Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Sheetfed Scanner – 600 DPI Optical – 12-12 – USB

My previous scansnap had given about 15 years of solid service and was still going strong, but could not handle the latest OS on my Mac. Hence the need for an upgrade. I did not need a machine with the same level of functionality as the previous model (I don’t scan as much as i used to) and this seemed to fit the bill.

It seems less ‘solid’/’robust’ than the previous model (S510M), but is way cheaper and far more compact, which really helps.

The most important thing is that it scans perfectly, it was a breeze to set up and the software seems to be far more intelligent.

Overall seems to be excellent value for money.

Does that job. Same software as the bigger scanners. Page alignment is not as good though. Slower if powered by USB. Overall happy.

I’m a contractor in IT. I work on my own and needed a good solution for scanning and storing tax receipts as well as having a generalized document scanner for storing other documents I want to digitize. For the past year~, I have been using Neat Receipts, which was a quick, impulse buy when I needed a better way to store my receipts and track my deductions. Neat Receipts was driving me up the wall with numerous software-related issues; eventually I couldn’t take it anymore and started searching for a new document scanning solution.
I researched and investigated several document scanners out there, including models by Epson, Doxie, Brother and VuPoint. Some of them look great, but to my surprise, many were limited with tax-receipt solutions (they would scan documents, but didn’t really have OCR-capable receipt software bundled in). I needed something that came bundled with some solid software for storing all of my tax receipts. One name kept coming up in my searches as the best all-in-on document scanner; Fujitsu. Albeit I work in IT and I am extremely competent in computer hardware, I was not very familiar with Fujitsu as a company and can’t say I’ve ever owned nor worked with any of their products both in college or on the field (most likely because they are a Japanese company). I researched Fujitsu as a company as well as their line of products.

I eventually came across the ScanSnap 1300i, which is similar to the 1500 model except it doesn’t scan as many documents at one time not as fast a speed. $240~ is a big investment for me and was kind of out of my price range (I was really looking for something in the $150-200 range). But I learned the hard way with neat receipts; go cheap and you get what you pay for. Cheap junk that breaks in a year and comes with bloated, subscription-based software. I decided to bite the bullet and buy the ScanSnap 1300i.
The scanner came packaged nicely and secure, and contained all the documents and cables needed to get me setup. Hooking it up to my Windows 10 workstation, I was quick to test it’s receipt scanning capabilities. I have to say, I was instantly blown away; this thing blows through receipts, and albeit not as fast as the 1500 model, it absolutely smokes neat receipts. It’s multi document capabilities are fantastic as well as it’s ability to scan both sides of documents, also unlike Neat Receipts. This scanner is truly the “Cadillac” of document scanners.

In regards to receipts, which is what I bought this for, the software comes with “ScanSnap Receipt”, which I can’t say enough good things about. It’s simple, lightweight software with excellent OCR capabilities. When you scan receipts, they will load into an “inbox”, where you can check over and verify the information on them; once finished, you can drag them to different folders you can create; I like to sort mine by year. Receipts can be quickly exported in CSV format and the software also comes with an “export to quickbooks” function if you are into that.
The s1300i has some other, nice features built-in. For one, it powers down briefly after closing the lid. I like that it’s eco-friendly (also energy star certified) and doesn’t waste power when not in use. A nice touch; mine came with cable, so I can either power it via USB or with an AC power cord. Never a bad thing to have more than one means to power it, especially if an AC outlet isn’t available. The closed lid can also help protect the insides from dust/dirt/debris. The scanner has adjustable plastic parts, to help fit to the side of the documents you’re scanning and an extendable backside for scanning full-sized sheets of paper. It’s not the most mobile-friendly device although it is a “mobile scanner”; it feels like it weights about 5~ pounds at least, although I like that it’s sturdy.

It does have it’s limitations; very long, wrinkled, and/or thick receipts/documents may have problems. Sometimes scanning multiple receipts has issues, where it will try to feed two or three at a time. But the computer software always catches it when it does, and allows you to fix and re-scan, so it’s not all bad. Also, common sense; don’t stick thick plastic (like credit cards) inside of it or documents with staples/metal parts.
Overall, I absolutely love this scanner; any of the negatives above are very small and overshadowed by how incredibly well it performs. I have tried it with different sized documents as well and it just absolutely blows through them all and scans them perfectly. My review is very eccentric towards receipt scanning so I’m going to leave it at that; if you need to track all you receipts throughout the year and are tired of sticking them all in a box or paying someone else to digitize them, buy this. This scanner is phenomenal, it absolutely blows away Neat Receipts, the price tag is so-worth it, this is a serious piece of hardware backed with very solid driver software; everything you will ever need in regards to tracking your receipts and expenses.