Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Duplex Scanner for the Macintosh Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500M Instant PDF Sheet-Fed Duplex Scanner for the Macintosh

Pros: Fast Scanner, does both sides of a page at one time. Easy to install, software for the Mac works well, push the button on the scanner, a window pops up on the mac, choose file, and it drops files into a directory with the time and date, or you can name it during the scan. OCR works well to make scannable PDFs, but this does add time to the scans. I've set it up to just scan into a folder called NewScans then I name them and move them from there, easier for big jobs.

Cons: Sometimes with odd sized pages in poor condition it can pull in crooked, in which case you have to pull out and try again, this only happens with odd sizes when you haven't set the guides and typically only on pages in poor condition (old receipts, etc...), otherwise had very good luck scanning large jobs.

Other Thoughts: I'd highly recommend this scanner for anyone that scans loose leaf papers into a Mac. I have an all-in-one flatbed scanner/printer as well that I use for check printing and flatbed requirements, even with it's auto feeder on the all-in-one, it can't hold a candle to this purpose built ADF scanner.

Pros: easy, fast, and convenient scanning as long as the pages are in relatively good condition and staple or paper clip free

Cons: pricy

Other Thoughts: Great buy

Pros: Very fast, and the duplex system makes this scanner very convenient. Just press the blue illuminated button, and away you go. Also, the desktop foot print is relatively small. Because of this you can put the scanner in a convenient spot on your desk, and reach it to move the paper size sliders back and forth as you need to when you want to scan different size documents.

Cons: The scanner doesn't belong to me, but we use it at work. The software is a little tricky to use, but once you figure it out it's pretty straight forward.

Other Thoughts: We purchased this scanner to replace a great big HP ScanJet scanner that took up half the desktop space, and was probably more than twice as slow. There are several conveniences built into this unit, and the more we use this scanner the more we like it. At almost $500.00 the price tag seems a little steep. But for all the features and tricks this scanner does, even at that price it’s a pretty good bye. This is a product I can recommend with confidence.

Pros: Good scan quality
Doesn't jam often
I have had this scanner for over a year with continual use, and never had any major problems
Good quality
I am running this scanner on a Mac at the moment

Cons: The design is a bit awkward
To put it into standby mode quickly, you have to close all of the trays, otherwise the scanning light stays on for a while
You have to have the software running on the mac before the scan button on the scanner actually works...when I first got the scanner, I was sitting there wondering why nothing was happening when I pushed the scan button...I thought the software would automatically launch when the button was pushed, but this was not the case
Also, the software is not that user friendly...you have to know how to keep yourself organized (create your own file system).

Other Thoughts: I also have experience with the neat scanner. The neat scanner software is a great all in one solution for people that don't want to think about how to organize themselves. However, I would have to say that the fujitsu scanner is a superior piece of hardware.

Pros: 1) Small
2) Easy to setup
3) Scans pretty much everything
4) Sleek design
5) Very clear scans
6) Handles a lot of documents at once
7) Dual sided scanning

Cons: Price

Other Thoughts: None

Pros: Fast scans, many software options, fairly simple interface, easy to use, works with OS-X Lion or Windows (both drivers etc. come on disk), compatible with NeatWorks software sold by Neat company. Can choose to make every document you scan into a searchable PDF which is very cool, and very useful.

Cons: Would like to see better documentation and more tightly integrated software package. Bad, BAD for photographs or fragile documents (use carrier sheet for those). OCR software is sometimes brilliant, and sometimes not so much.

Other Thoughts: I'm a hardware techie, but a n00b to this way of organizing my receipts into searchable PDF files. I needed some way of organizing and tracking my household/work/business expenses that didn't require me to be a full-time book keeper with the finance software. Neat Receipts seemed to have the software solution, but they worked with what seemed to be a crippled version of the Fujitsu scanner. The Fujitsu Scansnap had all the right high-quality hardware components, but lacked the software I wanted for my personal needs. It wasn't until I discovered that Neatworks is a downloadable program that marries their software benefits with the the great hardware of the Fujitsu Scansnap. Now I can either scan images into Fujitsu's Scansnap software and import what I'd like into Neatworks, or I can scan images directly into Neatworks for expense tracking. If you're looking for expense tracking for home use, I recommend a combination of Scansnap with Neatworks.

