Ricoh’s ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition ($599) is a fast sheetfed document scanner that’s optimized for managing the data from your scanned receipts. The hardware component is essentially the same as the ScanSnap iX1600. The difference is in the software. This model enhances the regular ScanSnap Home program by adding the ability to export that receipt data directly into QuickBooks—either the online or desktop version. The iX1600 Receipt Edition also has a nifty insert that makes scanning narrow receipts a breeze, and is a bit faster than the Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W, which is our Editors’ Choice pick for receipt scanners. However, the RR-600W will be a slightly better option for most people due to its larger paper capacity and more versatile software support.Design: Same Hardware, Better SoftwareSince they differ only in their software configuration, the ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition has the same dimensions and weight as the standard-edition ScanSnap iX1600. At 6.0 by 11.5 by 6.3 inches (HWD) with its trays closed and weighing in at 7.5 pounds, it’s a fairly typical size and weight for an entry-level sheet-fed scanner. The Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W measures a similar 6.9 by 11.8 by 6.6 inches (HWD) and weighs 8.1 pounds. The Canon imageFormula R40 Document Scanner Receipt Edition is a bit larger, at 9.6 by 11.4 by 9.9 inches (HWD). Even though it is bigger, the R40 weighs 6.2 pounds, which is less than the other two receipt scanners.
The odd duckling in this category is the Epson RapidReceipt RR-400W. It has an unusually compact design that lets it operate within a limited amount of desk space. The RR-400W measures just 4.9 by 11.7 by 4.1 inches (HWD) and weighs 4.0 pounds. You should judge all these receipt scanners by their features, capacities, and speeds, but if you have limited space, the RR-400W may warrant your special consideration.
(Credit: Ricoh)
Ideally, you’ll be able to stack a variety of receipts into the scanner’s ADF and let the scanner sort out what data goes where. A large, no-compromise ADF can be particularly important if you tend to accumulate your receipts over time, only to scan them later as a group. The iX1600 Receipt Edition has a 50-sheet ADF. For comparison, the RR-600W has a 100-sheet ADF, and the R40 has a 60-sheet ADF. Due to its compact design, the RR-400W has to settle for a less-generous 20-sheet ADF.
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Speed can also be important if you’ve built up a large stack of receipts that have to be tallied and categorized right before a deadline. The iX1600 Receipt Edition has a relatively fast speed rating of 40 simplex (one-sided) pages per minute (ppm) or 80 two-sided (duplex) images per minute (ipm, where each page side is counted as an image). Those are the same speed ratings as the R40. Both scanners are faster than the RR-600W, which is rated at 35ppm and 70ipm (duplex) speeds. And just below that is the RR-400W, which is rated at 30ppm/60ipm.Having limited connectivity can make it difficult to place a scanner in its most convenient location. The iX1600 Receipt Edition should make that process easier, as it supports both Wi-Fi and USB connections. The Wi-Fi connection can use either the 2.4GHz or 5GHz frequency bands. This model is also compatible with Wi-Fi Direct, though that feature can’t be used over the 5GHz band. Both Epson models support Wi-Fi and USB connections. The Canon R40, however, supports only USB connections. None of these models has an Ethernet port. And only the RR-600W has a built-in USB thumb drive port for saving scans locally.
(Credit: Ricoh)
Another key difference among these four models is the control panel. The iX1600 Receipt Edition has a large 4.3-inch color touch screen that gives you direct access to its configuration settings and workflow profiles. The Epson RR-600W also has a 4.3-inch color touch screen that provides a similar range of customization features. The Epson RR-400W and Canon R40, on the other hand, have only button-based controls. As a result, those two receipt scanners do not allow onboard access to advanced settings or user profiles.Receipt Scanner or Regular Scanner: Which Is Better? What makes a receipt scanner different from a regular document scanner? The transformation occurs through its new specialized software. These four receipt scanners are higher-priced variations of document scanners that already include an OCR software component. The receipt-optimized versions cost extra because the OCR has been enhanced to more capably find and categorize the relevant data from receipts and invoices. The software can also save or transfer that extracted data into a format that’s compatible with third-party financial applications, such as QuickBooks or TurboTax.With the iX1600 Receipt Edition, the software installation process is the same as with the standard-edition iX1600. You’ll need to plug in the power cord, open the scanner’s cover to power it on, and then configure its basic onboard settings. You’ll be asked to download the software to your computer and then attach the provided USB cable to connect the two devices together.At first glance, the resulting desktop applications would seem to be the same between the two different editions of the iX1600. You’ll have the ScanSnap Home program that you’ll be using for all of the computer-related functions. A Settings program lets you adjust how often the software will check for updates. And a ScanSnap Help program brings up a PDF version of the user manual. You’ll also find a separate installation for the Kofax Power PDF Standard 4 program that provides additional PDF viewing and editing capabilities.
