Brother ADS-1600W Portable Scanner

At some point in your business you might need a dedicated device that can digitize your documents. This can be done through a portable scanner which is loaded with any cutting edge features. Like instant document upload on cloud, duplex printing, ftp upload, scan to usb, scan to email, etc. This will help you to manage your documents, business cards, receipts, and many other documents which is important for your business. Portable scanner does not mean one that works on battery and easy to move, here we will be checking out Brother ADS-1600W. It is a high end scanner that comes with many features of instant sharing scanned documents like various other models. The size of this scanner is small, but it does not have any kind of battery in it that will let you to use it on the move. You can keep this scanner on your desk and scan all your documents instantly. There are minimum things needed to use it. It comes loaded with different software's that will help you to scan and use the documents in different ways. For example the OCR functions. You can convert an existing pdf file instantly to word file and modify it. Brother ADS-1600W is designed for professional and personal use both. I think it is best for business. The cost of Brother ADS-1600W lies around Rs.24,990. The price is high, but with that it also brings many advanced features that are ideal for professional usage. We will be testing this scanner in more details but before that let's have a look on its specification and features.

Features:

• Up to 1200 x 1200dpi (enhanced) Scan Resolution
• Auto Image Rotation
• Auto de-skew (correct documents scanned out of line)
• Auto Crop
• Background color removal
• Blank page detection and removal
• 6.8cm LCD Touch screen
• Web Connect support for direct cloud integration
• 20 pages ADF
• Built in Wi-Fi
• Compact and lightweight
• Flexible scanning sizes
• 2 Sided-scanning

Specification:

• Processor - ARM946 288MHz
• Back Up Clock - Yes (24 hours)
• Memory - 256 MB
• Technology - Dual CIS (Contact Image Sensor)
• Interface - USB 2.0 Hi-Speed, Wireless, USB Host
• Control Button - 2.7" Touch Panel LCD
• Paper Sensor - Electro-Mechanical
• Media Weights/ADF (multiple paper) - 52 to 110 g/m2 (14 lb to 29 lb)
• Media Weights/ADF (single paper) - 52 to 110 g/m2 (14 lb to 29 lb)
• Media Sizes/ADF (multiple paper) - Width 51 to 215.9 mm (2.0" to 8.5"), Length 70 to 355.6. mm (2.76" to 14")
• Media Sizes/ADF (single paper) - Width 51 to 215.9 mm (2.0" to 8.5"), Length 70 to 863.0 mm (2.76" to 34")
• Accepted Media Types - Plain Paper, Thin Paper, Thick Paper, Thicker Paper, Recycled Paper, Post Card (JPN), Business Card, Plastic Card (Non-Embossed), Carrier Sheet.
• Paper Output - N/A
• Paper Handling - 20 Sheets
• PDF Editor (Windows) - Nuance PDF Converter Professional 7 (Not supporting XP 64bit)
• Business Card app. (Windows & Mac) - NewSoft Presto! Biz Card 6 / NewSoft Presto! Biz Card 5
• Viewer-Windows - PaperPort 12 SE
• Viewer-ISIS - Captiva QuickScan Pro Trial (Web DL)
• Control Center - Control Center 4 - Windows (Ver.4.0) / Mac (Ver.2.0)
• Remote Setup - Windows, Mac
• Network Management Tool - BRAdmin-Pro3, Web Based Management (Recommend Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 or greater, Firefox 3.0 or greater, Safari 3.0 or greater)
• Warranty - 12 months Standard Warranty
• Scanning Capability - Colour & Mono, Mono
• Scan to Feature - Network, FTP, Email, Image, OCR, File, USB, Email Server (I-Fax), Cloud, Searchable PDF
• Plastic Card Scan - Yes
• Optical Scanning Resolution - Max 600 x 600 dpi
• Scanning Speed (Color) - 18 ppm@300dpi
• 24-bit color - Yes
• Duplex Scanning Speed (Color) - 256 levels
• Document Scanning Width - A4,LTR : 212 mm, 8.34 inch
• Daily Duty Cycle - up to 500 scans per day
• Weight - 1.6 kg (3.5 lb)

Design:

Brother ADS-1600W is compact and lightweight scanner. It will not consume a very high space on your desk. It is smartly designed. Compared to other scanners which are big in size or portable scanner which are very small, Brother ADS-1600W is a better model at some point. If you are using a hand scanner, then there is always an issue of alignment and image quality. If you are using a full size scanner then you have an issue of space. Compared to them Brother ADS-1600W is very portable and even after having small size you can load a full size A4 paper on the same. It has a separate reader to insert a visiting card. You can configure various scanner settings through it. It has integrated wifi through which you can connect it to your wifi network and upload files directly on cloud or send it through email or store it in ftp/lan location.

