Originally published at: https://tidbits.com/2019/12/02/vuescan-not-the-scansnap-replacement-youre-looking-for/
If you have a ScanSnap S1300, S1500, or S1500M scanner, you should be legitimately worried that its 32-bit software will no longer run in macOS 10.15 Catalina. Dave Kitabjian discusses your options, with an in-depth look at third-party scanner software VueScan.
1 Like
In partial defense of Hamrick, I’ve found them to be -very responsive- to bug reports. The user interface does leave a lot to be desired, but once you get used to the options, things do work on most scanners where the default software is broken. Example: The scanner (TWAIN?) interface for my Lexmark multi-function software is now broken from Preview.app, but I can still scan from VueScan.
We’ve used VueScan for a number of years in our academic setting. Its main selling point is making older scanners accessible, usually with the full complement of hardware features (via reverse-engineering). I never considered it to be a consumer product and don’t judge it on that basis. Also, if you pay for the Pro version, your upgrades are free for life. Yes, the frustrations with the UI and UX are real, but there is no other product that supports the breadth of models that VueScan does. I would generally recommend Image Capture over VueScan for a generic scan utililty, but if your scanner doesn’t support Image Capture, VueScan is the choice.
1 Like
I have used VueScan for many years and love it. I would not have been able to scan with my rather cheap scanners without it. I too have found their support excellent. Also second that it is primarily a Swiss pocket knife for people looking to use odd brand or under supported scanners rather than a replacement for an expensive scanner with proprietary software. I hope someday to buy a ScanSnap but they are a bit above my wallet lol. Thanks for a very complete and interesting article! Most informative.
1 Like
Something not mentioned in the article is that Fujitsu states that their new (64-bit) scanning software will absolutely require an always-on internet connection in order to do any scanning. This is concerning on a number of levels. Usability and availability is one issue, but in both my work as a physician and as an IT security consultant, I regularly scan documents that absolutely must not be published. (If you think there’s a functional difference between “sent to the cloud” and “published,” then you haven’t been paying attention.) So if the need for an always-on connection implies that they’re sending scan data to the cloud (“all your scan are belong to us”), then ScanSnap is no longer a viable solution if you scan anything like bank statements or other financial instruments, identification documents, personal correspondence, photographs of family and friends, medical documents…
I have had a license for VueScan since the 90’s, though when I got my first ScanSnap (S510M) in 2008, I switched to using its included software. A couple of months ago, when Fujitsu notified me that my S510M was end-of-life, I dug out my old copy of VueScan and was pleasantly surprised to find that (1) my “professional” license was still valid and (2) the features of my ScanSnaps that I really wanted seemed to be supported (with the exception of wireless scanning over WiFi, which I didn’t expect to work).
My workflow is pretty simple: the overwhelming majority of scans are duplex, save as .pdf, deskew, crop, and OCR. It did take some fiddling to get the options the way I want, but VueScan has performed quite well. My environment is high-volume, time constrained, and overall demanding in ways that home users would never experience. I scan a diverse array of documents (though few photographs; those all start and stay digital) of various sizes and shapes. On my S510M alone (possibly my lowest volume but also my oldest device) I have scanned over 25,000 pages. Once I got the settings dialed in (not trivial, but it only took two or three days) everything has worked great. I have not seen the cropping problems that Dave described, which would have been a deal killer for me. I have had far fewer failed scans that I did with the ScanSnap software, though that might be due to no longer using WiFi, which was the source of a lot of grief with the ScanSnap software.
I originally licensed VueScan because I owned an expensive flatbed scanner whose manufacturer abandoned the Mac. I feel rescued by VueScan again, and will be buying more licenses for other machines at my office. In my case, at least, it was the droid I was looking for.
–Ron
1 Like
Something not mentioned in the article is that Fujitsu states that their new (64-bit) scanning software will absolutely require an always-on internet connection in order to do any scanning.
I’m not sure you’re right; I’ve just tried to us my ScanSnap S1300i with the 64bit ScanHome software on Catalina WITHOUT internet connection, and it worked flawlessly.