(Credit: Ricoh)
Dig deeper, and you’ll find new receipt-related enhancements that are baked into ScanSnap Home. Now when you press the large blue Scan button, the next screen will give you a choice to scan to a folder or scan to QuickBooks. The QuickBooks option lets you transfer the data to either a QuickBooks Online account or previously installed QuickBooks Desktop program. At this time, you’re not able to export the extracted data directly into Quicken or TurboTax, as you can with the Epson receipt scanners.You will need to use a computer to export this enhanced receipt data directly into QuickBooks. However, you can use this same iX1600 scanner on its own over a Wi-Fi connection to send other scanned documents to a mobile phone, printer, or email address. Compatible cloud services include Evernote, Dropbox, and Google Drive. And a mobile version of ScanSnap Home lets you initiate a scan on the scanner and save the results to your phone as a PDF or JPG file.This model also has a Receipt Guide that could make receipt scanning more convenient than with other scanners. The removable guide snaps onto the top of the unit to better route your receipts and business cards into the scan mechanism, so that they won’t become misaligned or crumpled. It has three loading sections: a business cards and receipts section for documents as wide as 2.28 inches, a receipts section for documents as wide as 3.26 inches, and an office paper section for documents as wide as 8.5 inches. All three sections can handle documents as long as 118.11 inches.Because the Receipt Guide limits the number of sheets that can be loaded into the ADF at a time, the user manual recommends that you remove it from the unit when you scan a large number of documents. It’s worth pointing out that the 50-sheet maximum capacity for the ADF will also be reduced when you scan thicker-than-usual paper. Accordingly, when using the Receipt Guide or when scanning thicker receipts and invoices, be prepared for that maximum capacity to drop.Testing the iX1600: Fast and Accurate Receipt ScansAs previously mentioned, Ricoh rates the ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition at 40ppm simplex and 80ipm duplex, which is the same as the standard-edition ScanSnap iX1600. It did a little bit better than that in our stopwatch tests, using ScanSnap Home over a USB connection to our Intel Core i5 testbed running Windows 10 Pro. The iX1600 Receipt Edition scanned our standard 25-page single-sided document at 42.1ppm and our 25-page (50-image) duplex document at 85.5ipm. Those scores beat the Epson RR-400W by 9.3ppm and 21.3ipm. They also surpass the RR-600W by 2.5ppm and 7.1ipm. When compared with the Canon R10, the speeds are more closely matched. The R10 had speed scores of 42.4ppm and 82.1ipm. That puts the Ricoh and Canon models at almost a dead heat when scanning single-sided pages, and the Ricoh model ahead of the Canon by 3.4ipm when scanning double-sided pages.
(Credit: Ricoh)
Almost any document scanner can convert printed pages to error-free, editable text down to 6 points in both our Arial (sans-serif) and Times New Roman (serif) font tests. The iX1600 Receipt Edition easily surpassed that when I saved its text-based scanned documents to searchable PDFs. It was accurate down to 4 points with the Arial font and 5 points with the Times New Roman font. That’s the same result that we saw with the Epson RR-400W, and those accuracy results were better than the 5-point Arial and 6-point Times New Roman results from the Epson RR-600W. It was also better than the 6-point Arial and 6-point Times New Roman results from the Canon R10. Accuracy can be important, especially with receipts where the size and style of the fonts can vary widely. That said, you’re unlikely to encounter type in sizes smaller than 10 points in real-world business documents.
(Credit: Ricoh)
The iX1600 Receipt Edition did a reasonably good job in extracting and cataloging the data from the receipts that I scanned. None of the receipts was rejected or mishandled. The scanner did have a problem deciphering the data on one receipt where the ink was faded, however. With that receipt, I had to manually input most of the information. And some of the store and business names were misspelled or missed entirely, because the names were embedded into a stylized logo. In those types of situations, you’ll have to manually add in whatever data is missing.Verdict: A Go-To Scanner, Unless You Use QuickenThe Ricoh ScanSnap iX1600 Receipt Edition proved to be both fast and accurate. Those are important qualities in a receipt scanner, since we often wait until the last minute to tally up our receipts and invoices. The accompanying software is well-organized and easy to learn. And the removable Receipt Guide can help you to better route those thin-and-narrow receipts into the scan mechanism.One potentially significant limitation is that the iX1600 Receipt Edition can’t export its data directly into Quicken or TurboTax. For that reason, it will appeal mostly to QuickBooks users who have more receipts than they can manage easily by hand. And even QuickBooks users may find the Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W to be a better overall choice, due to its larger ADF and more robust support for third-party financial applications.
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