Brother PDS-5000 review | Should you buy it or skip it?

The good: You can stack up to 100 pages in the ADF tray, it can scan and save to PDF really fast and it’s easy to use

The bad: The paper guide is not that good and neither is the OCR

Worth it? The price is good and it’s features are plenty to make it a good buy. What’s the lowest price for it?
Brother PDS-5000 review | Should you buy it or skip it?

ProductFormatScanning areaConnectivitySheets per minuteImages per minuteADF SizeDaily Duty CyclePrice

Brother PDS-5000

Brother PDS-5000
A48.27 in x 11.69 inSuperSpeed USB 3.060120100 sheets6,000 sheetsCheck price on Amazon

Brother ADS-3000N

Brother ADS-3000N
A48.27 in x 11.69 inGigabit Ethernet and SuperSpeed USB 3.05010050 sheets5,000 sheetsCheck price on Amazon

Epson DS-6500

Epson DS-6500
A48.27 in x 11.69 inUSB 2.0 Type B, Ethernet (optional)2550100 sheets3,000 sheetsCheck price on Amazon

Epson DS-780N

Epson DS-780N
A48.27 in x 11.69 inSuperSpeed USB 3.0, Ethernet (optional)4590100 sheets5,000 sheetsCheck price on Amazon

Brother PDS-5000 Specifications

Sheets per minute60
ADF Size100 sheets
Daily Duty Cycle6,000 sheets
FormatA4
Optical Resolution600 dpi
Long Document236 in
ConnectivitySuperSpeed USB 3.0
InterfaceTwain, Sane, Wia, Ica and Isis
Dimensions12.4 x 7.3 x 7.2 inches
Weight10.3 lbs
Bundled SoftwareNuance OmniPage SE 18, Presto! PageManager 9, EMC Captiva QuickScan Pro Trial, DS Capture, Button Manager V2
Images per minute120
Scanning area8.27 in x 11.69 in
Sensor typeCCD
Document Thickness7.5 lb. to 106 lb
Multifeed DetectionOverlap detection (Ultrasonic sensor)
Feed Roller Replacement200.000 sheets
DriverDownload Driver
ManualDownload Manual
BrochureDownload Brochure
FeaturesAutomatic color detection, Automatic rotation, Blank Page Detection, MultiStream, Automatic Cropping, Edge Correction, Streaks Correction, Background Cleaning, Deskew, Hole Punch Removal, Manual Feed Mode, Document Separation, Barcode Recognition, OCR, Zonal OCR

Brother PDS-5000 Datasheet Explained

You can digitize a page with a nominal area of 8.27 in x 11.69 in.

The Brother PDS-5000 will reach an optical resolution 600.

The sensor installed in this equipment is a CCD one.

This scanning machine can be connected with SuperSpeed USB 3.0.

If you’re curious how many Sheets per minute in simplex mode can be achieved, the manufacturer claims the number to be 60.

On the other hand, in duplex mode the Brother PDS-5000 will scan at 120 Images per minute in duplex mode .

If you check the official specs, the Estimated volume for each day, is around 6,000 documents.

The Brother PDS-5000 works with Twain, Sane, Wia, Ica and Isis driver interface.

You should assume the feeding tyres to have a life about 600.000 office documents.


Specs for paper handling

Unlike your average multifunction, this machine uses Overlap detection (Ultrasonic sensor) to prevent it from double feeding pages.

If you look at the the ADF size of this scanner, you will notice that it can hold 100 pages .

The maximum Sheet thickness that the Brother PDS-5000 can process is around 7.5 lb. to 106 lb.

Documents up to 236 in in length, can be processed by the Brother PDS-5000.


Brother PDS-5000 accesories unboxing

When you have concerns regarding the dimmensions, they are 12.4 x 7.3 x 7.2 inches.

Curious regarding the mass of the device? You will see it is around 10.3 lbs.

