Fujitsu’s ScanSnap ($420) is a remarkable device that’s unbelievably productive and compact — about the size of a small fax machine. Its purpose is to convert printed documents into searchable electronic files, and it does that very quickly.
ScanSnap has two scanning heads which lets it scan both sides of a double-sided document at once. Just drop any combination of sizes of documents into its 50-sheet feeder, from receipts and business cards to billing statements and magazine pages, and the ScanSnap will convert them into any of several foramats: searchable PDF files, Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents, or photo scans at up to 600 dpi. The speed is roughly 18 double-sided sheets per minute.
If you want to create a multi-page PDF from a stack of documents, just drop them in. The ScanSnap automatically skips blank pages, determines if a document is color or black-and-white, whether it’s single-sided or double-sided, and what size it is. It also uses a custom version of optical character recognition software to convert printed words to editable text.
It’s amazing and it works.
Source: We got to see the ScanSnap in action at Chase Jarvis Photography, where they are using it to convert their client contracts and licensing agreements to PDF for easier long-term storage. Ironically, they has discovered it because it was profiled in the April issue of Design Tools Monthly which (as a Creativetechs’ Priority Member) they receive free each month.
