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ix500: Scan directly to Evernote?


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I read that the Snapscan ix500 (NOT the special Evernote edition) lets you scan directly into Evernote without using a PC or a tablet. A year or so ago I tried and failed to figure out how to do this. Can someone point me to instructions?

If, contrary to what I read, you must have a tablet or PC in order to scan directly to Evernote, what iPad application should I use to scan to Evernote as conveniently as possible? I want to set this up for use by my wife, who's not highly skilled in using PCs or tablets. 

Finally, if I had 20-20 hindsight, would buying some other scanner have allowed me to scan directly to Evernote, without a PC or tablet? There's always the chance that I might be able to work out a trade.

Thanks oodles for the help!

Cheeers,

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Hi.  Looks like an ix500 should do the job you want - a quick Google got me to http://scansnapcommunity.com/tips-tricks/11020-configure-scansnap-ix500-for-wireless-scanning/ (and 25,000+ other similar links) -which will set up the scanner to talk direct to your local network access point and (presumably) your Evernote account. 

All that should be necessary after that is to feed the paper to the scanner. 

Scansnaps can add automatic date/ time details as file headers,  and you'll need to sort out choices like one file per page, or one file per document and JPG vs PDF,  but all of those are options you can set.  Once documents are scanned into you account you'll also need to think about tags and notebooks so you can prioritise and find things again... so there's a bit of work to do yet;  but the best way to get it fixed up is to do as much as you can and ask more questions when you need to...

Good luck...

 

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Thanks for your reply but I don't think you've investigated thoroughly enough. The second paragraph at the link you offered says, "Before you start, make sure that the scanner is connected to the computer via USB. . . ." This approach necessitates use of a PC, which is specifically what I want to avoid. The write-up makes it look like the PC is used only for configuration. But that's not what I've found, time after time. 

As another example, the Evernote page that talks about wireless scanning directly into Evernote says, "You can pair the scanner with one computer at a time or connect other computers with a USB cable."  Again, the scanner must be connected to a PC in order to scan "directly" into Evernote. As I understand the word "direct" this isn't direct. It's scanning into Evernote BY WAY OF one PC application or another. 

Not that you're to blame for sharing wrong information. Every such link promising "direct" communication that I have chased, and I've chased MANY such links, eventually involves installing a program, such as Scannable, on a PC in order to communicate with the scanner, which is connected TO THE PC via USB or WiFi. What I want, which is apparently not possible, is to connect to an Evernote server in the cloud.

Thinking about the problem, if the scanner can truly communicate DIRECTLY (by the caps I simply intend emphasis, not shouting) with Evernote there must be a menu item on the scanner that sets up the necessary communication. I find no such menu item. And the destination of the scan should NOT be a host or service on my personal network but a cloud destination, either Evernote itself or--less acceptably--a service that will automatically forward to Evernote. Most often, all that can be done is to upload a batch of scanned documents to the PC. These can then be selected in some application program and sent to Evernote. 

Step 1 of a process for communicating directly with Evernote says, "Buy a scanner that communicates directly with Evernote." That's what I thought I'd done. But, apparently, not.

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Oops.  The link was to the Scansnap help pages though,  which might be a better place to pursue this...  what you seem to need (i get from a further 10 seconds in the same place) appears to be ScanSnap Cloud... they seem to be some sort of partner with Evernote...

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Gazumped, I appreciate your effort on my behalf. But you've really got to adopt a more skeptical attitude toward these hyped up announcements by Fujitsu and Evernote. Yes, it does appear that SnapScan Cloud can scan docs directly into Evernote without a PC and possibly even without a mobile device. So what's not to like, right? One word, three letters: OCR. When you upload a doc via SnapScan Cloud nothing on the local side performs OCR and the way SnapScan Cloud was designed, nothing on the cloud side performs OCR either. So, OCR doesn't get done.

OCR, who needs it, right? Well, we pretty much all do. Without OCR our docs are not searchable. And what's the point of loading stuff into the cloud if you can't search it? NADA! As in, nothing.

So, SnapScan Cloud is not really a viable solution--at least, not at this time. Will it ever be? Who knows? But I've pretty much lost patience at having the wool pulled over my eyes. I doubt that I will ever believe anything Fujitsu or Evernote says--'cause now I've been burned TWICE.

But, I really do appreciate the time you spent. It's not your fault the vendors have such a supply of wool at the ready.

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If you're scanning to Evernote (and you're a premium subscriber)  you realise your PDF files will get OCR'd by the server?

And my old steam-powered Fujitsu S1500 has the ability to scan and create 'searchable PDF files' which takes a little longer,  but means the contents have been OCR'd by the scanner.

Tips for searching scanned PDFs

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Hi,

Calling it 'direct scanning' is somewhat misleading.

Such scanners do exist but these are actually network computers with integrated scanning device plus software and they do not come in the price range of the small office/private user Fujitsu ScanSnap. The ScanSnap has its merits (I am still very pleased to have one) and as it does not require USB connection other than for the initial set-up and together with the reliable software one gets a fair deal. My car is also advertised as running on under 7 litres/100 km, fully loaded, which it does not not, because normal stop-go traffic as well as short-distance travel just adds those extra 2 litres. 

Because I also needed a network flatbed scanner, copier, A3/A4 printer, I went for a Brother device. Now that one does offer direct scanning to various web services including Evernote. However, initial setting up also requires a PC as the machine must be registered for the so-called Brother web service, because the device needs to get electronically coded by them to match with the ISP data provided (so as to prevent abuse) and only when the signals match can one start with the usual granting of permissions, verifications, etc. Once again, being a reasonably humble device direct uploading is not pure joy.  For a start flatbed scanners tend to be slower and every new item for scanning calls for selection of format (jpg, doc, pdf - OCR or not) and only once the document has been uploaded can one proceed with the next one. 