Pros: Does not hog the computer as most scanning software does
Speed (drastically reduced our workload, the bottleneck used to be scanning now it is our software for faxing/linking/e-mailing that is the bottleneck)
Logical design
Fewer jams than ADFs that bends the paper 180°
Small hardware footprint
Duplex scanning with autoremoval of blank pages
Auto orientation correction(no need to worry about feeding it the right way, simply drop it in and press the button!)
no complicated menus to perform simple tasks
Save as multipage pdf or many individual pdfs
No dysfunctional power save mode(HP)no long warm up phase
Works with x64 systems(installs as x86) there are some models that claim x64 support but had network sharing problems(brother)
No lag/stall every few pages due to memory limitations(cannon)
Can save several scanning profilesYou do not need to renter scanner parameters each time you want a different profile(no need to go through a tree of folders each time, no need to name e

Cons: better if had button on scanner to scroll through the different saved profiles (currently changing profiles requires using computer)

Poorer scan quality(cheaper epson=better quality, smaller file, but slower)
Low quality forces us to use higher settings=larger files
(older gen fujitsu was just as fast without the loss in quality)
smudges from over exposure

The ADF jams despite u/s sensor and design
Doesn’t handle stacks with multiple item sizes in the ADF(sliding bar must be slid to hug each page, else the page spins while being pulled along and causes a jam)
When it jams it can sometimes rip/wrinkle two vertical lines at the top(sensor took too long to recognize jam)
requires using software to remove the bad scans or merge the successful partial scans (editing is time consuming)
Note to unjam: pull the black release on the right and lift

Large software footprint (better than buggy dell scanning software)

sometimes due to dirt on the bottom of the pile it’ll add a bl

Other Thoughts: cons:1yr warranty(wish fujitsu had more faith in their engineers)
not as durable as older fujitsu models but still more durable than dell/hp/lexmark(had to use warranty multiple times with those brands)

price

usb cable is too short

Hinges do appear fragile, but they have yet to break on me.
Yet to have jam due to output tray, all during intake so far
But yes the ADF can only safely handle about 5-15 pages at a time, loading 50 pages at a time becomes a gamble (jam rate increases to almost as bad as 50%)
No TWAIN
Not a network scanner (no Ethernet port/IP adrdress) but this scanner outperforms all the network scanner I’ve tried (ex: dell/hp/etc)
Poor customer service but not as bad as dell or hp

not PC compatible
other fujitsu scanners have drivers for both PC and mac
note for windows 7 users buying s1500: the problem is with windows 7 not Fujitsu, upgrade to xp pro and you will see what I mean (running in windows 7's xp compatibility mode does nothing) or you can

Pros: Feeder works well, unlike some previous models. Handy popup menu to select preset and user defined scan settings. (Gray, color, duplex, file format, etc.) Small footprint.

Cons: Supplies difficult to find at the moment.... maybe that will improve with time. They ain't cheap, either.

Other Thoughts: Replaced an older snapscan with this one... much improved.

Ignore the reviews claiming no Snow Leopard support. That's been fixed with a downloadable driver. Works great with my Snow Leopard.

Pros: This is a note to DigitalDoc's 2/2/2011 11:38:36 AM comment. I hope this helps.
The scanning software that the S1500M comes with makes your scans searchable. Searching is something the MAC OS does very well thanks to Spotlight. Your Mac came with Spotlight and the rest of what you need. Consider using these following features to organize, find, and view your scans:
++New Folder (Create folders in Finder and name them),
++Spotlight (to find your searchable scans),
++Quicklook, (Select a file in Finder then hit the space bar)
++Preview (You can view and annotate pdfs with this application).

Pro: FREE

Cons: I wish the S1500M was less expensive but know it's ease of use will pay for itself as it helps me become more organized.

Other Thoughts: I am not a S1500M user yet but i do use my older scanner in this fashion. And based on all that I am reading on the amazing ScanSnap machine, I hope to purchase one from Newegg this month.

I hope this helps.

Pros: Fast scans and fast OCR conversion

Cons: Purchased the Mac version after using the PC version in my office for a year. Mac version doesn't come with the ScanSnap Organizer software... the software is what made me love this thing! Without it, it's difficult to scan and organize your documents as easily. If you have the PC version with ScanSnap Organizer software, beware before purchasing for a Mac! You will be frustrated.... Also, not able to set the scanner up to scan pages in different orientations (i.e. you HAVE to place documents face down, upside down with the Mac version. PC version allows you to put the documents in face forward, right side up.) Not a bug deal, but annoying none the less. I guess it's my own fault for assuming the Mac version would come with the ScanSnap Organizer software!

Other Thoughts: Undecided if I'm going to keep the scanner. I've had the PC version at my office for over a year. Works great. Has allowed me to go pretty much paperless. Not going to be as easy at home with the Mac version! If I can't find a suitable program to use to organize my scanned docs, I'll likely return it...