Brother ImageCenter ADS-2000 24 bit Dual CIS 600 x 600 dpi Duplex High Speed Desktop Document Scanner

Pros: Fast scanning.
Easy setup.
Good quality for most things.

Cons: Extremely noisy.
Not built very well.
Very poor at scanning faint documents.

Other Thoughts: We usually use Epson GT-S50's for our DMS and really hammer them hard. I thought I would try this Brother scanner for a change as it seemed quite similar on paper. So far it's a mixed bag. It scans a little quicker than the Epson and the quality for most things seems very slightly better...but that could just be down to software settings. However it has 2 big problems. It is absurdly noisy and unpleasant sounding - like a piece of farm equipment operating on my desk. It's driving everybody in the office nuts. This isn't a faulty one either - they just sound that way apparently. Secondly, this scanner is very poor at scanning old/faint documents - it just skips half of them because it thinks they're blank pages. I've tried tweaking the software but it makes no difference. The Epson scanners handle even the faintest old docs just fine, out of the box - never skipped a single one. You can also tell the difference in build quality between the 2 scanners with the Brother being literally half the weight of the Epson. The Epson feels solid and reliable, the Brother feels cheap and fragile.
For a general document scanner this ADS-2000 is fine. However, for a heavy use application it's just too noisy and is too fussy about the material it's scanning. It also feels like it won't last, but only time will tell on that.

Pros: Twain, WIA, Isis and more drivers. Scan to USB, mobile device. $100 price difference from others in its class.

Cons: Software is weak, crashed in Lion. Real price could be more with better software.

Other Thoughts: I was really looking for the Scansnap s1500 when I came upon this jewel. It was a review on another website that sold me, but the price on Newegg was the most compelling reason. The Brother ImageCenter ADS-2000 has all the features the Scansnap has, plus direct to usb drive scanning and (with an app) direct to mobile device scanning. Paper jams are minimal, scanned images look amazing and the sucker moves fast when scanning.

I’m running in a mixed mode environment, that is to say, I have Lion and I am running Windows 7 in Paralells. The software that comes with the Brother ImageCenter ADS-2000, on top of being weak, is buggy in Lion. I was ready to return the whole thing when it appeared the scanner would only take in three pages then jam. But in Windows it would run perfectly. The other drawback was a bizarre black line that would appear at the top of each page when using the Brother software, but using others, pages were crystal clear. Get Adobe Acrobat Pro, Abbyy Finereader and Abbyy Business Card 2.0 and use the Brother Control Center just for button press scanning.

All in all, a great scanner, at an unbelievable price (with twain support) but cost could jump if you can't find a deal on better software.

Pros: Nothing

Cons: Bulky; multi fees every 20 pages or so; makes extremely large file sized scans

Other Thoughts: If you scan more than a few pages in a day, then I would highly recommend shelling out the extra $100 for the Scan Scan by Fujitsu.

Pros: fast reliable can scan front and back in one pass using CC4

Cons: using paperport software decrease the efficiency because a software issue, can't scan front and back in one pass.

Pros: Multi-sheet feed. Automatically recognizes blank pages and excludes them when scanning. Fast scans. Plugged it in after installing the driver, inserted paper, pressed button and it scanned perfectly. No settings needed to be adjusted at all. Small footprint, even smaller when the tray and lid are closed. Auto poweroff when not being used.

Cons: Only con I have is that it is a little noisey. That's it though.

Other Thoughts: I originally purchased the Xerox Documate 3125. It was the worst scanner I have ever purchased. May have just been a bad one, but didn't want to chance it so I went with the Brother and don't regret it for a second. I was told that a lot of the smaller Xerox perfierals are made in a different country and Xerox slaps their name on them.