I’ve got a magic wand!
Seriously though, what an awesome device to have. Forgive my exuberance, but it’s rare that I get to review something that’s not just good, but has honestly made my life easier.
The ScanSnap S1100 is a small, easily stored, portable scanner. It’s about the size of a six-cell laptop battery, and much lighter. We’re talking a mere 12 ounces. I carried it in my laptop bag (along with the USB cable it uses for power/communication) and honestly forgot it was there. The feeder tray and the output “fold out”, and they won’t power on unless they’re open.
But don’t let the light weight convince you it’s a lightweight. It can go up to 600 dpi, and the software let’s you do “batches” – if you have multiple pages, they’ll all scan as one document until you tell the software to stop.
Ah yes, the software. That leads to the only gripe. Despite the great built-in ScanSnap software (ran a tad better on my Mac than my XP PC, but it runs on both), it lacks what should be the absolute most basic thing for a professional in need of a scanner – third party support. You can’t just click the scan button in the image software of your choice and get a result – you have to use ScanSnap’s app. However, the ScanSnapp software scans to the apps of your choice (as well as the typical option of folders, e-mail, etc).
If you’re someone like me – a person looking to make his records/documents/old photos digital, and want a quick, easy-to-use and light scanner – the $190 that the ScanSnap costs you should be worth it. I cannot recommend it for anyone already “married” to any imaging software (except possibly as a second scanner), and I certainly can’t recommend it to people who are in the serious image manipulation business. Although honestly, if that’s your line, you should be using a flatbed, not an autofeeder.
In short, ScanSnap is great for a boardroom, dorm room, craft room, or just to have in your bag – not so much for the PhotoShop crowd.
Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to scan some expense receipts.
[…] back in 2011 we got to run the ScanSnap S1100 through the paces. We were impressed and actually still keep it handy for sudden scan needs. Except as you all know, […]