning. Small and compact.

I had been looking into replacing my flatbed scanner, but was intrigued by this small, mainly PDF unit. I decided to go for it for 2 reasons: 1) 99% of what I scan are documents perfect for PDFs, and 2) the scanners small size. I am so happy with this scanner! The PDFs are crisp and clear, much better than my flatbed scanner. The scanner reads both sides of a page at once and automatically removes blank pages. Its also quite a bit faster and much quieter than my other scanner (which Im keeping for handling photos and other types of scans). The software that comes with the scanner is nice - not hard to use/learn. Im using a PC running Windows XP, not a laptop. Dont feel that you need to be mobile to justify using this scanner, although Im sure that would be a main selling point for those who are on the go.

Ive owned this unit for about a year now. Works well under moderate use. Good scan quality, fairly fast. Easy controls. The software is mediocre - somewhat un-intuitive setup wise. Moderate learning curve but once its set up it ok. The Cardsnap software that came with it is pretty much useless. I originally installed under Leopard and it worked pretty much flawlessly except for the occasional unexplained crash. BUT when I upgraded to Snow Leopard, I was in for a surprise! No longer will it Scan to Folder! This has to be about the most used feature Id think. Send your scans to a folder on the HDD for sorting/storage. This is broke with Snow Leopard! Its been quite a while now and NO fix! They give some really lame and long winded workaround but apparently theyre not working too hard on a fix! BTW, I came up with my own workaround - Scan to Print and just use OS Xs native .PDF ability to Save as .pdf - it works but not as efficiently as their Save to Disk! If Fujitsu would bother to support their existing customers, Id probably give it a 5, but with the lack of timely updates for a real problem, I have to be generous and give them a 3 solely for the excellent hardware + my pre-Snow Leopard experiences. I hope this review helps someone to avoid the headaches Im experiencing atm due to the incompatibility issues. Namaste!

I was expecting a great all-around portable scanner from the reviews but was somewhat disappointed. Scanner is bulky for a portable scanner. Two cables needed to power and connect to computer is a nuisance. Scan quality for text is not great. Pluses: Color scans are far better than text. Speed is good especially when plugged into AC power source. I figure that if you already have a bulky scanner that needs two lines (power and connection to PC) w mediocre scan quality for text, maybe a non portable scanner will be a better value. I have used the docketport 465 before it malfunctioned and got the scansnap instead. Im sending the scansnap back for a new docketport instead.

I wanted to replace my aging scanner with this one. My current scanner does not have any supplies (AKA consumables) that I have to buy and this one does so I returned it. One reviewer wrote the pad assembly (Part # PA03541-0002) needs replacement every 10,000 sheets or a year-- google the actual part # to see the $8 retailers); the pick roller (Part # PA03541-0001) lasts about 100,000 sheets-- about $12. This is wrong. Even at the lowest prices, when adding in shipping ( in one case $10 for a $7 part) the cost is likely to be $30 to $45 ANNUALLY. Why annually? Well if you go to the manufactures site and read all the fine print, it says you need to replace the consumables the earlier of annually or x number of sheets. Most of us will likely never achieve the sheet count so the will be an automatic annual cost for the consumer. The other reason I dislike consumables is the if the unit doesnt sell well, it will be discontinued and you wont be able to get the supplies.

This tool keeps you organized. It takes very little space, so you can leave it plugged-in on your desk, and its one-click operation makes it easy to have the discipline to scan all your papers, cards, notes and receipts. Youll never lose a document again. This scanner is fast, simple, and high-quality. It quickly cleared a huge pile of papers on my desk. Filing electronically is a lot easier and more-compact that dealing with tons of impossible-to-search manila folders. It OCRs papers and most business cards accurately too. Fans of GTD (

I had been happily using this scanner with a windows machine. when I recently switched to a Mac, I was baffled to see documentation which claimed this did not support Mac. it seems that HW on this one is same as the s300M. thanks for [...] I could easily (painlessly) make this work on Snow leopard. and BTW this is a great product. I would have been a little more pleased, if I had found this fix to make it work with a Mac on the Fujitsu website.