I was miffed when the ScanSnap software went to being a single system license, meaning I could no longer use it with both my iMac and my MacBook Pro.
Well today I got an email from Fujitsu which looks like they have wised up after a few years. In part:
We will remove the license limit for ScanSnap Home and revise the ScanSnap Account Registration Agreement and ScanSnap Cloud Terms of Service accordingly so that more people can use our products and services.
There is no change in the processing of personal information or usage information acquired by this revision.
In accordance with these updates, the contents of the ScanSnap Home license agreement (END-USER LICENSE AGREEMENT) will also be changed in subsequent editions.
For details, please refer to the next version of ScanSnap Home.
That was one of the main reasons why I never migrated from ScanSnap Manager to Home.
Another nice, customer-friendly surprise after their release of ScanSnap Manager V7 as a 64bit Mac applications and including support for legacy scanners.
PS: Just read that Fujitsu recently sold their scanner business to Ricoh, which is due to be rebranded this year, so may be a change in policy by the new owners.
Unfortunately there was a period of time between needing a 64bit application and the release of ScanSnap Manager V7. Except for the licensing issue, I found Home to be much more powerful so didn’t go back to Manager but just decided I could live with one client license.
I am on the fence… I think that Fujitsu has proven in more recent years that they were not very happy with their scanner business. Without getting into details (this community is full of complaints regarding licensing, not providing software support for perfectly fine working expensive scanners and backpedaling later on): I am not so sure, if it gets worse. It may… But who knows…
The scanner business is a tough one: on the one hand, devices like that are needed (and that will not change). On the other hand the market seems to be pretty small and getting smaller. There are a lot of consumers “scanning” paper through scan apps on their smartphone. And the amount of paper receipts is shrinking… Have a look at the flatbed scanner market: if you need good scanners for your Mac, you are faced with very old models and sometimes bad software support (outdated software)…
“PFU Limited, a subsidiary of Ricoh Company, Ltd., is a $1.3 billion global enterprise… PFU has been engaged in the document imaging scanner business for more than 30 years.”
I was stunned when I read this excerpt. $1.3 billion is quite an amount just for “scanners” (yes, I know, PFU is more than just scanners, but still…).
Long time ago I bought a Fujitsu scanner. I remember the MPU podcast being quite enthusiastic about them. The scanners worked pretty well but the software was crap (especially when it came time to upgrade to a new version). Quite a disappointment for anyone expecting Apple quality. I hung in there for years but finally gave up when continuity camera allowed me to use my iPhone to scan directly into the EagleFiler app.
I am very happy with the results. I have absolutely no issues with the software (ScanSnap Manager, not Home) and those two scanners. There was this limbo state when the Manager was discontinued and ScanSnap Home was the only option which also meant that some models were left out in the cold. But as we know, they caved and silently brought back the Manager. We have about 15 Scansnaps in our office (mostly ix500, some ix1500). They are used with PCs. All users are very happy with the performance. We have created custom profiles that fit our needs. The users just put whatever paper they have into the feeder, press the blue key and they end up with a nice PDF that is OCRed, having scanned all relevant pages (front and back) while skipping the blank ones. They get the work done, no matter if “normal” papers or little sales slips. Just great. To be honest, I do not know anything comparable that delivers such good quality so easily.
The only thing I was not happy with was the way how Fujitsu dealt with customers during recent years. They apparently tried to create a business model with an ongoing revenue stream even from persons that already owned a ScanSnap. It did not work out. Now Ricoh is taking over. I am not holding my breath that everything will be just fine, but I am also not fearing the worst.
Valuing it at only about 0.5 sales revenue seems rather cheap though. When I look at my first Scansnap scanner that I bought almost 15 years ago, that was more expensive than today’s top model.
I never thought of it as crap. It was limited but simple - and has worked very well for me.
Same experience. Have 4 scanners. Two were early versions, one newer, and one of the Evernote variety. Great scanners. Office went paperless in 2007 for good and truly because of these scanners.
Hated the jump to 64bit and the resulting home app. But, as you say, our can set the profile you want and forget about it.
Once they opened the 64 bit to include the original manager, all scanners went back to that version. Much cleaner, IMO.
Best scanner for the money and the quality of scans is miles above hand held iPhone scanners.
I also have an old Epson flatbed scanner for photos and slides/negatives that is rock solid for that kind of work.
As a side note, if you really want paperless, you should scan your best photos from pre digital era. Can be a lot of effort but well worth it.
The scanner business may be more robust on the commercial side. The receptionists and billing clerks at many of the medical providers I’ve visited all had scanners next to them to scan in the signed paper forms and the like that get handed to them. Ditto for banks and other financial service providers.
At some point I assume that every form will be digitally fillable, but right now certain kinds of documents—e.g., anything that’s notarized or otherwise sealed—starts out as a piece of paper that someone has to digitize. I’ve been able to e-sign certain things, but others have required a trip to a notary with a witness in tow.
