I have great interest in SnapScan and text (I own DTOP). Great feedback here. Does anyone also use it to scan Photos? Can you only scan to pdf or does it allow jpeg too? I really don’t want to clutter my desktop with multiple scanners. Thanks.
Yes, I occasionally scan photos using the ScanSnap, usually at the “Excellent” resolution and with automatic color detection enabled. Photo scans can be saved as PDF or JPEG.
I wouldn’t try to stack multiple photos into the sheet feeder, as many photos won’t be perfectly flat.
The image quality is quite acceptable for photos that I wish to place in a project report. But if I plan to do much photo editing – especially for cropping – I’ll probably scan the photo on a flatbed scanner that gives higher resolution.
Hi Bob,
did you buy and use the SnapScan already? If so, then: What is your experience regarding the photo question now?
Cheers, Christian
I just got the scanner this week. I have not tried photos. I will post my results this week when I scan photos. It comes w/ a “carrier” page designed for things like pictures or irregular clippings to keep it from damaging the original.
Good - I’m really curious to read about your findings.
Best regards, Christian
So Bob, how are things going with your ScanSnap? How well does it capture pictures? I mean in terms of adequate colors, straight lines, etc. Would you call it sufficient for importing a large amount of normal family photographs?
Anyone else with experience to share in this field?
Cheers, Christian
Well… finally tested a photo. I will say it is just “ok” for photos. I compare this to my hp scanner/printer that does a great job. It would be fine for a quick scan but not “photo quality”. I would use the SnapScan if I needed to quickly send a copy of a printed photo but only had to view it electronically and did not need the high quality we expect of our personal photos. It also just scans to pdf. At least thats all I’ve been able to get it to do.
Having said that… it is great for the graphics and photos that might be included in scanned articles. I have been going through a mountain of material. I’m currently reducing 29 yrs. of research files. Once upon a time, these files were my “internet”. I have many quality articles and notes I have done by hand or non-electronic means. The snap scan is doing a beautiful job. This is more along the lines of its intended use.
A high quality photo scanner it is not.
I have tested it for photos, too, but I found my cheap CanoScan LiDE 60 far superior in picture quality. I use the ScanSnap for what it was made for: documents, and the Canon flatbed scanner for pictures and scans of book pages.
I found it average for photos but a true time saver as well. I have several older photos that I want in iphoto but are also not hugely important that I need to go to the effort and time for a high quality scan. I can scan 20 at a time without a problem, saved to Jpeg and sent directly to iphoto at the highest settings. Again not bad but incredibly fast, 20 takes about 3 minutes or so and occasionally sticks - I usually stack them in, press the button and do a few things around the house, come back and repeat it. If a photo sticks I hear it if I am near because the noise is ‘loud’, it also tells you how many were completed and I just re-stack the others and continue.
Only recently do my scans have lines in them, not documents but photos. I have the cleaner and new rollers but have not installed them yet.
5955 scans to date.
Very interesting answers. I think I’ll go and get one, as soon as I recover from that flue… For the meantime: Does anyone happen to know if there are ANY true competitors for the ScanSnap out there at the moment or if Fujitsu is planning for a next version?
Best regards, Christian
There is a company called Avision, but you need to get some extra software with it. You can find more info on our website: Avision search