Based on emails I am getting and searches that I can see in the DocumentSnap logs, this question is gaining a bit of steam: “For portable scanners, what is the difference between the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 and the ScanSnap S1100?”, and then of course: “Which should I buy?”.
Since one of the most popular posts on DocumentSnap is the ScanSnap S1100 vs. S1300 comparison, I thought it would be a good time to do a similar thing for the S1300 and S1100.
By the way, if you are comparing them, I have done both a ScanSnap S1300 review and a ScanSnap S1100 review in the past, so it may be worth your while to read those too.
Speed
- S1100: Up to 8 pages per minute, single sided
- S1300: Up to 8 pages per minute, double sided
While both models are nominally 8 pages per minute (or as Fujitsu says for the S1100, 7.5 seconds per page), the S1300 has a big advantage because it is double sided. It would take the S1100 15 seconds to scan a double-sided sheet whereas the S1300 can do it in 7.5.
Capacity
- S1100: 1 sheet
- S1300: Maximum 10 sheets
Clearly the S1300 is the winner here since it can hold ten sheets of paper at a time, whereas the S1100 does not have a document feeder.
Size/Weight
- S1100: 10.74 in. x 1.87 in. x1.33 in. (273mm x 47.5mm x 34mm). .77 lb (350 g).
- S1300: 11.18 in. x 3.90 in. x 3.03 in. (284mm x 99mm x 77mm). 3.08 lb. (1.4kg).
If size and weight are a concern, the S1100 is a clear winner. It is both much smaller and much lighter than the S1300 (especially when you consider the power adapter described in the next section).
Power
- S1100: Powered by a single USB cable, which also acts as the interface to the computer. It does not use an AC adaptor
- S1300: Powered by an AC adaptor, or can be powered by a separate USB cable (meaning it needs two USB ports if you do not use AC)
There isn’t a winner here per se, but the S1100 is much more simple to connect; one USB port and that is it.
Operating System
Fujitsu calls both the S1300 and the S1100 “hybrid scanners”. They are designed to be used both on Windows and the Mac, and come with all the software for both.
Included Software
The ScanSnap S1100 includes the following software:
- ScanSnap Organizer (Windows only)
- CardMinder 4.1 (Windows only)
- ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap (Windows and Mac)
- CardIris 3.6 (Mac only)
- Evernote
- ScanSnap Manager with the ability to scan to Evernote and Google Docs
The ScanSnap S1300 includes the following software:
- ScanSnap Organizer (Windows only)
- CardMinder 4.1 (Windows only)
- ABBYY FineReader for ScanSnap (Windows and Mac)
- CardIris 3.6 (Mac only)
- Update 1/25/2012: Fujitsu has released a software update that allows the S1300 to scan directly to Evernote and Google Docs.
Neither the S1300 or the S1100 come with Adobe Acrobat like their big cousins the ScanSnap S1500 and ScanSnap S1500M.
So Which Is Better?
I bet you know what I am going to say here: It depends!
If you have a medium-large and/or regular volume of paper, I strongly urge you to go for the ScanSnap S1300. The extra speed and paper capacity will save you lots of time.
If you have a need to be mobile, or if you do only a small amount of scanning, you can probably get away with the ScanSnap S1100.
If you have a large volume of paper, you will probably be better off with the ScanSnap S1500 or ScanSnap S1500M.