Network Scanner
 

I'm in the market for a networked scanner that I can access from any computer on the LAN. I'd like to be able to drop multiple pages into it and get a pdf on my computer.

Does anyone have any recommendations?

Thanks!

I have an Epson GT-2500 Plus and love it. It's held up well over several years, works perfectly in my mixed Mac/PC network, and has a dual-side (duplex) sheet feeder for up to 50 pages. Plus, the Epson Scan software doesn't bloat up my system with any boot-up drivers or constantly-running processes.

If you're looking for something less expensive, and without duplexing, I'm sure any of the current crop of network-enabled multifunction printer/scanner/fax units will fit your needs - I've just found that these type of devices are in general not as robust or sturdy as are dedicated single-purpose devices.

Using the Canon MX870 for duplex scanning. Life is so much easier!!

I have used the excellent Brother MFC series printer/fax/scanners in small offices for many years (See MFC-7360N, MFC-7440N, etc on the Brother site). The sheet feeder works reliably and they come with excellent Paperport Software that automatically produces PDFs. I have used them successfully on mixed networks of PCs and Macs. Some models can be found on sale for well under $200. Plus they fax and print as well.

what modern network scanner can't do that? (I'm serious.)

For a dedicated scanner, a lot of people seem to like the Fujitsu models, though I think my friends are talking about the usb models (s1500 or s1500m?) but you can share them on your network in win7 or whatever I suppose. They have a network version also. Worth checking out.

I have an older Brother MFC-7840W (wireless version) all in one that does that too, and seamlessly on the mac and pc. The mac side auto-detects it and installs the drivers, and includes scan to image, tif or pdf, I believe (selectable dpi, color/b&w, flatbed/sheet-feeder, etc.) On the PC side, you have to install their software package. The scan buttons on the device itself I think are setup to send to one computer, but it's all programmable, I believe. The scan button is programmable to some degree, but I think it supports scan to one computer by default. Not an issue if you use the computer interface, any computer on the network with the drivers can control it.

-David

I have a ScanSnap1300 on my desk which works like a dream - I have stuff go direct to Evernote.

There is a network version for £1300, but I would think hard about whether you need it and where you want to keep the finished docs. A single scanner attached by USB to a computer can be configured to dump the PDFs to a network drive, thus accessible anywhere in the office for a lot less than a networked scanner. You can even buy a couple of scanners and have some redundancy for the price of an expensive network box.

Another alternative may be to use an HP All-in-one: the scanner can be set-up to send the output to different machines on the network, but you won't get the duplex and speed of the scansnap.

A lot of the cheaper wifi all-in-ones don't have an automatic document feeder, which is needed to scan a batch of documents.

But most modern network scanner with ADF should be just fine.

Thanks, all, OP here. My dad (whom the scanner is for...ain't it fun being the family IT guy?) wants a device that scans and faxes (to replace his current fax machine, which is breaking down). So I figure we're probably looking at all-in-ones, though it won't be used as a printer or copier much if at all.

He also wants it to be a laser printer, not an inkjet. He wants to drop 50 pages in it, press a button and walk away, and have a pdf automatically appear on his computer. So I assume a duplex scanner would be needed.

One thing I'm thinking would be to have the device always send scans to a dedicated share on the Linux file server so people can pick them up there. If there were a way to route PDFs of incoming faxes to the share, too, that would be cool. Of course, if there were a fax/scanner that didn't print but just put PDFs of everything on the network, that would be very cool as well.

Thoughts?

Thanks!

+1
 

+1 for this one and the MX700, fast startup to print, scan, copy and works on a LAN with Mac and PC computers just fine. I think they are about 80-100$ at this point in the worlds history. I like that there is also a jumbo BLACK cartridge in the device for cheap B&W printing.

But I used it mostly for copy and scan to computer.

I also prefer PDFs to paper. I subscribe to ExtremeFax and all my faxes are delivered to me via email as PDFs. I can also send faxes directly from my computer, or using my fax machine. For $4.79/month I get 500 pages, but bigger plans are available. You can get a local number or a free 800 number.

I ported my old fax number to them and found that I could eliminate paying for a separate fax line. I don't send all that many faxes so I just share a regular voice line for those outgoing faxes I don't send from my PC directly.

Some Brother MFCs support Scan to FTP which should allow you to scan to a Linux share.

I'm thinking of the Brother MFC-9460CDN, which does everything Dad wants. Thanks wdwright on the Scan to FTP recommendation. This one supports it.

The only thing it doesn't do that would be nice to have is a way to keep it from printing incoming faxes. Dad gets so many junk faxes, it would be nice for it to turn them to PDFs and put them with the Scan To FTP scans for review and printing if people want.

Extreme Fax is another idea...

I have a white list on my phone line, so only authorized phone numbers can ring my phone line / fax machine. I have not received an unwanted call / fax in many years.

I have not used the Brother color lasers, so I really can't comment on them, though my prejudice is that color lasers mean more parts, more complexity and more cost. I tend to buy a $100-$150 inkjet for my color needs.

FWIW, there is a free 30 day trial on the ExtremeFax service.

Now that my dad is aware of the existence of color laser printers, he has decreed that that's what he wants. :)

I'm pretty decided on the second-to-top Brother all in one. We've had good experiences withthem in the past. Only other feature I'd like, until dad makes a move on Extreme Fax, is the ability for the FAX part of the machine to save incoming faxes to FTP or network share, to be printed if and when we want. Unfortunately, a whitelist isn't feasible at a dental office. They receive lots of faxes from different numbers, and lots more junk faxes.

You need a modem and software solution for the fax issue. A Windows machine and fax modem can use free Windows fax service to store incoming faxes to a shared folder. I've used GFI Faxmaker in several offices, but it's greatest strength is integration with an in-house mail server (the inbound faxes are sent to recipients as email attachments). You can still use your stand-alone fax for outbound, you just set it to pickup on 4th ring (example) while the fax server modem picks up on first or second) - put both on the same phone line.

There are tons of fax server solutions out there, ranging from very cheap to very expensive. GFI is pretty cheap, works well, can save to a shared folder rather than send as an email. Downside - IIRC it stores as TIFF, has no PDF capability.