Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 vs iX1600 (2021): What’s The Difference?

The Fujitsu ScanSnap series is one of the best value desktop scanners in the market today. These scanners are fast and easy to use, and offer excellent performance. The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 is the latest entry in the lineup and it replaces the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500. As the most recent model, the iX1600 is faster than the iX1500 and it also comes with a few improvements. Should you upgrade to the iX1600 if you already own the iX1500? Below is our comparison of the two.

Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 vs iX1600 Comparison Chart

Design

The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 and iX1600 have the same design.

Design-wise, the two are identical. They both measure 11.5 x 6.3 x 6.0 inches with the trays closed and they both weigh 7.5 lbs. When the trays are opened, the two scanners will take up significantly more space, so you should take that into account when setting them anywhere on your desk.

The two scanners have a 50-sheet auto document feeder that can accommodate documents up to 11 inches wide and up to 118 inches long. You also get a snap-on adapter that lets you scan business cards and receipts.

The two scanners have a 4.3-inch touchscreen display that lets you control the scanners without connecting them to your PC or mobile device, allowing them to function as standalone scanners. Almost all of their functions and features are accessible using these screens. The touchscreens also allow you to create many user profiles so that other members of your team or your family members will have access to them with their own custom configurations.

The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 is available in white only, while the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 can be purchased in either white or black.

Features and Software

The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 and iX1600 both come with ScanSnap Home and Abbyy FineReader software.

Since these two scanners can connect wirelessly to your network, they can scan documents directly into a folder on your PC, to your mobile phone, to an email address or to different cloud services such as MS OneDrive, Google Drive and more.

The software bundle that comes with the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 includes ScanSnap Home, Abbyy FineReader for ScanSnap, Nuance PDF Converter for Mac and Nuance Power PDF Standard for Windows. On the other hand, the bundle for the iX1600 includes ScanSnap Home, Abbyy FineReader for ScanSnap and Kofax Power PDF Standard.

ScanSnap Home is where you can control and configure the scanners, as well as initiate scanning. Within the software, you can choose resolution, create workflow profiles, choose image quality and more. The software has built-in support for some of the most popular cloud services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox and more.

Abbyy Finereader is an OCR (optical character recognition) software and it converts image documents, PDF documents and other image or graphic documents into editable formats. This is a very good piece of software and it is a nice addition to the software suite that comes with both the ScanSnap iX1500 and iX1600.

Setup

Setting up the Fujitsu ScanSnap scanners is easy.

Since the two scanners have similar features and control schemes, they also have the same setup process. When you power them for the first time, their screens will guide you on how to set them up. First, you’ll be prompted to choose your language and then you’ll be greeted by a screen with a link to their warranty details.

After that, you’ll have the option to choose which startup mode you want. Don’t worry too much about this since you can always change it later on through the settings menu. Once you’ve chosen the startup mode, you’ll be prompted to choose which devices can have access to the scanner. You can pick between your PC and mobile device, or both.

Once you’ve done all of that, you’ll be instructed to download and install the ScanSnap software. After downloading and installing the software, you have the option of connecting the scanner to your PC via its USB port or via WiFi. One difference between the two scanners is that the iX1500 has a USB 3.1 Gen 1 port, while the iX1600 has a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port.

At this point, you’re almost done. You can watch the how-to videos on the Fujitsu website if you want to, or you can start using the scanner.

Performance

The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 is faster than the iX1500.

The biggest difference between these two scanners is their speed. The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 is capable of speeds of 30ppm and 60ipm. On the other hand, the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 is capable of 40ppm and 80ipm. The iX1600 is faster, and this helps speed up your work and overall efficiency when scanning documents.

These two scanners are equipped with Ultrasonic Sensors and Brake Rollers from Fujitsu’s more expensive business line of scanners so feeding errors are minimal since each paper or document is fed individually.

Aside from their speed, these scanners let you work more efficiently by having Dust Detection and Streak Reduction features. With their Dust Detection feature, you’ll be notified if there are dust or dirt on any part of the scanner so that you can clean them before scanning, saving you the trouble of multiple rescans. The Streak Reduction feature removes any streaks on images, saving you precious time.

Verdict

If you already have the Fujitsu iX1500, it’s not worth it to upgrade to the iX1600, however, if you are buying a new scanner, it’s better to get the more recent Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600.

The two scanners are very similar. In fact, there are only a few differences between the two. The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 is faster at scanning, comes with a USB 3.2 Gen 1 port and its software bundle includes the Kofax Power PDF Standard, which is just the rebranded Nuance Power PDF Standard.

If you are in the market for a new scanner, you should definitely get the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600 since it comes with a few improvements over the iX1500. However, if you already have a Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 at your office or at home, you’re better off keeping it, unless you really need the faster scanning capability of the iX1600.

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