I own the ScanSnap S1500M scanner and have been using ExactScan since I upgraded to Catalina. It works flawlessly for my purposes and I’ve set up a number of profiles, including scanning to DEVONthink, that are functionally identical to what I was doing with ScanSnap’s native software. I also own a license to the latest VueScan software and while it worked (kinda) I found it difficult to configure and use. I’m very pleased that ExactScan saved my investment in my expensive scanner.
I completely agree. I have been subscribed to the Apple Public Beta program, and at one point ( I don’t remember exactly when) Fujistu suggested I use the “ScanSnap Home” app because it is 64 bit. I did that, and have been very happy with it. It does NOT require constant Internet connection to work.
Thanks to Dave Kitabjian for the article.
Selfishly, the first thought I had when I saw the headline referencing ScanSnap Replacement was, “Oh no! I just got suckered into buying a new Fujitsu ScanSnap ix1500 and I should have just waited for TidBits to tell me what to do.”
I have been a very satisfied user of the ScanSnap s1500, which was purchased in 2012. It still works great. Like others, I too felt bitter replacing a fully functional piece of hardware because of the manufacturer’s decision not to update the scanning software to 64-bit for Catalina.
Four observations, all about the ScanSnap (not VueScan):
First, the article made me feel better about the new ScanSnap purchase since ease of use in the software is key to my scanning needs.
Second, one fairly important function available in the newer hardware (which was not available in the older model from 7 years ago) is Wifi support. The newer model supports connecting with the scanning software on my iMac over Wifi. The wireless functionality did not seem particularly important in 2012, but such functionality is now almost required.
Third, the 2019 bundled software is less impressive than Fujitsu’s offerings in 2012. Back then, the scanner was bundled with Adobe Acrobat Pro 9. Today, the scanner comes with Nuance Power PDF. (I have been fiddling with Nuance and have found that it is buggy and crashes quite a bit, especially during OCR.)
Fourth, like one of the other readers, I can confirm that the ScanSnap ix1500 with the new ScanSnap Home software works without internet connection through the bundled USB-3 cable and without putting documents into the Fujitsu cloud service. One caution, though, with my test: I am still operating in Mojave 10.14, not Catalina 10.15.
things do work on most scanners where the default software is broken
Thanks for your post, deemery!
Yes, it seems they have many happy customers. And their model of picking up the ball that manufacturers have dropped in order to keep scanners running is fantastic.
I never considered it to be a consumer product and don’t judge it on that basis. Also, if you pay for the Pro version, your upgrades are free for life. Yes, the frustrations with the UI and UX are real, but there is no other product that supports the breadth of models that VueScan does. I would generally recommend Image Capture over VueScan for a generic scan utililty, but if your scanner doesn’t support Image Capture, VueScan is the choice.
Yes the free upgrades for life is a great feature. I plan to hold onto my copy since it may prove useful in the future. Meanwhile, I still haven’t upgraded to Catalina. My scanning workflow is too critical to my daily productivity.
Thanks for all that feedback!
have been using ExactScan since I upgraded to Catalina. It works flawlessly for my purposes
Excellent feedback. I’m hoping to try Exactscan as soon as they support the S1300 (this month??).
1 Like
Four observations, all about the ScanSnap (not VueScan):
Thanks for sharing these experience
details!
I have a ScanSnap ix500 purchased in 2013. Is it possible to load the PC drivers into Parallels (running under Catalina) and extend my hardware life? Or will I encounter the same 32-bit issues? Thanks for your informative article with options.
I find these days that I really no longer have much need for a ‘real’ scanner. I’ve still got a Canon something or other flatbed that gets very occasional usage with VueScan. I passed my Fujitsu 1500M along to my son who either doesn’t use it or has it on a machine that can’t be upgraded.
The vast majority of my scanning these days is done with my iPhone. Scanner Pro does a great job and while it doesn’t have a sheet feeder…only rarely do I have a job of more than a couple of pages and they’re easily just switched out manually (which I guess is a sort of sheet feeder)…it still produces multipage pdf files that have been OCRed. If I had a need to do a lot of scanning then I would likely get a new ScanSnap though.
