This is a solid scanner for volume single-desk use. I recommend it for legal use with a Mac. You do have to eat the cost of driver software.
A high-volume court in my locality that is paperless filing-only (Fulton County Superior Court) uses this very scanner, the f1-7160, for lawyers and lay persons coming into the court clerk's office and needing to file documents in person. All federal and bankruptcy courts are e-filing-only, and most state courts here in Georgia have moved to e-filing, most of them exclusively. The days of running to court to beat the statute (or the filing deadline, and the parking and mileage...) are over.
I am a tech idiot (or not far off), but I had enough sense to photograph the court's scanner and buy one for my own office. I am running macOS High Sierra 10.13.2 but followed good advice to download ExactScan Pro for $79.99 from the App Store. Amazon does not sell this software. The software found the scanner and within about three minutes I was in business. You can scan by mouse-clicking on the screen or by using the rubber button on the scanner itself.
The cost at about $850.00, plus software for a Mac, is no joke. I expect to make it up in productivity.
I am a manager for a pediatric practice, and I have been with my office for nine years. Back in 2008 was when our office converted from paper charts to an EMR (electronic medical records) system. During this time, we ordered a Fujitsu scanner (it was the Fi-5120c). We had to scan thousands of paper charts to convert them into our EMR system. On top of that, we were constantly scanning new patient charts, updated patient documents, photo ID’s, etc. on a daily basis. We had used that scanner every single day, all day, since 2008. It was only up until two weeks ago that the scanner stopped grabbing documents as tightly, so they were no longer scanning properly. I knew that I wanted the most comparable scanner that I could find, and I came across this. I have an I.T. company that I work with, and they offered to sell me this very scanner for $300 more!!! Thank you my trusty Amazon! I am so happy that I not only found this scanner here on Amazon (so that I could use my Prime and get it shipped to the office quicker), but I am also glad that it was so much more affordable. We have used our scanner for a week now, and boy is it an upgrade from the Fi-5120c. This little baby SCANS VERY FAST compared to the older version. Installation took me only moments, and I had no trouble with linking this scanner to our EMR system. The time that we save on scanning is amazing. In addition, this holds far more sheets of paper than the older one did, thus saving us even more time. The quality of color on the photo ID’s is also enhanced. There is nothing about this scanner that I can complain about. I understand that to some, spending this much on a scanner may seem like too much; however, I can tell you from experience in our practice that it is much more sensible to put up the money now so that you will save later on. Fujitsu is hands down the best brand for scanners, in my opinion.
I install these absolutely anywhere I'm able to get clients to spend the money. They're fast, they produce very high quality scans, and the software and drivers that come with them are very nice. You can use the paperstream drivers to create multiple scan profiles and set users up to be able to take a single document and scan in multiple pages of all different sizes and the software will skip blank pages and automatically detect the correct size of each sheet of paper in a single scan. I usually get users setup to do all this with just the touch of their scan button on the front of the scanner. I've been told a thousand times by office users how much easier this makes their lives compared to the various solutions they were using before.
This scanner is fabulous. Works like a charm. Gobbles up the pages at about 1 per second and scans both sides and no matter how many pages you load, a few seconds after it scans the last page, a thumbnail view shows up on your screen of all pages. You can have it then do character recognition or not. I have scanned a couple of thousand pages by now and I had 4 misfeeds. Three were because I overlooked stapled pages. The sound sensor detects the crumbling of paper during a misfeed and quickly turns off the feed motor so your page is not shredded. Very small footprint, very intelligent design. The scanner manual is probably in the top 2% of well written manuals that I have ever seen. Clear, logical, photos, arrows detail, hyperlinked.
My only gripe is that there is no documentation for the software and although it is easy to load and works flawlessly, it took quite some time to figure out exactly how to use it. You have to first create "Driver Profiles" that contain the options that you want. Then you create scanner profiles and select other options that you want and select a driver profile to go along with it. The combinations are endless. Color only. B&W only. Auto color recognize. Various resolutions. OCR or not? Pdf or jpeg? Their PaperStream software is brand new and there is already a newer version on their website to download. There are options in the software for things I have never heard of, and evidently would only be useful in an enterprise environment.
I contacted Fujitsu twice and got English speaking people answering the phone who were knowledgeable and polite. I must be dreaming. I highly recommend this product. Very satisfied, but ouch it is costly.
1/21/2014 Update: Just finished scanning 5000 pages since I bought it. I believe there were only 2 misfeeds that were my fault (forgetting to remove a staple). It has now told me that it is now scheduled for its 5000 page cleaning so I called Fujitsu to ask a question about that, a very nice ENGLISH speaking person answered and told me that I really do not need to pay for the cleaner and pads specified in the manual, just use isopropyl alcohol greater than 90%. I did, worked fine, saved money. ANOTHER positive interaction w Fujitsu. Then I went into the software to reset the counter for cleaning to "0" so that it will let me know in another 5000 pages. There are other page counters that will let you know when it may be time for replacement of different feed rollers, and then there is a global page counter that cannot be reset. I am very impressed.
