Since I’m a huge fan of the Fujitsu Scansnap 1100, I should probably get the two things I absolutely hate about it out of the way first.
Fujitsu insists on using its proprietary software for its Scansnap line. That means no scanning directly into applications that are perfectly capable of utilizing TWAIN-based scanners. Rather, you’re stuck using Fujitsu’s proprietary software for your scans.
Fujitsu compounds this idiotic decision by making it impossible to download the software from its website. You can download updates to the software just fine, but if you lose that original installation disc, you’re pretty much screwed — unlike its much friendlier competitors like Epson, you can’t simply pop online and download the software again. I just copy the stupid CD to Dropbox in case I ever need it again for a reinstall.
So, from the software end Fujitsu sucks. Hardware-wise, though, I’ve owned several ScanSnap’s and if you can live with those limitations these are awesome document scanners.
The ScanSnap 1100 is Fujitsu’s portable version that operates entirely off of USB power, and unlike some other USB-powered scanners, the ScanSnap 1100 requires just a single USB cable for power.
Now that limited power supply does mean a couple of other drawbacks that are common in this class of devices. The biggest drawback is that the ScanSnap 1100 only scans a single side of a document at a time. It is fairly easy to flip a document over and scan the reverse side, but if your primary use for this would be scanning lengthy double-sided documents, you’re going to want one of the desktop versions that can do so.
The second drawback is that the scanning speed is relatively slow — 5 to 8 seconds to scan an 8 1/2″ x 11″ piece of paper at highest resolution (I don’t bother with lower resolutions, so I couldn’t tell you how much faster it is if you’re willing to compromise on scanning quality).
Despite all of the above, I absolutely love this scanner. Having a scanner everywhere I am makes it so much easier to keep on top of scanning all of the crappy pieces of paper people insist on giving me.
The ScanSnap 1100 is perfect for receipts, business cards and other paper ephemera.The first couple of weeks I had this, I was able to finally power through the 500 or so receipts I had shoved in a desk drawer. I also used it to scan hundreds of shorter one and two page documents, leaving the longer, double-sided documents for my ScanSnap 1500.
If you will be carrying this with you a lot, I’d recommend purchasing the carrying case that Fujitsu makes for this as well. The case is absurdly expensive at about $40, but it has a cutout on the side so that the scanner can be operated without taking it out of the case.
