[sane-devel] Recent hardware w/good sane suport, 300dpi, fast ADF, USB2? (alternatives for Fujitsu fi-4020C2)

[Jeff Kowalczyk]

I've still not purchased a fast ADF scanner for home-office use. I was
hoping someone might have tried a recent model of a certain class that was
working well for them under sane.

interface: USB-2.0
ADF: 50 sheet or larger,
config: upright, flatbed not desired
speed: >= 15  ppm @ 300 dpi 1-bit,
          10  ppm @ 300 dpi 256-grayscale,
          25+ ppm @ 150 dpi 1-bit
intangibles: sane support, good reliability reputation (esp ADF)
price range: USD $500 to $1,100

The best option to date clearly seems to be the Fujitsu fi-4020C2 (fujitsu
backend), and thanks to m. allan noah for his work on the backend for
this, and support information on this list.

Since I've been considering that particular fujitsu for more than a year,
and the fi-4020C2 retail price hasn't come down at all, I think I'm
on the downslope of the unit's relative value curve. It sounds like
a solid unit, but I was hoping the price would ease a bit over time.
Fujitsu must have replacement models just around the corner. Whether or
not they'll be readily supported under sane is another question...

Any tips on newer models to look at, or ones that are due out in the next
few months would be greatly appreciated. Any HP or Epson units that have
impressed lately?

If there's any recent developments on the fujitsu backend as pertains to
the fi-4020C2, especially the scan modes I mentioned, I'd certainly like
to hear about them, too. Thanks.