Data hoarder needing ADF Scanner recommendation (From Receipts to Books)

[ew9d]

I am a data hoarder. I realize my money would probably be better spent on medication or therapy. But instead I want to buy an excellent network scanner that can indulge my addiction.

I scan all paper, and usually dispose of it afterwards (so the scans need to be "very good"). I've already taken care of sorting/ocr/indexing/search/backup. This thread is only in regard to the search for better (faster, more reliable) physical hardware. I'm tired of waiting on scanners, and dealing with jams.

I need:

1. Compatible with GNU+Linux. So, SANE? or Airscan?
2. IP Connectivity (Preferably Copper Ethernet)
3. ADF (Automatic document feeder)
4. Bulk feeder tray (at least 50 pages capacity. more is better)
5. Concurrent double-sided scanning (none of that suck the page back in and turn it around nonsense)
6. Capable of scanning even gas-pump sized receipts (2" width, 1.5 even better.)
7. Capable of accepting hand-fed single sheets
8. Capable of accepting rigid objects like business cards, credit cards, CDs (this point isn't a deal breaker)
9. "Small" size. Really this just means I do NOT want a flatbed scanner (with its large sheet of glass designed to scan one page at a time) I have enough of those already, and they are too large and bulky for my house.

I know Fujitsu ScanSnap is preferred in law firms, but I have concerns about GNU+Linux support, enough to not want to buy one unless a fellow GNU+Linux user already has a recent ScanSnap working. And I think its software is a large part of what attorney's are so happy about, and I won't be touching their (windows) software.

I often scan wrinkled receipts, things that have had staples i them, and I'm currently scanning a few thousand-page paperback books after un-binding them.

I'm rather annoyed at the slowness and how poorly my generic cheap Epson multi-function handles the thin paper of the paperback book. Think bible paper.

For Receipts, I usually use an IRIScan which requires me to feed them one at a time by hand. Whatever I buy needs to still be capable of accepting unusually shaped, or wrinkled paper that may need to be hand-fed due to uneven roller friction. As an example, I scan all credit cards, including those with raised bumpy text. Those need hand guiding in the IRIScan because of the bumps.

 

[nkukard]

Fujitsu is the WINNER here for me. They are quite expensive, but I would never ever look back ever.

Any hard copy document we get is scanned, we are pretty much 100% paperless.

This is the one we use:

Ricoh Image Scanner fi-7030

fi-7030 is an evolved entry-level fi Series scanner that provides quick scanning with A4 portrait scans of 27 ppm/54 ipm (200/300 dpi).

www.fujitsu.com

We've scanned document packs of over 500 pages by feeding 20-30 or so when the feeder gets low. I wrote software which scans it all to .pnm files, then does some processing on them to enhance the image, then combines them all into a single PDF document. There is a simple perl CGI web based interface which allows one to select the scanner to use (flat bed or ADF) the PDF to be set to be emailed or uploaded to our fileserver. I was working on support for QR coding all our documents and having the details of the doc encrypted and embedded in the QR code so it could be automatically uploaded to the right place without any intervention. It was possible to do it, just too much effort.

It cannot scan credit cards. We have a simple Canon LiDE flatbed for stuff like that.

For small things like receipts we normally use the flatbed as its easier to put all receipts onto the same flatbed and scan at once, but the above does come with a special sheet you can put smaller pages into to feed them easier.

Wrinkled paper would probably be fed fine, I've done it a few times, as long as there is no staples.

 

[ew9d]

Fujitsu is the WINNER here for me. They are quite expensive, but I would never ever look back ever.

Any hard copy document we get is scanned, we are pretty much 100% paperless.

This is the one we use:

Ricoh Image Scanner fi-7030

fi-7030 is an evolved entry-level fi Series scanner that provides quick scanning with A4 portrait scans of 27 ppm/54 ipm (200/300 dpi).

www.fujitsu.com

We've scanned document packs of over 500 pages by feeding 20-30 or so when the feeder gets low. I wrote software which scans it all to .pnm files, then does some processing on them to enhance the image, then combines them all into a single PDF document. There is a simple perl CGI web based interface which allows one to select the scanner to use (flat bed or ADF) the PDF to be set to be emailed or uploaded to our fileserver. I was working on support for QR coding all our documents and having the details of the doc encrypted and embedded in the QR code so it could be automatically uploaded to the right place without any intervention. It was possible to do it, just too much effort.

It cannot scan credit cards. We have a simple Canon LiDE flatbed for stuff like that.

For small things like receipts we normally use the flatbed as its easier to put all receipts onto the same flatbed and scan at once, but the above does come with a special sheet you can put smaller pages into to feed them easier.

Wrinkled paper would probably be fed fine, I've done it a few times, as long as there is no staples.

I live on a laptop. Do you keep your fi7030 connected to a Pi or a server of some sort, or do you physically connect/disconnect it each time you use it, or do you use a desktop where it would always be connected?

I have some USB-to-rj45 adapters that would let me cable it to something in the basement. But I'm inclined to find a usb-over-ip adapter.

Is the perl cgi interface something you designed, or is it part of the fujitsu? Would you be willing to share it? It sounds cool!

I've contemplated getting some sort of serialized number stamp and using that to mark "keeper documents" as having already been scanned so I don't scan them again.

 

[nkukard]

I have it connected to a small x86 device at present.

Nothing stops you connecting it to a laptop/desktop, its pretty portable.

Yea, I wrote the perl cgi interface, its really scuffed though.

 

[ew9d]

I have it connected to a small x86 device at present.

Nothing stops you connecting it to a laptop/desktop, its pretty portable.

Yea, I wrote the perl cgi interface, its really scuffed though.

What is your impression of the Ricoh takeover and their SP series scanners?

 

[nkukard]

What is your impression of the Ricoh takeover and their SP series scanners?

To be honest, only really have experience with Canon and Fujitsu. Specifically Canon LiDE and the Fujitso business scanners which look like the one linked above.

 

[ew9d]

To be honest, only really have experience with Canon and Fujitsu. Specifically Canon LiDE and the Fujitso business scanners which look like the one linked above.

Ricoh bought the Fujitsu scanner line of business a while ago. I don't think Fujitsu makes new models any more. I found a page that listed yours, and there was a Ricoh one with a higher ppm and Ethernet that I might try. It looks similar, but different enough the internals might be totally different. If you have a photo of yours opened up, I'll take one of mine to share too.

 

[nkukard]

Ricoh bought the Fujitsu scanner line of business a while ago. I don't think Fujitsu makes new models any more. I found a page that listed yours, and there was a Ricoh one with a higher ppm and Ethernet that I might try. It looks similar, but different enough the internals might be totally different. If you have a photo of yours opened up, I'll take one of mine to share too.

Yea, the thing is it may also be the firmware or whatever runs inside changes ... so I'm really not sure about support for them.