Fujitsu Scansnap iX500 Review: Best Scanner Option for a Home-Based Paperless Lifestyle?

The Fujitsu Scansnap iX500 is the scanner I wish I used on a daily basis. I was fortunate to extensively review the scanner and as much as I was tempted, I still haven’t upgraded from my Scansnap S1300i.

The iX500 is Fujitsu’s top model in the Scansnap line and can be found on Amazon in the $420 price range. Even though it is substantially larger than my very-portable S1300i, I like the iX500 design better. It just has a more modern feel to it. After I’m done using my S1300i I’m always anxious to pack it up and put it away. With the iX500 I would be more likely to leave out on my desk permanently. Let me tell you what else I like about this scanner…

The Good

1. Wireless capability. With this scanner you’ll need the USB cable exactly one time — to initially configure the wireless settings. After that, the Scansnap will automatically connect to your wireless network every time it turns on. Unlike the Doxie Go WiFi with an internal battery, you’ll still need the power cable to make the iX500 go.
2. Speed. The ix500 advertises up to 25 pages per minute, but in my tests, even with a large stack in the paper tray, I know the scanner over delivered in the speed department. The speed difference between the iX500 and the S1300i is significant and noticeable.
3. Capacity. Unfortunately I didn’t test the limits of the paper tray capacity on the iX500 but it’s advertised as handling stacks of 50 pages with ease. With my S1300i I always worry about a double feed anytime I have more than 10 pages. With everyday scanning a 10 page paper tray versus a 50 page paper tray isn’t a big issue, but if you’ve decided to work your way through a large backlog of old files the increased capacity will keep you sane.
4. Duplex scanning. For a scanner in this price range, duplex (double sided) scanning is expected.
5. Scanner level OCR. I don’t use scanner level OCR processing — I let Evernote do this for me on their own time and on their own servers. That being said, the processor in the iX500 does the OCR data crunching much better than my S1300i. With OCR enabled on my S1300i I felt a significant scanning and processing slowdown. With the iX500, the slowdown is hardly noticeable.
6. Build quality. You can tell Fujitsu designed this scanner for functionality and durability. It just feels solid and well made. It’s the type of scanner that I would expect to work flawlessly for years into the future.

The Bad

1. Lack of portability. While it’s certainly easy to pickup this scanner and move it to a different location, it was not designed with portability in mind. This is a desktop home-based scanner and makes no attempt to be a travel scanner like the tiny Doxie Go WiFi or the Scansnap S1300i. For most of you this is not an issue but for you road warriors, it’s a consideration.
2. Software. Fujitsu is a magical hardware company but they are an uninspiring software company. They make bulletproof scanners that are the best in class but I think they need to re-evaluate their software development. It’s not that the software doesn’t work, it just lacks polish. The majority of the population won’t care about my qualms here but there is a segment of people that care about the design and usability of software. The little details matter. The bundled Scansnap Manager software comes with the necessary integrations; Evernote and Dropbox, but it lacks some of the extras that are standard with the excellent Doxie software. While perfectly functional, the Scansnap software always feels a few years behind the competition.

Final Thoughts

The Fujitsu Scansnap iX500 is the best consumer level scanner on the market. At around $420 it’s not cheap, but I believe it’s a good value for the money. If I was starting a new home-based paperless lifestyle today, the iX500 would be my scanner of choice. Once you configure your Evernote integration you will rarely have to mess with the un-polished software.

A WiFi scanner like the iX500 would be a game-changer in my paperless workflow. I use a MacBook Air with exactly two USB ports and every time I get out my S1300i for weekly or bi-weekly scanning sessions I either have to unplug my bluetooth speaker or external hard drive. A WiFi capable scanner like the iX500 would eliminate this extra annoying step.

If you anticipate traveling with a scanner and can only afford one, I would consider trading some of the iX500 capability for the portability of the S1300i. If you are implementing a paperless lifestyle and don’t plan on traveling with a scanner, the iX500 is the best option. I highly recommend this scanner.