Fujitsu ScanSnap: How are the S1100 and S1300 Models Different?

Fujitsu ScanSnap: How are the S1100 and S1300 Models Different?

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.

About the Author

Brooks Duncan helps individuals and small businesses go paperless. He's been an accountant, a software developer, a manager in a very large corporation, and has run DocumentSnap since 2008. You can find Brooks on Twitter at @documentsnap or @brooksduncan. Thanks for stopping by.

Leave a Reply 13 comments

bob n - March 28, 2016 Reply

what is the difference between the scansnap 1100 and the 1100i; it appears that the 1100 is discontinued

Syed M Raza - October 27, 2015 Reply

i think this is incomplete review, you have not mentioned paper size, specs for s1300 read A4 paper size only where as s1100 is upto A3

Ken - January 12, 2014 Reply

This is an incomplete review of the s1100. Sorry.

I as well have both and I like both. The s1300 for scanning 8.5×11. The s1100 for receipts.

The s1100 grabs at 4 points I think, the s1300 the middle. If I’m wrong, it doesn’t matter. That’s what it feels like – which is all that matters.

So scanning receipts is a breeze with the s1100. Not so with s1300. That’s a critical difference in use.

    Brooks Duncan - January 12, 2014 Reply

    Interesting. Thanks for the report, Ken.

My PC Backup Reviews - August 1, 2013 Reply

You could certainly see your enthusiasm in the work you write.

The arena hopes for more passionate writers like
you who aren’t afraid to say how they believe. At all times follow your heart.

Chris - January 12, 2012 Reply

Why doesn't the 1300 model also come with Evernote and the Scansnap Manager? It is a more feature-rich model, so one would expect the same software or more than the 1100.

    Brooks Duncan - January 12, 2012 Reply

    Actually, Fujitsu released a software update for the S1300 that does add the Evernote functionality. I wrote about it here: http://www.documentsnap.com/scansnap-update-embra…. Thanks for the reminder that I need to update this blog post.

Sue - July 21, 2011 Reply

How does the search mode work? I have many client files, and I want to be able to search their birthdates, and make a list. Would this work with this software – with the S1300? thx.

    Brooks Duncan - July 21, 2011 Reply

    If you wanted to be 100% sure you could find the files based on birthdate, what I would probably do is have the birthdate in the filename of the PDF. If you don't want to do that and the documents are clear, you could make them searchable and hopefully OCR would be good enough to find them. Failing that, you can give PDFs keywords so you could manually enter the keywords in the PDF and search for them that way.

Chris - March 21, 2011 Reply

Can you comment a bit on the feed mechanism for the S1100 and S1300?

I have an S1500 and find the feed mechanism a little disappointing because there is only a single roller in the middle, so documents tend to shift a little as they're going through and so tend to get a bit of skew half way to two thirds of the way down the page. I wish there were three rollers, one to the left and one to the right, on top of the one in the middle.

Is there only a single roller in the S1100 and S1300? Or does the more limited paper capacity reduce the amount of possible skew?

    Brooks Duncan - July 21, 2011 Reply

    Sorry for the delay in responding. For some reason I didn't get notified of this reply. The S1300 only has the rollers in the middle. I am not sure about the S1100 as I have lent mine out, but since you are only feeding in a sheet at a time I doubt it would be an issue.

Chris - March 16, 2011 Reply

Instead of "Since one of the most popular posts on DocumentSnap is the ScanSnap S1100 vs. S1300 comparison" I think you meant: "Since one of the most popular posts on DocumentSnap is the ScanSnap S1300 vs. S1500 comparison"

    Brooks Duncan - March 16, 2011 Reply

    You are absolutely right Chris. Thanks so much. Fixed.

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