Pros: Duplex, Scan to USB & Cloud, WiFi & OCR integrated.
Cons: Software interface inspired by Windows 98, Connecting the wifi is a bit difficult.
For how much can you buy a Brother ADS-1500W today?
| Product | Images / Minute | Format | Connectivity | Max. document size | ADF Tray | Weight | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Our choice Brother ADS-1500W | 36 IPM | A4 | Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 | 8.5 in. x 34 in. (215 x 863 mm) | Yes | 3.5 lb. (1.58 kg) | Click for more info |
Brother ADS-1000W  | 32 IPM | A4 | Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 | 8.5 in. x 34 in. (215 x 863 mm) | Yes | 3.3 lb. (1.49 kg) | Click for more info |
Brother ADS-1700W  | 50 IPM | A4 | Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Micro USB 3.0 | 8.5 in. x 34 in. (215 x 863 mm) | Yes | 3.7 lb. (1.67 kg) | Click for more info |
Brother ADS-1500W Specifications
| Images / Minute | 36 IPM |
|---|---|
| Format | A4 |
| Resolution | 600 dpi |
| Connectivity | Wireless 802.11 b/g/n, Hi-Speed USB 2.0 |
| Interface | TWAIN, WIA, ICA, ISIS, SANE |
| Max. document size | 8.5 in. x 34 in. (215 x 863 mm) |
| Sensor type | Dual CIS |
| Paper thickness | 14 lb. to 53 lb. (20.72 – 78.44 gsm) |
| Dimensions | 11.2 in. x 3.3 in. x 4.1 in. (28.4 x 8.3 x 10.4 cm) |
| Weight | 3.5 lb. (1.58 kg) |
| Included Software | Nuance PaperPort SE with OCR for Windows, Brother ControlCenter2 with OCR for Mac, Presto! PageManager with OCR for Mac |
| Driver | Download Driver |
| Manual | Download User Manual |
| Brochure | Download Brochure |
| Features | Duplex Scanning, Automatic Color Detection, Automatic Image Rotation, Automatic Image Cropping, Background Removal, Automatic Deskew, Punch Hole Removal, OCR included, ADF Tray |
What’s so special about it?
The Brother ADS-1500W is a compact and portable document scanner that was designed for offices and small businesses. It comes with a 20-page automatic document feeder and it has dual CIS sensors, so it can scan a sheet of paper on both sides simultaneously all in one pass. Another neat little feature of the scanner is its ability to scan directly to the cloud. You can send your documents from the scanner to Google Drive, OneDrive or Evernote. To do this you receive a bundle of software to help you. This portable scanner is quite fast as well, as it can digitize 36 images per minute at up to 600 dpi (The speed will not hold for 600dpi, it will be slower, but you will rarely use 600 dpi). The scanner also offers great and essential connectivity features such as wifi. Another cool thing about this device is that you can scan documents directly to your USB flash drive. You just plug it into the scanner and you’re good to go. This concept is similar to what VuPoint also created, a scanner where you could scan directly to a microSD card.Brother ADS-1500W Datasheet Explained
At full power, this scanner can digitize 36 images in the span of 1 minute. That’s more than 1 image every 2 seconds. So it will most likely take you longer to gather up the documents than it will take the scanner to digitize them.
It can scan papers up to A4 (Letter size) and it will do that with a sensor that can output up to 600dpi in resolution. 600 dots per inch is the kind of resolution in which you can see the graining of the paper clearly.
Connectivity is great as well with this scanner: WiFi 802.11 b/g/n and USB 2.0. This is everything you will ever need from a scanner in terms of connection ports. If you set the wifi to work in 802.11n mode, it will be in reality as fast as if it had ethernet.
Brother have been careful to fit this scanner with a multitude of interfaces, from TWAIN and WIA to ISIS and SANE. This scanner can be integrated with almost all of the apps that use these types of common interfaces for scanners.
If you want to scan long documents, the Brother ADS-1500w will gladly scan up to 34 inches in length, but paper thickness seems to be a bit of an issue. Its range of thickness is not far from plain paper. So there might be a problem when you run a business card through it, but this is not guaranteed. .
Features for Productivity
The Brother 1500W is equipped with dual CIS sensors, so you can scan a sheet of paper on both sides while running it only once through the machine. This is a feature that I love and that I wish would be standard on any scanner.
The scanner doesn’t have the automatic color detection feature, but it has auto image rotation. So it will be able to automatically rotate your document in case you ran it upside down through the scanner, but it won’t be able to tell color documents from black & white documents.
Another thing the scanner will be capable of is automatic image cropping. No more cropping in Lightroom and Photoshop, the scanner will remove the black part around your photos and documents automatically.
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Quality of images
This portable document scanner also comes with OCR included. The OCR module is a 3rd party module, so it’s not made by Brother, but that’s how all manufacturers do it. It’s part of the software suite that you get with the scanner.
It’s also capable of correcting the image skew when the paper doesn’t run perfectly straight through the scanner. .
Brother ADS-1500W accesories unboxing
The ADF tray very much exists on this product and I’m glad it does, because it will prove to be very useful. It can hold 20 pages in it which is more than enough for the type of scanning that you will be doing with this device.
At 3.5lbs in terms of weight, it’s not great, not terrible.
You get a bundle of software when you purchase the scanner such as Nuance PaperPort SE with OCR, Brother ControlCenter2 and Presto!PageManager. OCR is the useful thing in the bundle and that’s what you should be looking at. .
Brother ADS-1500W driver, manual & brochure
The driver for this product is on the official page and you can download it from here.
If you want to go into more detail, I would recommend that you have a look at the user manual. You can find the manual here.
Also, it’s possible that we may have missed out on certain technical information that might be relevant to you, so please feel free to check the official brochure here. .