IT Pro Verdict

Despite interesting and useful features combined with speedy and good-quality scanning, the Fujitsu SP-1425 simply doesn't do enough to justify how expensive it is.

Pros

+
Fast scan speeds; Excellent image quality and detail; Heaps of features

Cons

-
Lite version only supports BMP, TIFF or JPEG output; Help file is obtuse and poorly-written; Expensive

SMBs that want more control over their document scanning processes should pay close attention to the SP-1425 as this USB 2 device teams up a 25ppm ADF and colour flatbed with Fujitsu's innovative PaperStream Capture software. The latter is designed to manage the entire scanning workflow by automating batch scans and streamlining image clean-up and processing.

It works in tandem with Fujitsu's PaperStream IP drivers, allowing you to group scanning and document processing settings together in profiles. These enable features such as recognition of barcodes, OCR zones and Fujitsu's patch codes which can be used for document separation or data extraction during scans.

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Profiles also define standard scan settings such as colour, greyscale or mono output, resolutions, paper sizes and duplex or simplex operations. Destinations can be a local folder, a network location, FTP or SharePoint server. We found one glitch though, as this is the Lite version which only supports BMP, TIFF and JPEG output.

To create image-based and searchable PDFs you'll need to cough up 240 for the full Capture version or use the bundled ABBY FineReader 12 Sprint. You can run it manually on the host PC, select the TWAIN driver and let it convert scanned documents for you.

Another option is to create a PaperStream Capture profile with FineReader defined as the destination. It worked for us as after entering the executable's location in our profile, we fired up a scan and on completion, FineReader loaded with the images ready for conversion.

Capture profiles link up with the TWAIN driver where you can enable a heap of extra features. These include hole filling, page rotation, blank page removal and front/back merging, where images from duplex scans are merged into a single page.

The free Capture Connect app adds the ability to send scans to cloud providers such as Google Drive, Dropbox and OneDrive. This isn't included in the software bundle and must be downloaded from Fujitsu's support site.

To use Capture Connect, you must specify it as the destination in a profile -- don't run it separately as it will fail. When the profile loads it for the first time, Capture Connect presents an interface where you choose your provider, enter login credentials and browse for a cloud folder to store the scans in.

We had no problems using it with Dropbox and on subsequent runs, the profile sent the scans directly to our account with no further interaction required. Other handy Capture Connect features are options to send copies of scans to a local folder and an email address.

Quick scans can be run by clicking on a profile in the Capture interface or assigning one function to the scanner's button using the integral Administrator Tool Usability tab. The interface took around 6 seconds to load after which the SP-1425 delivered on Fujitsu's speed promises.

Mono and colour scans of 25 bank statements returned 28ppm at both 200dpi and 300dpi, dropping to 8ppm at 600dpi. Flatbed speeds are good, with an A4 colour photo scanned in 10 seconds at 300dpi and 23 seconds for 600dpi.

Greyscale scans at 200dpi produce perfectly searchable PDFs for document archiving while the flatbed delivers sharply-scanned colour photos with plenty of detail and excellent colour balance. The ADF also handled our document mix test well with no jams occurring.

Fujitsu's PaperStream Capture Lite software adds new dimension to the scanning process but the poorly-written help file steepens the learning curve and its lack of PDF conversion is a drawback. The SP-1425 does deliver good scan speeds and output quality but there simply isn't enough here to justify the comparatively high price.

Verdict

Despite interesting and useful features combined with speedy and good-quality scanning, the Fujitsu SP-1425 simply doesn't do enough to justify how expensive it is.

600dpi A4 colour ADF/flatbed scanner

25ppm @ 300dpi colour/mono

Simplex/duplex

50-page ADF

USB 2

Max. daily duty cycle – 3,000 pages

External PSU

PaperStream IP TWAIN/ISIS drivers

PaperStream Capture Lite, Presto PageManager 9

ABBYY FineReader 12 Sprint software

454 x 331 x 129mm (WDH)

4.3kgs

1yr advanced exchange NBD warranty

Adam Shepherd has been a technology journalist since 2015, covering everything from cloud storage and security, to smartphones and servers. Over the course of his career, he’s seen the spread of 5G, the growing ubiquity of wireless devices, and the start of the connected revolution. He’s also been to more trade shows and technology conferences than he cares to count.

Adam is an avid follower of the latest hardware innovations, and he is never happier than when tinkering with complex network configurations, or exploring a new Linux distro. He was also previously a co-host on the ITPro Podcast, where he was often found ranting about his love of strange gadgets, his disdain for Windows Mobile, and everything in between.

You can find Adam tweeting about enterprise technology (or more often bad jokes) @AdamShepherUK.