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A multifunction printer can be a good choice for those who scan documents infrequently. I use a HP Deskjet 3050A together with PDFScanner (pdfscannerapp.com) to create PDF's with OCR. It may not be as fast as a dedicated document scanner but it's a fraction of the price and you get a printer as well.

Any reason you left Neat off the list? (Mine works fine, FWIW...)

I always wanted the Fujitsu ScanSnap just for ease and speed of scanning small items, receipts, etc. I just couldn't open up my wallet for the cost. My Canon MX860 multi-function has fulfilled all of my scanning needs and does an excellent job. I do a lot of scanning, and I mean a lot. Almost everything on paper gets scanned to a PDF file and then the paper is shredded to the recycle bin. Couldn't live without a reliable scanner as one of my tools.

tracyvalleau, on 13 December 2011 - 08:22 AM, said:

Actually, the article doesn't mention a single scanner or manufacturer by name (which was by design), so there was no list :-). We chose a selection of scanners to show photos of, mainly to illustrate the various categories and features, but there was no intention whatsoever to be exhaustive—there are LOTS of document scanners out there! I do mention Neat scanners in my book, and though I haven't used them personally, I've heard good things about them.

I'm pretty happy with my HP 7500 e910 MFP. It has the added advantage of scanning 11x17 and will scan over the network.

Joe writes: "Duty cycle The duty cycle is the manufacturer’s rating for how many pages per day a scanner can process comfortably without overheating or wearing out prematurely." Where does a consumer find that information?

I got the previous-generation Fujitsu ScanSnap (S510M) and have had lots of problems with double-feeding (and triple, and quadruple). Sometimes it helps if I turn the pages over and scan back-to-front because of the slight curl in the pages. Often I just feed documents one page at a time. Not what I had hoped for after spending almost $500.

I have the same ScanSnap 510M and couldn't disagree with you more. This scanner, along with DevonThink Pro Office, has been one of the single best productivity investments I've made. I have scanned in many thousands of documents, some of which were 100+ pages duplex, and I've been very happy with the ScanSnap. Its fast and reliable. Once in a while it will double feed, usually with certain types of paper, but the software doesn't require referring the document. You just restock the remaining pages and let her rip and it picks up where it left off. I've found if you have paper that is sticking together, just fanning the document back away from the scanner so its got a 180 degree curved bend will usually solve the problem. But like I said, for me this is rare. Perhaps you are getting all your source documents from the same source with this paper that kind of sticks together. I feed everything through the ScanSnap and have gone completely paperless in my office a couple years ago. All of what used to fill big lateral files is now contained in DevonThink Pro Office on my MacBook Air, wherever I go.

I just bought and installed Lion and lost my HP scanner in the process. No longer supported. I guess I should be glad the HP printer is still working. Any advice on a combo printer/fax/scanner would be welcome. Wireless only, please, and you can email me privately at jere@skybeam.com. Thanks a million.

Jere Joiner
Divide, Colo.

Has anyone found a solution that allows you to load in many documents (say 10 documents of varying page numbers) and have the software save them individually as separate PDF files? This is a huge feature for me as I don't have time to scan in documents more than every couple of months. By then, my stack is huge. I have a scansnap M300 right now and I've already tried the game of putting all one-pagers together, then two-pagers, etc, etc. No fun....

I am an attorney trying to go as paperless as possible. I have an office scanner, but I want something I can take to court with me to scan files, up to 50 pages at a time. All my computers at the office are Mac. Any suggestion for the best portable scanner for this situation? There are so many mixed reviews on each and every product, I feel lost. Any help or feedback is much appreciated!

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If I correctly understand your question, VueScan can do this with many scanners.

KristineBlagof said:

Thanks for asking this. I had to scan multiple text and handwritten inventory of household goods for an Estate where I assumed Trustee at request of my mother who passed away. I had upside down scans, i had numbered the pages but was too exhausted and working frantically to complete by a deadline. Then finding them in files was a hassle.
Have you seen anything since this old review? Halo is advertising a 400dpi usb mouse scanner . I cannot find any reviews out there. It is on sale for around $69 today (half price) with Mac compatible software.
Hope someone chimes in