Way back in 2011, Techcitement got to run the ScanSnap S1100 through the paces. We were impressed and it has come in handy for sudden scan needs. Except as you all know, tech doesn’t sit still. What has the company been up to since?
For one thing, there’s the impressive looking update to the S1100, as seen in the above image. The new iX100 improves on the portability of the previous model in one major way with the addition of wireless scanning. Indeed, not only does it connect to your existing network, but if there isn’t one, it can create an ad hoc connection to your wireless device.
If portability isn’t your concern and heavy-duty scanning is, check out the iX500. At $459 to the iX100’s $229, that’s a heck of a price difference, but this is a serious piece of document management hardware (not to mention what looks like an impressive software suite). The elegant iX500 would fit in well on almost any desk.
Important: Do not confuse with shredder.
However, sometimes a simple desktop scanner isn’t enough. For those who need to scan larger documents or entire texts instead of just loose pages and don’t want a massive flatbed taking up an entire workstation, ScanSnap has announced a heck of a product to fit those needs with the SV600. The SV600 looks more like an old-school lamp than it does a scanner. It brings to mind old library desks, which is clearly a goal here. At $759, this is a serious archiving tool. The below video gives a great overview of why some businesses might be more than willing to pocket that expense.
While the SV600 is a wee bit too rich for our blood, we expect to give a full review of the iX100 soon. In the meantime, we suggest keeping an eye on ScanSnap.
As an artist, I think the SV600 might be overkill, though if I were doing very large pieces, or collages or paintings on a thick substrate it would be fantastic. For your average comic book artist or cartoonist, what would be really great is something like the ix100, only 2-1/2″ wider so it could take 11″ x 17″ pages; folding the art is not an option, and a compact, portable scanner that could handle a tabloid page is something they’d sell a lot of.