I first noticed problems with ScanSnap software with macOS HighSierra—the order of pages in a multipage document or pages in a document that required duplex scanning were often out of order after scanning. That problem seemed to get worse with macOS Mojave.
I started using macOS Sierra in a virtual machine (both VMWare Fusion and VirtualBox), but I was unhappy with the slowness in the virtual machine’s response to input from the track pad, and the virtual machine’s files occupied a lot of disk space.
Before upgrading to macOS Catalina, I installed both Sierra and HighSierra as bootable partitions or volumes on my external SSDs. Booting between OSs is quite fast, and the older OSs have been slimmed down by deleting all unnecessary files and programs. This is a practical approach that allows me to continue using my Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 with the 32-bit ScanSnap software. The HighSierra partition will shortly be deleted, because there are still problems using the ScanSnap software with it. The ScanSnap software works perfectly with Sierra. The SSDs allow quick restarting when I change over from Catalina to an older OS and when I switch back after the scanning is finished. ScanSnap on Sierra scans to a folder on Catalina so that scanned files are easy to get to when I restart Catalina.
1 Like
In March 2019, I bought the recent ix1500 model, after previously using the great S1500M for several years, until I realised 32-bit meant the original software was going to make it somewhat difficult going forward. It’s the white model, but they recently released it in black should that be more preferable to you. 
(Surprisingly, I got £130 on Ebay for my old S1500M with 10K page count on it, and another £120 for a brand new ix100 model, as Fujitsu also did a promotion bundling for free the smaller portable with ix1500 purchases here in the UK – thus the £250 earned paid for more than half the £400 upgrade to the ix1500. So I was kind of lucky there, lol!)
Anyhoo, it would have been about time to upgrade to the iX1500, as it’s generally a great upgrade. The wifi access is good to have as it can go anywhere and works just as fast. And it’s considerably faster than my old S1500M model too.
Personally, I have it ignore the native “Home” software when scanning and just have it bypass it and open into a PDF app where it gets OCR’d, saving into a Pending folder in Finder which I then later manually file every day or two into my Finder filing system. I could use automation with some of this, but find my naming convention for files, while still rigorously applied, is just too random to do so, therefore have never bothered (I know David Sparks has better ideas on that!).
One thing to note, is that you have to set-up the on-screen buttons in the Home software for how you want to use the machine (simplex/duplex/long docs/etc.). You can label/colour them however wanted, and have several of them for each different task (tip: set type to “Color” for all doc scans, rather than B+W or Greyscale, as it tends to give good results for all docs, IMO).
There are loads of other functions that I suspect most won’t generally bother to use very much, but at least that gives users the options should they wish. Overall, well worth getting if going paperless is your aim.
Super helpful article! I’ve been a huge fan of the ScanSnap (and have written articles at CreativePro.com about it), but this is very discouraging news. But I’m wondering… Is there something better than the Fujitsu’s offering now? If we are going to buy new hardware, what should it be?
Thanks to a quick Amazon search, I just discovered the “designed and developed in Texas” Raven scanner. Has anyone used it yet? This guy seems to think it’s awesome: https://www.paperlessmovement.com/blog/fujitsu-scansnap-ix1500-vs-raven-scanner-a-worthy-competitor/
1 Like
About a year ago I sold my Fujitsu S1300 for an ix500 and have never regretted it. I do, however, use VueScan for an older Canon 8000 series flatbed for which Canon ditched software support after only a few years. I’d agree that it’s not quite as well thought out from a layout mode, but it saved my cookies in making my Canon flatbed functional again. That cost me $90, but I still have have the scanner and it still does a few hours of work every week. I couldn’t have done that without VueScan.
One problem I had with VueScan was that any scanner with a USB connection that was plugged into a hub and not directly to the computer would not be recognized. Hamrick Software says that the problem was the hub, and that VueScan should recognize any scanner plugged into one. I’ve verified that the hub is just fine and that the problem is with VueScan.
What I have done is make a vow to never buy another Canon product.