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15
Fujitsu’s new ScanSnap scanner is
notable for two reasons – both likely
to please the growing body of iPhone/
iPad users in the workplace.
It is the company’s first scanner to
have a wireless capability that allows users
to scan documents straight to a wireless
device, such as a tablet or smartphone,
and it is the first time that Fujitsu has
brought out a ScanSnap scanner that
offers the same functionality whether
you are using a Mac or a PC, including
CardMinder business card software (a first
for Mac users).
The ability to scan to a mobile
device from a Fujitsu scanner is not
new – last year Fujitsu added a Scan to
Mobile option on its software. However,
previously you had to go through a PC.
Now, the scanner can communicate
directly with a mobile device, making
it easier than ever for smartphone and
tablet users to capture information and
carry it with them in digital formats.
Another benefit of the wireless
capability, says Fujitsu ScanSnap product
manager Sofie Dheedene, is that it allows
multiple users to share a single device.
“The fact that you can scan to a
mobile allows different usage scenarios,”
she said. “The main market for ScanSnaps
is small businesses and small office/home
office environments. In a small business
of 10 people there is no need for each
person to have a scanner. A secretary
could have a scanner to scan paper mail
and now a salesperson could use the
same one to scan a document and take
it away with them. So it allows people
to share a scanning capability without
having to invest in an MFP,” she said.
In addition, the scanner allows users
to scan to cloud applications such
as Evernote, Dropbox, Google Docs,
Salesforce and SugarSync. Even if a
mobile worker doesn’t want to carry
scanned files on their device, or is not
present to scan a document to their
smartphone, they can still access them
remotely from the cloud. Alternatively,
someone in the office could simply scan
and email a document to them.
Easy to use
The wireless capability is limited to a
degree – you can only scan to a tablet/
smartphone running the free ScanSnap
app; the mobile device and the scanner
must be connected to the same network;
and you cannot scan to a notebook
computer wirelessly – but in other
respects, is impressive. It is easy to set up
and, according to Dheedene, far superior
to competitor offerings.
“Some competitors have the
capability to scan to mobile devices, but
the functionality is poor: the scanning
speed decreases dramatically, settings
are limited and applications are limited.
This scanner has speeds of 25 pages per
minute, which will not decrease when
scanning to a tablet or smartphone; and
there are a lot of settings you can adjust
in the app. You can save as a JPEG or PDF,
change the resolution or colour settings
and choose which image processing
functions you want.”
Set-up is done on a PC using a simple
network set-up tool and on the device
by downloading the ScanSnap app.When
you walk to the scanner for the first
time, the app will detect the scanner
and prompt you to enter a password to
connect the two. Then just hit the Scan
button and the page will be sent to
your device as a PDF
or JPEG.
Scanners
Going places
Wireless scanning on Fujitsu’s new small business scanner,
the ScanSnap iX500, gives mobile workers unlimited
access to important documents
Smartphone/tablet users enjoy
almost all the same features as a desktop
user including automatic duplex (two-
sided) scanning; double-feed detection;
deletion of blank pages; automatic colour
detection; automatic size detection;
and the ability to route a scan to other
applications on the device, such as a
document management app or PDF
reader, or to email or print. The only
feature not available to smartphone/tablet
users is automatic image re-orientation.
In addition to its wireless capability,
the iX500 includes many enhancements
of benefit to desktop users, such as:
n
better paper-handling and double-feed
detection due to the use of robust
rollers previously only available on
higher end Fujitsu scanners;
n
a fast GI processor that optimises
images on the scanner rather than the
mobile device or PC;
n
a new ABBYY optical character
recognition (OCR) engine that speeds
up the creation of PDF text layers for
editing and full text searches;
n
the ability to add third party apps
to the scanner Quick Menu and to
personalise it so that you only see your
favourites; and
n
automatic prompts based on the
type of document being scanned so
that when you scan a business card,
say, the software will automatically
recommend CardMinder.
The iX500 is available in two versions, a
standard model costing £394 (ex VAT)
and a deluxe version costing £433. The
latter comes with a personal document
management application featuring a user
interface that mirrors paper-based filing
processes, including virtual
filing cabinets.
...the
scanner can
communicate
directly with
a mobile
device...
Scan & Go
see page 16 >