Hacker News Reader

Comment by noahjk | Hacker News Reader

Does anyone have a suggestion for a dual-sided feed scanner like this which can be used to semi-automate document scanning and which is not discontinued? I've been thinking about this for a while but I don't know enough about the market

View on HN

I have a Brother ADS-2400n[0]. For me the killer feature was wired Ethernet connectivity to upload scans straight to my file server w/o a PC being involved. It's on the counter where I process mail so I can just throw stuff in it, scan, and dump the originals into a box for eventual disposal.

I have been meaning to get around to trying Mayan EDMS[1] to ingest, OCR, and categorize the scans but that still hasn't happened... >sigh<

[0] https://www.brother-usa.com/products/ads2400n

[1] https://www.mayan-edms.com

Panasonic has duplex document scanners in various price ranges, starting from about 300 €, and they are all Linux compatible with one sane SANE driver. They scan super quick and easy and work very reliably.

I really like https://www.brother-usa.com/products/ads1700w -- scans and OCRs docs lightning fast. Has great Mac support.

Discontinued does not mean abandoned. I have a Fujitsu iX500 that has current drivers and (most importantly OCR) software for Apple and Windows. The iX500 is available on ebay for much less than new models. These machines are beasts. First maintenance is at 200,000 pages. I've had mine for years and am not quite to 100,000 pages. If I were to buy a new model, I'd look at Epson. In fact, I have looked at Epson but can't bring myself to pull the trigger when my iX500 remains Mary Poppins-ish "practically perfect"

The Epson FastFoto series is really good and comes with OCR software (but the install procedure can be a pain). (They basically modified their duplex workforce series). The latest (680?) Is also wifi ready. Ignore the misleading "direct to Dropbox/cloud" marketing as it still needs a host computer middle man.

It's super fast for documents and the bonus is that it's great for photos (600dpi dual sided feed scanner).

Epson has a super portable (battery too) workforce that folds up small (Es-300 I think.) Wifi capable but the connection process is a bit cumbersome.

I run a photo/document scanning service between Toronto/Montreal and am currently getting rid of some duplex high speed scanners for cheap if by chance local.

FWIW I also wanted something that was not discontinued, but I heard so many recommendations for this exact device that I eventually picked a used one up on eBay, and I've been quite pleased. Currently hooked up to an old RPi running Ubuntu 20.04; scans directly to a syncthing folder. Works like a charm.

I just ordered the Brother - DS-740D duplex scanner. Hoping to do the same as OP and scan/organize my life.

+1 Also interested

Reply on news.ycombinator.com