In regards to the delivered software, the Brother PDS-5000 comes with the Nuance OmniPage SE 18, Presto! PageManager 9, EMC Captiva QuickScan Pro Trial, DS Capture, Button Manager V2.


Features for Productivity

Your batch of documents has different sized documents? The Auto Crop will sort that for you.

I like the Auto Image Rotate for documents that are not homogenous when it comes to orientation. A mix of portrait and landscape documents will be handled by the Auto Image Rotate mode.

The first productivity feature that we look for is the Auto Color . The Brother PDS-5000 has this feature and we recommend you use it.

I can’t imagine running a scanner without the Blank page detection . This setting is mandatory on just about any machine and it is available on the Brother PDS-5000.

It’s still strange to think the Brother PDS-5000 does not have Dual stream scanning . It’s a bad surprise from my point of view.


Quality of images

I have seen the Background Cleaning setting improve with every update of the driver, and it is the same case with the Brother PDS-5000 scanner.

With the Edge Correction on the Brother PDS-5000 scanner, your scanned images will look better than your paper documents

Skew Reduction can be done by enabling this setting in the scanner driver. It will only conflict with other special settings on the Brother PDS-5000 scanner from time to time, so keep it on.

No more black holes on the side of the paper. Now you can cover them during scanning with the Perforated Page Correction option in the Brother PDS-5000 driver.

I enjoy using Streaks Detection on typed pages, but this device is missing it.


Extra Features

Should you use the Manual Feed Mode mode with this machine? I would say it works well on the Brother PDS-5000 scanner.

Although the Barcode Detection isn’t the only separation method, I recommend you get it.

On the Brother PDS-5000 the Automatic Separation of Documents feature is not present. That drops the throughput a lot.

The OCR is mandatory on just about any scanner and the Brother PDS-5000 comes as standard with it.

The Brother PDS-5000 does not come with the Zonal OCR feature.


Brother PDS-5000 driver, manual & brochure

If you are looking for the driver for this product, it’s at this link.

Download user guide at this link.

should you need to look into some more specific info, you can try downloading the official brochure at this link.



Brother PDS-5000 vs Brother ADS-3000N


Brother PDS-5000

Brother PDS-5000

Brother ADS-3000N

Brother ADS-3000N
Sensor typeMISCCCDMISCCIS
Long DocumentWINNER236 inLOSER196 in
ConnectivityMISCSuperSpeed USB 3.0MISCGigabit Ethernet and SuperSpeed USB 3.0
Sheets per minuteWINNER60LOSER50
Images per minuteWINNER120LOSER100
ADF SizeWINNER100 sheetsLOSER50 sheets
Document ThicknessMISC7.5 lb. to 106 lbMISC11 lb. to 110 lb
Daily Duty CycleWINNER6,000 sheetsLOSER5,000 sheets
DimensionsMISC12.4 x 7.3 x 7.2 inchesMISC12 x 10.15 x 9.8 inches
WeightLOSER10.3 lbsWINNER9.8 lbs
PriceCheck price on AmazonCheck price on Amazon


Looking at capture area, both document scanners have the power to scan the same area of Brother ADS-3000N.

Usually a digitization equipment that has a CCD sensor, will deliver the the optimum results. In the current test, the Brother PDS-5000 works with a CCD sensor, and the Brother ADS-3000N is operated using a CIS sensor.

If we look at of which one of these document scanners can digitize longer documents, it’s the Brother PDS-5000 who takes the prize here. It’s able to digitize sheets of paper of up to 236 in in length, meanwhile the Brother ADS-3000N can only digitize documents of up to 196 in.

If you look at network connection ports, you will find SuperSpeed USB 3.0 on the Brother PDS-5000 and Gigabit Ethernet and SuperSpeed USB 3.0 on Brother ADS-3000N.

