The favourite affordable Fujitsu Scansnap scanner of almost every business is being retired. The darling and often revered by Accounting offices, Lawyers, Custom brokers and other busy offices etc. The ScanSnap ix500 is being phased out.
(a few are still in distribution – call quick if you want us to try to find one for you).
The ScanSnap iX1500 (PA03770-B005) is now being identified as the suitable replacement. 
The reason the ix500 was so successful was a combination of price, performance and flexibility which permitted offices to build a variety of workflows around their use. The price point made it possible to put a unit on a single user desk when a workflow required dedicated scanning. Often to save a few dollars you might see one deployed between two users feeding scanned output directly into workflows such as insurance processing or legal scan capture. With a small footprint and easy of use but a robust capability this type of scanner has been a long term solution for many offices.
Even for me I sit writing this article with a smaller personal sized version of the ScanSnap on my desk ready for use.
So with the most popular model now at EOL what have they done to replace it and what new benefits can users expect from the newer model.
The ScanSnap iX1500 is the flagship model of the ScanSnap Series, capable of digitizing large volumes of papers quickly. It simplifies the scanning process for a variety of documents, making it easy to digitalize your life. You can be more efficient and productive, focusing on the things that matter the most.
What it does is complex, how you use it is simple. Its wireless connectivity, an intuitive touch screen and advanced software, "ScanSnap Home", enable you to do anything from scanning papers, converting them into fully editable files, to utilizing data in your commonly used applications. With its various automation functions, it intelligently adapts to your preferences and continues to evolve around your needs, enabling you to work in a smarter way.
- Touch screen for various tasks
- Perfect fit for both personal and sharing use
- Refined design
- Speedy 30 ppm color scanning
- 50 sheets Automatic Document Feeder (ADF)
- Smooth scanning of any document with Manual Scan and the Receipt Guide
- Dust Detection and Streak Reduction for clean images
- Scan wirelessly to PC, Mac, iOS or Android mobile devices
- Best experiences with ScanSnap Home
Take a look at how it works.
There are many ways that scanning can enhance business workflows. In some instances convenient distributed scanning is an ideal tool for workflows to avoid interruptions to user activity which come with using more centralized scanning from production devices or from networked MFPs. This is the time where devices such as the ScanSnap iX1500 excel.
The other places they often fit in is dentist offices and other smaller professional offices where volumes are not too high but where convenience and quality still count.
Sometimes products become virtual standards for applications and the original ScanSnap 500 was one of those devices which approached this status. With its final version now reaching EOL it it time for a newer model to come to the for and fill the gap. Building upon the performance of the original the iX1500 will be a worthy replacement.
Lee K