What is interesting is that I originally performed my research and settled on the HP Scanjet Flo 7000 which is also a new model and has very similar features. I ordered it directly from HP and the shipping date kept getting pushed back, and back. I kept calling and emailing Hp to ask for a realistic shipping date. They kept giving me different excuses such as, "I tried contacting the warehouse and I can't get through", then "I sent an email to the warehouse to ask and they have not responded", then it was "there was a large rain storm that knocked out the electricity and the servers are down and it won't be until tomorrow when they come up." Delays, lies at Hp caused me to cancel the order and go with the Fujitsu Fi-7160. I could not be happier with how things worked out. Interestingly, in the last month I noticed Fujitsu scanners at hospitals and other large corporations that I have been in, not HP.
5/18/2017 Update
Still amazed how wonderful the scanner is. Flawless. Never jams, unless I forgot to remove a staple. I decided to upgrade to the newest version of Paperstream software since I was still using version 1.0 from 3 years ago. Easily went to the Fujitsu website, easy download, easy install. Unfortunately, all the scan profiles I had created with Version 1.0 were not carried over, so I had to recreate them... I half expected that to happen. Glad to see that the usability of the software is greatly improved from the 1st version. The right click Adhoc feature lets you change any part of a profile for just one scan, very cool. So a couple days after I created my 8 scan profiles, I opened up the program and they were all GONE! Not happy. I remembered my great experience the last time I called customer support, so I decided to try that again, although I was truly expecting that they went the way of everyone else and now contract their customer service out to a company in Siberia. Amazing, went through one phone menu, was on hold for 20 seconds, and my call was answered by a real, live, native English speaking ADULT. And he was fully competent and was able to solve my issue immediately. Another great experience. Thank you Fujitsu.
3/5/2018 Update
This baby is still cranking. FLAWLESS. I hope Fujitsu will consider making cars. :-)
The scanning software that come with this scanner is weird and not intuitive at all. You have to click around some pretty mysterious icons to get to the resolution, page size, etc. Those are such as obvious requirement, it should be right on the profile we are creating, not on the scanner driver settings, It should be readily accessible front and center. Once you set up the scanning profiles then it works, problem is that if you change current setting for one of the profiles it changes it for all. The hardware is great and sturdy. 1200dpi looks awesome. 200dpi is lightning fast. pdf's are OCR fast enough and reliable. This is a great buy for small companies and home offices, to get rid of paper clutter. The software user interface is a piece of crap though for the price we are paying I expected way more.
Feature Product
- Designed to make end-to-end scanning processes faster and more reliable for your workgroup
- Duplex scanning speeds of 120 images per minute at 300 dpi in color, grayscale, and monochrome. 80-Sheets automatic document feeder (ADF)
- Capable of handling sticky notes, receipts, labels, and hard and embossed credit and ID cards up to 1.4mm thick.Maximum Document Size: 8.5 x 220 (inches0.Minimum Document Size: 2.0 x 2.1 (inches)
- Advanced paper handling technology for the ultimate in-feeding reliability
- LED light source and ISOP (Intelligent Sonic paper protection)
Description
Designed for workflow efficiency and built to last, the Fujitsu fi-7160 and fi-7260 scanners offer exceptional return on investment (ROI) through increased scanning speeds and reduced operator intervention. OS Support:Windows 10 (32-bit/64-bit), Windows 8 / 8.1 (32-bit/64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit/64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit/64-bit), Windows XP (32-bit/64-bit), Windows Server 2012 (64-bit), Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit), Windows Server 2008 (32-bit/64-bit), Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit).
We are a small Accounting firm and have one of the previous Fujitsu scanners that we have used for a few years with great success. Since we use Lacerte Software, specifically Lacerte DMS, one of the scanner requirements was to have "Twain". I was researching many scanners that were lower priced, but none have the features and high reviews the Fi-160 shines with. I love the single pass/2-sided scanning with such accuracy and very little jamming. The scanner only jams when documents have clear issues, and the jams are easy to remedy with a simple lift up of the top. I also like the scanner software which eliminates blank pages on duplex scanning. The source documents we obtain from clients have a variety of one-sided and two-sided pages, to be able to scan then all at once (this scanner is very, very fast) is a HUGE time saver for us. I now scan everything in duplex mode. We got 5 of these scanners for the office and they will save us much time and frustration.
My last desktop scanner was the ScanSnap S510, which proved to be incredibly dependable, but a bit s l o w for my admittedly low level of patience. After over 300,000 scans on the S510 with no service whatsoever, another Fujitsu purchase was a no-brainer. Although I had high expectations, the Fi-7160 still struck me as an amazing machine at fire up. I didn't know whether to laugh or be concerned that the space-time-continuum may get sucked into the feed. The software is intuitive, easy to navigate, and simply used to set your setting profiles (including "one-touch" scanning). I have boxes of dead files that have been leering at me from the corner, and now, that off-putting, put-off task is actually (almost) fun. Thanks, Fujitsu, for making another amazing product. I recommend this product, even at the price (which only hurts until you use the scanner).