Front Top:

Brother ADS-1600W is compact in size. At the front lies a tray that folds and fits on the top side, also known as the top cover. This tray can hold A5, JIS B5, A4 & LTR LGL paper size. At a time you can add around 25 sheets on it. When not using you can try to push the paper down.

It also has an adjusting panel that can let you to fix paper firmly on the same. With that lies the automatic document feeder. You can see it by pushing the LCD screen panel on the front side. There is a cover release lever on the extreme right top.

Back:

At the backside lies a business card slot. There is an usb port provided. There is also a micro usb port and power jack.

Brother ADS-1600W is quite compact and easy to use. Once you are done with the setup you can use the installation disc that adds the official driver with other programs which will help you in scanning files.

Below the tray lies a power key on the right side and an LCD screen which is a 6cm touch screen in the center. Through this you can manage the entire printer settings. Like you can scan a document directly to an ftp location, you can scan it to a LAN pc or to a pc to which it is connected. Brother ADS-1600W also allows you to save a scan document in a pen drive directly. You can send it to email. You don't really have to rely on PC software for using this scanner. It is completely useable through touch screen. The benefit here in using Brother ADS-1600W is that you get plenty of options to scan and save your document.

If you are not having a pen drive, then you can save the files directly on cloud storage like Onedrive. You can upload the scanned documents on an ftp server or you can simply send it to an email by configuration mail server in it. Brother ADS-1600W also gives you a full web based control panel to manage various other settings. It is a useful solution for those who need an advance device for scanning purpose. Just load the paper on the scanner and select the output you want. You have to keep it somewhere on a table because it is not having a tray to hold the paper that comes out after scanning.

Features:

Brother ADS-1600W is a compact multipurpose scanner. It does not come with any printing options. Many of you might think 25k is high enough for a portable scanner, but at some exclusive place you will need this kind of product. Like in offices where printing does not really matter much or where printers are already setup. And you need a portable scanner for scanning various documents and visiting cards. Brother ADS-1600W is very functional. It has lots of features which are easy to understand.

You can use it with your pc, laptop, netbook, mobile phone and tablet. A dedicated app comes for Android, iOS and for Windows Phone OS. The best example of its usage I can give you via Android. If you had met someone important related to your work or business and the person has only single visiting card, you can ask him/her to scan that through Brother ADS-1600W and share it instantly with others on WhatsApp, via Bluetooth, email, facebook, etc; in the form of jpeg or pdf file format. All you need is install Brother iPrint and Scan app in your phone and connect the scanner to your office wifi network. One issue that I faced while using it is, each time you have to tap on settings and then tap no scanner to select ADS 1600-W. Sometimes you might get error while connection. Compared to that NFC is lot simpler but the model which I am testing is not having NFC in it.

For pc you can connect the scanner directly through an usb cable. And the installation CD brings a lot of programs that can help you to scan files easily. Like the control center. That manages the scanner and its settings. There is a web access panel also that opens up after typing the IP address of scanner in a web browser. You can find that in Settings > General Setup > WLAN > TCP/IP. The driver cd that comes with the scanner adds ControlCenter 4 on your pc. It brings a few more tools like Nuance PDF Create Assistant. This one allows you to create a pdf eBook by mixing different images. A BizCard tool. It will help you to manage all scanned visiting cards. You can scan the card into a Text, Web or in Photo layout. Through text you can copy a lot of information and save it. This tool will automatically identify your business card and save the data in Outlook. With this you will also get Nuance Cloud Drive that will appear as a mapped drive in My Computer. You can backup your files on the cloud through that. You can connect your Google Drive, One Drive, Picasa, etc; through the same. Overall Brother ADS-1600W is an effective solution for those who want device dedicated only for scanning purpose.

Conclusion:

Brother ADS-1600W cost around Rs.24,990/- which makes it an exclusive product. It is ideal for all type of businesses which are having special requirements for scanning. For example a media house where many new people come and interact. They share their information through visiting card. At that place Brother ADS-1600W can be used to maintain a centralized location for managing all the contacts and information. Also after instant scanning it allows people to share the scanned file with others through different sharing media. Brother ADS-1600W can extend scanning far more than any other regular scanner. Compact size helps you to keep it anywhere you want. A 25 sheet paper tray allows you to create your own eBooks instantly by automatic fixing paper rotation and skipping blank papers. There are few issues with wifi connectivity on android phone. A dedicated usb port lets you to scan all your files instantly and save them in the pen drive, so that you can move as fast as you can without waiting for a pc. The touch screen on the front makes it more easy to use. All functions are straight-forward and UI is simple.

Pros:

• Compact Design
• Great features
• Various connectivity options.

Cons:

• Costly
• Android Connectivity drops on wifi