The Brother PDS-5000 has the advantage on scanning speed. The scanner has the power to scan at 60 documents a minute. The other scanner is able to only reach 50 pages every minute

Read the full review of the Brother ADS-3000N


Brother PDS-5000 vs Epson DS-6500


Brother PDS-5000

Brother PDS-5000

Epson DS-6500

Epson DS-6500
Optical ResolutionMISC600 dpiMISC1200 dpi
Long DocumentWINNER236 inLOSER40 in
ConnectivityMISCSuperSpeed USB 3.0MISCUSB 2.0 Type B, Ethernet (optional)
Sheets per minuteWINNER60LOSER25
Images per minuteWINNER120LOSER50
Document ThicknessMISC7.5 lb. to 106 lbMISC12 lb. to 54 lb.
Daily Duty CycleLOSER6,000 sheetsWINNER3,000 sheets
Feed Roller ReplacementLOSER200.000 sheetsWINNER100.000 sheets
InterfaceMISCTwain, Sane, Wia, Ica and IsisMISCTwain, Wia and Isis
DimensionsMISC12.4 x 7.3 x 7.2 inchesMISC19.4 x 14.1 x 8.5 inches
WeightWINNER10.3 lbsLOSER22.5 lbs
MultiStreamLOSERNoWINNERYes
Document SeparationLOSERNoWINNERYes
Zonal OCRLOSERNoWINNERYes
PriceCheck price on AmazonCheck price on Amazon


The scanning area is the same for both devices at 8.27 in x 11.69 in.

Both the Brother PDS-5000 and the Epson DS-6500 use CCD sensor.

In Long Document mode Brother PDS-5000 has aproximate value of 236 in, while Epson DS-6500 will scan sheets up to 40 in.

The Brother PDS-5000 features SuperSpeed USB 3.0 for connectivity, meanwhile the Epson DS-6500 provides USB 2.0 Type B, Ethernet (optional).

When looking at scanning speed, the Brother PDS-5000 can scan at 60 PPM meanwhile the other machine can only get up to 25 ppm.

Read the full review of the Epson DS-6500


Brother PDS-5000 vs Epson DS-780N


Brother PDS-5000

Brother PDS-5000

Epson DS-780N

Epson DS-780N
Long DocumentLOSER236 inWINNER240 in
ConnectivityMISCSuperSpeed USB 3.0MISCSuperSpeed USB 3.0, Ethernet (optional)
Sheets per minuteWINNER60LOSER45
Images per minuteWINNER120LOSER90
Document ThicknessMISC7.5 lb. to 106 lbMISC11 lb. to 55 lb.
Daily Duty CycleLOSER6,000 sheetsWINNER5,000 sheets
Feed Roller ReplacementLOSER200.000 sheetsWINNER100.000 sheets
InterfaceMISCTwain, Sane, Wia, Ica and IsisMISCTwain, Wia and Isis
DimensionsMISC12.4 x 7.3 x 7.2 inchesMISC11.7 x 8.3 x 8.5 inches
WeightLOSER10.3 lbsWINNER8.2 lbs
MultiStreamLOSERNoWINNERYes
Document SeparationLOSERNoWINNERYes
Zonal OCRLOSERNoWINNERYes
PriceCheck price on AmazonCheck price on Amazon


These document scanners have the same scanning area of 8.27 in x 11.69 in.

CCD sensors are used in the Brother PDS-5000 and the Epson DS-780N.

We enjoy the long document mode, and the Epson DS-780N scans documents up to 240 in in length. On the other hand, Brother PDS-5000 will process documents up to 236 in.

If we have a look at connection options, you will find SuperSpeed USB 3.0 on the Brother PDS-5000 and SuperSpeed USB 3.0, Ethernet (optional) on Epson DS-780N.

The Brother PDS-5000 has the edge on actual digitization speed. The Brother PDS-5000 has the power to scan at 60 pages every minute. The other scanner can only do 45 pages every minute

Read the full review of the Epson DS-780N


Brother PDS-5000
Our Score

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