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★★★★★
Smackdown: Canon P-215 Scantini vs. Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300
UPDATE: The new model of the Fujitsu, the s1300i, apparently does not require the scanner to be plugged into an outlet, unlike the s1300. However, you need 2 free USB ports compared to 1 free USB port on the Canon. I don't have experience with the s1300i, so I can't comment on the other aspects. ************* If you're looking at the Canon P-215, there's a good chance you're also looking at the Fujitsu S1300. There's also a good chance you've read many glowing reviews of both. So which do you choose? I own both the P-215 and the S1300, and I can vouch that both are excellent products. I'd go so far as to say they've changed my life because I work with a ton of paper and don't have a ton of space. Here are my recommendations. If only one of these statements applies to you, or all the statements that apply to you point toward the same scanner, then your choice is easy. If more than one statement applies to you and points you toward different scanners, then it's a bit trickier. 1a. You don't have a program that will organize and modify PDFs. WINNER: Fujitsu. The software that comes with the Canon is horrible, whereas the Fujitsu provides a nice file manager program. 1b. You want to do OCR but don't have a good OCR program such as Adobe Acrobat. WINNER: Fujitsu. As mentioned above, the software that comes with the Canon is horrible, whereas the Fujitsu provides a nice OCR program. More on the horrible Canon software later. 2a. You scan a lot of business cards and don't need/want OCR for those cards. WINNER: Canon. It has a great little slot just for business cards. 2b. You scan a lot of business cards and need/want OCR for those cards. WINNER: Fujitsu. See 1b. 3a. You have a USB 3.0 port that is free for you to plug your scanner into. WINNER: Canon. If you have a USB 3.0 port, then just plug one of the USB cords into the scanner, and you can do high-speed scanning. 3b. You have a free outlet on your power strip/wall and only one free USB port (2.0) on your computer. WINNER: Fujitsu. The Canon doesn't come with a power adapter. You have to buy that separately. You can scan with just one free USB 2.0 port with the Canon, but it's slow. 3c. You have two free USB ports (2.0) on your computer and no free outlets on your power strip/wall. WINNER: Canon. You can do high-speed scanning by plugging into both USB 2.0 ports. You don't need a power adapter and don't have one unless you buy it separately. 3d. You have one free USB (2.0) port on your computer and no free outlets on your power strip/wall. WINNER: Canon. The scanning will be slow, but you still can scan with just one USB 2.0 port. If you don't have a free outlet, you can't scan at all with the Fujitsu. 3e. You're in a situation in which you're on a laptop but don't have the laptop charger, but you do have an extra outlet. WINNER: Fujitsu. The Canon will eat up all your laptop battery because it's not getting power from anywhere else. 4. You want to scan a stack of legal-size paper or heavier paper. WINNER: Fujitsu. The pull-out easel--I don't know if that's the term--on the Canon is way flimsy, and legal paper doesn't go in as straight as it does with the Fujitsu. 5. You want to travel a lot with this scanner. WINNER: Canon. The Canon is smaller and more portable. Note, however, that when the easel is pulled out, the footprint on the desk is about the same because the easel stands up straighter on the Fujitsu. 6. You want a scanner that will last. WINNER: Fujitsu at least ties with Canon and may be better. I haven't used the Canon enough to test its durability, but I've scanned well over 15,000 pages on the Fujitsu, and it's still going strong. It's not like I've been particularly careful with the Fujitsu; many times I've accidentally forgotten to pull out staples, have yanked the paper halfway through a scan after realizing that I wasn't supposed to scan it, etc. Perhaps the Canon is just as durable, but if you don't want to take that risk, then I recommend the Fujitsu. So that's a decision guide. Since this review is of the Canon scanner, here are some additional comments about it. I have Windows 7. First, I strongly recommend reading both the User's Manual printed in the box and the Reference Guide on the Canon website. I find it odd that they give you a printed copy of one but not the other, considering that the Reference Guide is just as important, if not more so, than the User's Manual. I don't find either manual particularly clearly written, though. As I mentioned above, the Canon software is horrible. If you want to install the software, do a System Restore first because you may regret the software installation; I did. I ended up removing all the software because it was such a pain in the butt. The Caputure OnTouch software didn't detect when I plugged in the scanner, nor when I pressed the button. The PaperPort program is not only confusing but annoying. You're bugged to register with the software company every single time. There's no option for it to stop bugging you. The software sets itself to Auto Start. It tried to auto-update but failed. Instead, use the software that's stored in the scanner itself. It's described confusingly in the manual; it's actually much simpler. When you plug in the scanner and turn it on, it'll show up as a drive called ONTOUCHLITE. Open the folder in that drive, and click on the file called ONTOUCHL.exe. Set "Enable continuous scanning" to On and "Full auto mode" to Off. In the Scanner Settings, set Use Advanced Options to On and click the star next to the option. This gives you the ability to do most scanning functions without the nuisance of the software. If you want to modify the pdfs, use another software program such as Adobe Acrobat or the other PDF editing programs I mention in my review of Adobe Acrobat X Professional I should mention that the ONTOUCHLITE software is annoying if you're scanning documents to different folders. You can choose your destination folder, but the "Save in folder" box is too short and doesn't show file trees. Unless you save everything to the desktop or to the main Documents folder, you almost always have to click Browse. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but trust me, it gets very annoying. While I've ended the review on a negative note, I really think this is a great product. In fact, I bought another one as a gift for an accountant friend. I'm merely trying to point out the one big downside to the Canon that you should be aware of. Full disclosure: I received a test model for review but was not otherwise compensated. As mentioned above, I liked this product enough to buy another one for a friend, so my 5-star rating reflects my true opinion. Because I have a test model, it's possible that the software problems described do not apply to non-test models.
June 2012 · Office Products · verified purchase
the product in question
Canon USA P-215 Document Scanner
4.0★ · 309 ratings, as of 2023
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