Looking for a bare-bones color scanner
August 30, 2014 9:01 AM   Subscribe

We're looking for a color scanner with minimal extras -- we just want something that will allow us to scan documents and produce a PDF. We do not want a printer (as those often won't allow scanning if the ink runs out), we do not need wireless functionality, we're not going to use it for photos, and we prefer actual buttons to touch screens. Ideally, we'd like both a feeder and a flatbed option, but that's not required.

Can anyone recommend something? Reliability and ease of use are more important than price.
posted by cider to Computers & Internet (5 answers total)
 
The Fujitsu ScanSnap does everything you want it to, but it's pricey. I love mine. I can drop a stack of documents into the top, hit a button, and in a minute I have a PDF. It can handle a lot of different sizes of paper, even in one PDF, so if you have receipts and statements, it will all work (with a little finagling). It also folds down into something about the size of a loaf of bread, which I like. There are a few models, so do a little reading. One has wifi, which I know you don't care about. The model I have (a few years old) doesn't.

But again, it's not cheap!
posted by clone boulevard at 9:09 AM on August 30, 2014


The Epson WorkForce range of scanners might have something you want. They are explicitly designed for document scanning rather than photos. They're not entirely cheap - $350 will get you one with an ADF, most likely duplex, and possibly scanning to a (wired) network share on an SD card. It all depends on the duty cycle you want.

(The WorkForce scanner I have is part of an AiO, so not what you want. It's huge, not very fast, sometimes misfeeds, but can happily munch away at duplex documents, or simplex up to Tabloid/A3. It's about $100 cheaper than the equivalent scanner, because the printer consumables subsidize the unit.)
posted by scruss at 9:54 AM on August 30, 2014


A flatbed Canon LiDE is a perfectly serviceable basic scanner with buttons.
posted by rhizome at 9:55 AM on August 30, 2014 [1 favorite]


I've been using a ScanSnap nearly every day in my business for probably 6-7 years. It's performed perfectly in all that time - totally worth the investment.
posted by justonegirl at 10:30 AM on August 30, 2014


Nthing the ScanSnap. Totally worth the cost.
posted by Jacqueline at 2:29 PM on August 30, 2014


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