The Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 is what you'd expect of a small document scanner, in fact it's so small that on an untidy desk you could risk losing it (you can see in the photo that it is only a bit bigger than an office telephone!) On a serious note it is perfect for small quantities of desktop scanning.
Inside the box with the ScanSnap you'll find an easy to read instruction manual, power cable, USB cable and the provided software. The ScanSnap comes bundled with Adobe Acrobat 7, ScanSnap Organizer (which is the basic scanning product supplied. It's probably worth noting that the ScanSnap does not have TWAIN/ISIS drivers and so you can only use it with this software) and PFU CardMinder which is a handy little product.
For the sake of our testing we have scanned everything through the ScanSnap Organizer or the PFU CardMinder. Fujitsu state that the ScanSnap S500 will scan at a speed of 18 pages per minute and has a sheet feeder capacity of 50 pages.
The scanner was easy to set up only taking around 15 minutes from opening the box until the software was installed and ready to scan (bearing in mind there are several software products to install). As mentioned earlier this scanner is very small: approx 30cm in width, meaning that unlike other scanners you can move the scanner around with ease.
Unlike our other scanner tests, we are scanning the documents into the ScanSnap organizer software. This will not only create a PDF file but will also allow you to file the scanned documents away.
50 A4 text pages
This took 2 minutes 35 seconds at lowest quality (which for b&w text files is absolutely fine) - slightly faster than the 18 pages per minute quoted. One thing worth mentioning at this point is that the ScanSnap doesn't have a resolution setting like 200dpi for example. The ScanSnap has its own settings and are available at four levels. 1) Normal setting = fastest scanning 2) Better setting = faster scanning 3) Best setting = slow scanning 4) Excellent setting = slower scanning. The ScanSnap has an auto colour detection setting which we found easy to use and meant that we didn't have to keep switching between colour and black and white batches.
One of the main reasons why this scanner is so handy is not because of the size but because of its simplicity. Where as other scanners you have to go through two or three different windows to select settings before you scan, the ScanSnap has an easy "one touch PDF creation" button which allows you to load the paper, press "scan" and watch the documents load on the PC.
The ScanSnap organizer works as a filing cabinet on your computer. Once you have scanned your files you can open as many filing cabinets as you like and file them away safely. As a result it also makes finding your documents at a later date a lot easier by simply completing a search within the software.
The S500 has a sheet feed capability of 50 sheets and it coped just fine with this. A handy tip at this point would be that the machine takes it's pages from the bottom of the batch. This is very useful if you are looking to add a batch bigger than 50 and scan them all at once. As soon as the machine starts scanning you can continually add more pages on to the top of the batch. We started the scanning with 50 sheets and kept adding more and more until 150 sheets had been scanned on one batch.
On each machine, we test the ease of scanning a variety of invoices as this tends to be the most common type of document that is scanned. All the invoices are different sizes, thickness and quality of paper. We did find that the ScanSnap didn't feed the thinner sheets through so smoothly. We also encountered a paper jam because the pages seemed to get pulled through unevenly at times. Once the paper jam had occurred the S500 was easy and hassle free to rectify - simply push the grey button on the front of the machine which flicked open the feeder unit, enabling us to pull the jammed paper out and start the scanning again.
With a desktop scanner it is important that it not only takes up as little space as possible, but is also as quiet as possible when scanning. Again the S500 will not let you down - the scanner is so smooth and quite you wont even notice it's there!
We then tried the staple test. When the ScanSnap tried to scan the stapled page it took it half way through before jamming and even ripping the page resulting in potential disaster. Being a very basic scanner, double feed detection is non-existant and so the only way you'll know a stapled document has been scanned is by the resultant mess!
(PLEASE NOTE: remove all staples prior to scanning!!... No manufactures recommend that you scan staples - this will very quickly scratch the lens and will not be covered in your warranty! Although it is time consuming, preparation of documents is key)
The S500 didn't take to pages from a magazine so well. Being glossy, the rollers were spinning but couldn't make any purchase on the documents. Perhaps this was just a one off with the rollers on our scanner and not a problem with all Fujitsu ScanSnaps...
We mentioned the CardMinder software earlier on - this is very handy if you like to stay organised with your contacts. The software is very clever in the fact that once you scan your business card in, the software will somehow index the relevant information into the correct fields (contact name, company, telephone, email etc.) - this wasn't always accurate, but 9 times out of 10 it got it right.
Conclusion
For a small office scanner this works just fine. If you are looking for something to scan bits and pieces throughout the day then this is a good machine to go for. It's certainly not the fastest machine on the market and is restricted by not having TWAIN/ISIS drivers, but the software that is bundled makes up for this.
All of the software is useful and if used correctly and to its full potential will make your life easier. The scanner is small and in places seems a little frail (the paper guides for example) but overall as long as you don't overdo it and use it for what it's built for then this machine is a little beauty.
Please note that all of our reviews are based on one sample scanner and may not therefore be a statistically correct assessment of the model in question. Given the simplistic nature of the tests, in an attempt to keep the reviews comparable with other models, many of the features available to each model were not tested and we strongly recommend visitors to our website to view the official product specifications provided by the manufactures. Whilst all reasonable efforts have been made to ensure all information is accurate we accept no liability for any inaccuracies or omissions and any decisions based on information contained in this review are the sole responsibility of the visitor.
The Fujitsu ScanSnap S500 is what you'd expect of a small document scanner, in fact it's so small that on an untidy desk you could risk losing it (you can see in the photo that it is only a bit bigger than an office telephone!) On a serious note it is perfect for small quantities of desktop scanning.