The FI-7160 is the third sheet-fed desktop document scanner I've owned since the mid-1990s. At work, I also have access to large, capable, and expensive business-oriented multi-function devices (think large copy machines that also do document scanning). In scanning functionality, the FI-7160 falls somewhere in the middle of these machines. After roughly a month using this device and scanning several thousand documents, I'm happy overall and I plan to keep it. However, I think Fujitsu and its competitors could improve these scanners by adding basic network capabilities.
The FI-7160 is quiet and fast, and the included software works well, except for the TWAIN integration with Adobe Acrobat 11. For some reason on my computer, scanning directly into Acrobat is slow, up to 30 seconds per page. ScanSnap, by contrast, scans fast, even at the highest DPI/color settings.
Scan quality compares well to the other devices I've used. In fact, I've not noticed much difference in scan quality from different document scanners over the years, cheap or expensive. For business scanning, manufacturers place legibility ahead of high DPI and small file sizes ahead of color rendition.
The sheet feeder is superior to the previous scanners I've owned, and nearly on par with the big machines I use. The FI-7160 falls short only its its ability to detect and stop scans where I've forgotten to remove staples and the like. I've had a few pages all but mangled when the scanner kept trying to pull the paper through. By contrast, its ability to detect two pages pulled through at once works well.
I don't have experience with other current machines in this price class, but I'm guessing most of them have similar features, speed, quality, size, etc. However, I wish this scanner had some basic network abilities. Such abilities would enable computer-free use, especially the ability to direct documents to shared drives on NAS devices or cloud servers. Also, it would help mitigate driver update issues; I've had to replace two previous scanners because their software wouldn't work on newer OSes. (Network scanners just keep going despite new OSes.) Ultimately, I'd like to see a small document scanner with a single button that scans documents directly to a shared drive or email, with management tasks controlled by a small onboard web server.
MAKE SURE YOU BUY AN EXTENDED WARRANTY OR SERVICE CONTRACT ASAP!I Fujitsu is the only authorized service provider for repairs--apparently, Fujitsu has made parts unavailable to third parties, so you are practically forced to go with them. I unfortunately did not purchase an extended warranty and was quoted $600 (highway robbery) to get it repaired--it only offers an Advance Exchange repair program for this type of scanner (small sized) where you ship it to them but they send you a loaner in the meantime. Since I had paid over $900 for the scanner, it was like paying for 2/3 the price of the original scanner. In other words, you get charged an arm and leg. Even worse, I hadn't used it all that much before needing repair: I had bought this scanner when it was first available (back in 2014). I didn't use it very much the first year; it took me a long time to get around to setting it up. When I finally got around to using it, I was very impressed with how fast it scanned, and the images were great. This past year, my daughter started using it to scan a lot of her past schoolwork. In the midst of a scanning job, this vertical line appeared from top to bottom (through investigation, we found it's on every other page--it was hard to understand at first, because it seemed to have no 100% consistent pattern, but that was because blank pages were being skipped for scanning in this one setting), No amount of cleaning the glass and other interior parts would fix the line, so, yes, even tech support at Fujitsu felt it needed repair, as it means it's something with the optical unit (like the camera) on the one side of the scanner. The repair cost is so hard to swallow, I'm searching for other sources, and I might have found a source that says they're willing to fix for half the amount Fujitsu is charging, but I've never used them before, but what else am I going to do?
UPDATE - Feb, 2016: Shortly after writing the above, I contacted an authorized reseller of Fujitsu maintenance on the scanner, and, per his suggestion, I again looked to see if there was something on the glass. This time, I put the scanner under a really bright overhead light and a magnifying glass. This made a big difference. I finally found something, and it turned out to be a little sticky dot that obviously did not come off from all the cleanings we did (and we used the special Fujitsu cleaning materials we had ordered and followed their directions). Thank goodness, I was able to see and remove it. Now, there is no vertical streak, and no need to send to Fujitsu for repairs. However, I learned my lesson, because it would be WAY too expensive to replace, so I want the peace of mind with an extended warranty. I purchased it for $199 from this authorized reseller (thanks to them, I rechecked and got the issue resolved) for 3 years. I'm upgrading my rating from a 2 to a 4, not only because this issue got resolved, but Fujitsu staff, even though I didn't like the $600 price quote, was trying to help me, and did a bunch of follow-ups with me, including realizing my serial number for the extended warranty was wrong and fixing it. Fujitsu also later told me they do make parts available to resellers; not what I had heard, but I wasn't going to argue. So, the moral of the story is still to get an extended warranty, but Fujitsu does have attentive staff to work on your issue. (And use a really bright light and a magnifying glass to look into the interior for anything on the glass!)
Great shipping and great little scanner. It wasnt too many years ago that we purchased a scanner similar to this for $3,000. This scanner is every bit as good as the more expensive one. Maybe a little less sturdy in construction but just as fast and clear. Time will tell if it is just as reliable. Very happy with the item and the seller.
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