Dedicated Scanner

[Velvis]

Does anyone have any recommendations for a decent scanner that can handle 20-40 page documents?

Currently they are using an all-in-one but have run up against large scans disrupting people trying to print in the office, so they are looking for a stand alone solution.

They are a very small office (4 people) so I don't think they are looking to spend a fortune on solving the bottleneck, my first thought was a second all-in-one but wanted to see what options and opinions people here might have.

 

[mmerry]

I've had luck with these that are direct connect rather than networked.

Canon imageFORMULA DR-M160II - document scanner - desktop - USB 2.0 - 0114T27903 - Document Scanners - CDW.com

Buy a Canon imageFORMULA DR-M160II - document scanner - desktop - USB 2.0 at CDW.com

www.cdw.com

 

[JoelM]

Fujitsu Scansnap. Very reliable. Direct connect not network connected.

Amazon.com

 

[HCHTech]

Fujitsu Scansnap.

Yep - Ricoh bought Fujitsu's scanner business a couple of years ago. The haven't made changes to the product (yet) that I've seen. They are still the standard against which all others are measured, IMO. 35 or so double-sided pages scanned per minute, Fast and good, so not cheap, but they are the best.

 

[britechguy]

my first thought was a second all-in-one but wanted to see what options and opinions people here might have.

To be honest, that would be my approach, too. It is likely to be more cost effective to buy up to 4 decent "all in ones" than it is to buy a high-end high-speed scanner that is gross overkill in a 4-person office.

Even the Canon MFC656Cdw sitting next to me can handle up to 50 sheets (and 2 sided) in its document feeder. It's not nearly as fast as the noted Fujitsu scanner, but if the issue is that many people need to print but one person needs to scan, and that's the hitch in the gitty up, even introducing a second multi-function will likely solve that issue. Print to the one not currently in use for scanning.

 

[HCHTech]

I guess I'm biased because I've used one for years, but I'd say the time-savings alone will pay for the high-end scanner. I have put multiple thousands of pages through this thing and it has never given me a single problem. I stopped saving all but the critically important paper in my life years ago. All non-junk mail gets scanned and then shredded. The scanner is my favorite piece of tech because it just works. Everything is saved to my NAS which is backed up locally and to B2. In fact, I'm on my third big shredder since buying the scanner - haha.

 

[timeshifter]

Fujitsu Scansnap. Very reliable. Direct connect not network connected.

Amazon.com

^ this times 1,000!

I've been recommending and installing those for years. Every time I recommend one they bitch and moan that it's too much money for just a scanner. And every time they end up getting it anyway they thank me profusely and repeatedly.

Once you've used on, anything else looks like garbage.

 

[britechguy]

I have nothing against dedicated scanners, but look at the use case here.

Is it more likely that a 4 person office with the occasional scanning bottleneck will benefit more from a dedicated scanner or from having 2 multifunctions, which greatly increases printing capacity, and networked if desired.

I'd be asking the client, not making that decision for them.

I've been in circumstances where I'd not even think about recommending anything but a dedicated high speed scanner. But the case, as presented, is not one of those. There are other things that need to be considered, and the client is in the best position to make the final call.

 

[Velvis]

Is there a dedicated unit that connects to the network?

 

[timeshifter]

Is there a dedicated unit that connects to the network?

Some of the Fujitsu ScanSnap units do connect to WiFi. You still need software on a PC to operate the scanner. You could put the scanner on the network install the software on all 4 PCs. Might be easier to install on one PC and have the scans saved to a shared drive.

 

[John Kennedy]

+1 for ScanSnap. Ricoh bought them, but they're still excellent.