The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 is “made for” Windows, and the S1500M is “made for” Mac. What that really means is that they are different colors and ship with the appropriate version of Acrobat.
However, if you switch from Windows to Mac, you may not want to buy a new scanner. Easy enough; you just need the Mac version of ScanSnap Manager, and your S1500 (no M necessary) will work just fine. You don’t even need a copy of Acrobat, I suppose because a Mac has PDF support built-in.
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The NeatDesk document scanner is an attractive, consumer-grade document scanner that is up against stiff competition, including the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500, which has become incredibly popular with lawyers and includes a copy of Acrobat for a tough-to-beat value proposition. But the NeatDesk has its own software package and at least one feature the ScanSnap lacks: TWAIN.
So can the NeatDesk measure up to the ScanSnap? Read on to find out!
The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1100 is forget-you-have-it-in-your-bag tiny, a document scanner for lawyers on the go. But it is also—at just under $200—a great second scanner for the home office. It doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of its bigger siblings, the S1300 and S1500, but it retains a surprising number of features in a seriously portable package.
If you frequently read Lawyerist, there is a good chance you use a Fujitsu ScanSnap as part of your paperless office.
Like every other technological wonder, the ScanSnap requires upkeep and occasional cleaning. Fortunately, maintenance is fairly inexpensive and easy.
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Let’s get this out of the way: I love Fujitsu ScanSnap scanners. At some point, Fujitsu got wind of this, and started sending me test units so I would continue gushing about their products online. Fine with me.
When I bought my first ScanSnap—an S500—it was clearly the easiest way to get into document scanning. All I had to do was drop my documents into the auto-feeder, hit the blue button, and decide where to save the resulting PDF. Cake.
So I was excited when I first got wind of the ScanSnap S1300. The concept is the same of the larger ScanSnap S1500, just in a much smaller package. It is a nice second scanner if you have a specific need for scanning on the go. But it will not replace a desktop document scanner like the S1500.
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Using the Fujitsu ScanSnap s1500M with a Mac is a beautiful thing in my paperless law office.
Arguably, like everything else, the scanner works better on a Mac than a PC (Mac fanboy joke). Favoritism aside, the S1500M works great with a Mac.
The S1500M is visually more appealing than the ScanSnap S1500 scanner. With a sleek pearl color and nifty blue light, the scanner would fit in seamlessly on the bridge of the USS Enterprise of Star Trek fame. Whether you use a Mac or a PC, the scanner will look nice on your desk.
I have had a paperless law office since early 2006, when I bought my first Fujitsu ScanSnap s1500 document scanner and started scanning every page that crossed my desk.
That—and a bit of planning—is really all it takes to get started with a paperless office.
There seems to be a tendency to think of digital files as fundamentally different than paper files. In some ways, they are different. Digital files are better. You can encrypt them or back up your paperless files in different places, and do many other nifty things. But from an organizational perspective, paperless office digital files are basically the same as paper files.
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My review of the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500 is up to 60 comments, with lots of questions and answers. Here is a followup post with frequently-asked questions so you do not have to wade through those comments.
First off, though, I have had my ScanSnap S1500 for about two-and-a-half months, and I still love it. I am still using my S500, too, although it sits on my desk at home now. It still works like a charm, and I expect that same reliability and longevity from the S1500.
The newest desktop ScanSnap is the iX500, which is also our top scanner recommendation. Check out our ScanSnap iX500 review.
See our Law Technology Buyer's Guide for our top technology recommendations.
The main competitor to our favorite document scanner, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1500, is probably the NeatDesk Desktop Scanner. Last week, Joel Johnson of BoingBoing Gadgets got his hands on one, and spent a few hours putting it through its paces.
His verdict: While he didn’t have any major complaints about the NeatDesk desktop scanner, it’s probably not worth it. Consider the ScanSnap s1500 instead.
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