Best mid priced flatbed scanner with ADF ?

[Guest]

We are interested in buying a flatbed scanner with ADF for business uses that is priced in the $300 to $550 price range.

We will be using it mostly for BW scans to searchable PDF's and to email and would like it to do both relatively easily and well.

Most important is that the ADF feeder not be problematic. We don't do high volume but we need it to be able to do 5 pages or so reliably. In reading user reviews I see that is a frequent problem.

thanks in advance,

db

[kingpd@businessprints.net]

Re: Best mid priced flatbed scanner with ADF ?

If you have a copier/printer already ask the dealer to hook up the scan function. It will be the best value for your money. Stupid suggestion huh?...well you'd be surprised what may have been packaged into your machine but never turned on, hooked up, or shown how to use. If you don't have it, you might be able to get a discount on adding it for about what a dedicated scanner would cost.

If you're just going to be scanning say 5 pages a day or even a little more and want to make a pdf file. Just buy a cheap piece of sh*t Brother inkjet MFP. We got one on sale once for like $50, inkjet printer, scanner, and fax. Total piece of big plastic crap but it faxed well and scanned well and were able to make jpg, tiff, and pdf over the network. The printer was crap and the ink hoses and heads always dried up so we never printed with it especially since we sell office equipment. Then when we didn't fax anymore and it died we threw it away.

Now if your volume goes up drastically there's a whole new arena of dedicated scanners out there that I could recommend that would be competing with a commercial quality copier/printer/mfp on the scan side.

[dbotas]

Re: Best mid priced flatbed scanner with ADF ? (Xerox Documate 3220)

Thanks for your alt suggestions but we have some particular small law firm needs involving limited space (height etc), need for a flatbed, need for a non problematic ADF for light use and scan to searchable PDF, scan to email etc. (It will back up our commerical HP4345 and be for our office managers use in her office.)

After searching around, we are thinking of getting the Xerox DocuMate 3220. It's about $325, and looks like it will do what we want. hopefully it is not a problematic piece of equipment.

If anyone has any experience with one, I'd love to know about it.

thanks,

db

If you have a copier/printer already ask the dealer to hook up the scan function. It will be the best value for your money. Stupid suggestion huh?...well you'd be surprised what may have been packaged into your machine but never turned on, hooked up, or shown how to use. If you don't have it, you might be able to get a discount on adding it for about what a dedicated scanner would cost.

If you're just going to be scanning say 5 pages a day or even a little more and want to make a pdf file. Just buy a cheap piece of sh*t Brother inkjet MFP. We got one on sale once for like $50, inkjet printer, scanner, and fax. Total piece of big plastic crap but it faxed well and scanned well and were able to make jpg, tiff, and pdf over the network. The printer was crap and the ink hoses and heads always dried up so we never printed with it especially since we sell office equipment. Then when we didn't fax anymore and it died we threw it away.

Now if your volume goes up drastically there's a whole new arena of dedicated scanners out there that I could recommend that would be competing with a commercial quality copier/printer/mfp on the scan side.