Both type of scanners have their place and I find both useful, but completely automatic processing at lightning speed is 'advertising talk'. But hey, thinking of 25 yrs ago, such devices, are heaven by comparison (so say I ;) ) but of course you may feel differently.

 

 

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Gazumped, as I understand the problem report, server-side OCR SHOULD be done and COULD be done but IS NOT being done (again, emphasis not shouting). It's possible I'm misunderstanding the report. And it's possible the report is wrong, though there are several such reports. The only way to find out is to give it a try, which I will do when I have some spare cycles. Again, thanks for pointing out the solution. Even if it doesn't yet work it may work sooner rather than later. But, this was all advertised as working two years ago when I bought the scanner. And that was clearly a truth stretch. JohnLongley's analogy of miles-per-gallon is apt. On one forum we customarily ended our posts with "YMMV" (your mileage may vary).

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@JohnLongney gave some excellent background to how this (should) work..  as to OCR on the server,  that depends on your account level,  and there are some qualifications of what type of PDFs are eligible - that's why I do my own OCR,  I don't need to worry about how big a file is,  or how many pages.

OCR of picture files is something I do rely on - JPGs and PNGs are searchable for me,  and I used to use the server-side OCR without problem a while ago,  so it does work...

 

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@webmccarty, please take it from me that the ScanSnap is not able to communicate with the outside world other than through Mac /PC/--- router or cellphone. The scanner does not come with Twain or the other type of driver (forgot the name).  Direct processing of scans is limited to the Fujitsu software , does not communicate with any other software. To my understanding even the installation of the software is limited to one device, either Mac or PC  plus one cellphone. 

My Brother device has its own 'telephone/fax' number, hence it can dial up the Brother web service for dumping  into Evernote, Google Drive, One Drive, and a few more web services.The Brother is hooked onto the router by LAN cable.  

I think what catches people out is the reference to scanners such as the Fujitsu as network scanners, omitting local and private. Nevertheless, I do not really understand your frustration. You or somebody else has to operate the scanner and if you use your cell phone you need not even go through your computer. My cell phone uses WiFi  at home (other than for calls) but office docs and cell phone display are not my preferred way of processing.  For small  receipts , snippets I find the phone camera as good as using the Fujitsu. But I am a lazy sod.

 

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Fujitsu Support are the people to be having this conversation with - they at least should know what level of scanner will save direct to the internet,  and if you know the model you can at least look for deals and competitors...

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  • 7 months later...
On 4/1/2017 at 4:01 AM, wbmccarty said:

One word, three letters: OCR. When you upload a doc via SnapScan Cloud nothing on the local side performs OCR and the way SnapScan Cloud was designed, nothing on the cloud side performs OCR either. So, OCR doesn't get done.

For anybody else that might hit this thread while searching, this is actually not true. Scanning directly to evernote CAN do OCR on the ScanSnap servers. The key here is that it is up to the end user to say they want it. You can create custom scan profiles in the ScanSnap Cloud applications (I set up on iOS). In the PDF profile you need to actually turn OCR on. It is off by default. Once this happens Scan Snap will OCR before sending to your destination. I actually send to Dropbox, but same could be done for Evernote.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Level 5*
On 11/11/2017 at 6:51 PM, Brady said:

Scanning directly to evernote CAN do OCR on the ScanSnap servers.

Just to be clear - Evernote will OCR (within fairly wide limits) any otherwise unsearchable PDF that is saved to your account,  and it's also possible to OCR files that are saved to a non-Evernote location first (like Dropbox).  I normally scan to a folder on my hard drive for file (re)naming and editing reasons,  and my vintage ScanSnap S1500 does the OCR while saving. 

Once my files are topped and tailed,  I add them to Evernote via one or more Import Folders. (Windows user here...)

 

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  • 3 months later...

I ran into same direct cloud scanning issues. Therefore I upgraded to a Brother Color laser printer MFC-L8850CDW

This printer can be set with a icon on digital display with several options including OCR or Double sided scanning. A 22 Page (11 front / back) OCR document too about 8 minutes to upload to a default folder. I imagine a non-OCR document would take less time. 

Amazingly it has a download and print ability right from the LCD menu screen. Pick notebook / pick the note & image displays of 1st page, then OK to print.

Oh you want to scan to MS One Note, MS One Drive, Drop Box, Google Drive, Box, FaceBook, Flickr, ... it can do those also!!!

Scan feeder speed is quick... 22 pages (11 front / back) scanned with one pass each page in less than 30 seconds then it goes into transmitting mode for 5-8 minutes. 

May scan snap may become a paper weight... but a good backup device since I have a computer nearby. 

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  • 1 year later...

You are all correct. You need a pc/mac connected all the time to the scanner in order for it to work directly with evernote.

As we all want a one click always on solution this cannot rely on us using our laptops or ipads so why not usea raspberry pi. Us brits developed this so we can add personal computing to everyday tasks such as this.

 

PM me if you want to know how.

Matt

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I am not against using a Pi - if you want to use one, fine. Especially the newest model has enough horsepower to run a lot more applications than before.

The subject of this thread was about needing a PC / Mac active when you want to scan. With the mobile apps plus the Fujitsu cloud, a mobile device will do as well (and a 3,1415927... ).

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