Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

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Scanallthebooks
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Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

Post by Scanallthebooks »

Hey everyone. I've currently got my hands on two ADF scanners, a Fujitsu ix500 and a fujitsu fi-7160. The interesting thing about these two scanners is that they use different sensors. The ix500 uses CIS while the fi-7160 uses double CCD.

Now as you might know, CCD has generally been considered the better sensor. For more information you can refer to this document or just search "CIS vs CCD" on google and you'll find plenty of information.

So I was curious as to how this translated in practice and so am currently doing some comparison scans between the two scanners. Now I thought some of you in the community might find this interesting as well, and will therefore share some of my impressions and comparison scans here in this thread. Hopefully it will be of some use. ;) If you want to see some specific comparison or have any questions or ideas feel free to ask. I will do the comparison over the next two days.

DISCLAIMER: I'm not a professional, just an ordinary guy doing some comparison scans. :geek:

First off, the scanners:

Fujitsu scansnap ix500:
Data sheet
Manual
Software: Scansnap Manager
Drivers: No TWAIN or ISIS drivers.

Fujitsu fi-7160
Data sheet
Manual
Software: Scansnap Manager for fi series, PaperStream Capture, ScandAll PRO V2
Drivers: TWAIN drivers, TWAIN x64 drivers, ISIS drivers.
Last edited by Scanallthebooks on 13 Dec 2016, 17:52, edited 2 times in total.
Scanallthebooks
Posts: 38
Joined: 01 Dec 2016, 19:05
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Country: Denmark

Re: Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

Post by Scanallthebooks »

Software and general impressions
--------------------------------------------------------
Fujitsu ix500
This scanner was very very simple to setup, simply install the ScanSnap software using the ScanSnap installer (available from Fujitsu's website), plugin the scanner and it is detected by windows and ready to go. I am using windows 10 x64 and had no problems with the setup. You can also download other software from Fujitsu e.g. ABBY finereader if you request it.

ScanSnap Manager, the main scanning program is a very simple utility with a simple UI and not a whole lot of settings. There is a quick menu with default settings (recommended, small file, high quality) and a more detailed panel where you can adjust some of the settings yourself.

One problem with ScanSnap software is that you can only scan to .PDF or .jpeg format. You cannot scan to .TIF, .BMP or .PNG. So the format is lossy from the getgo. Also, if you decide to scan in BW it is ONLY possible to scan to .PDF. You cannot scan to .JPEG when scanning BW.
scansnap7.png
scansnap7.png (43.94 KiB) Viewed 18361 times
It is possible to scan up to 600dpi with the ix500, except when scanning bw where you can scan all the way up to 1200dpi. You can adjust the compression of jpeg images (lower = higher quality and bigger file size) as well as the brightness of the scan (only for BW though), text contrast and text bleed through. For a comparison of these settings I would refer you to this thread where I've posted some scans with different settings.
scansnap4.png
scansnap4.png (46.55 KiB) Viewed 18361 times
Once you've adjusted the settings in ScanSnap Manager, you simply load up the scanner and click the physical scan button. It will then scan according to your settings. I have to admit the whole setup is easy and quick.

Another problem with the ix500 is that there is no TWAIN or ISIS driver, so you're stuck using ScanSnap manager.

Here is an album of images of the ScanSnap Manager software (taken from ScanSnap manager for fi series, the two utilities seem completely identical except in name):

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Fujitsu fi-7160
To get the Fujitsu fi-7160 working you have to first install the Paperstream IP TWAIN driver, and then the scanner software of your choice. Official software from Fujitsu includes: Paperstream Capture, ScanSnap manager for fi series and ScandAll PRO (all available from Fujitsu, although to get the paperstream and scansnap software you have to "Request It". This involves typing the the part number and serial number of the scanner after which the necessary information to download the software will be sent to your email).

Scansnap manager for fi series
The "ScanSnap Manager for fi series" software is identical to the ScanSnap Manager for the ix500, except the extended name. It works in exactly the same way, adjust the settings load the scanner and click the physical scan button. It has the same limitations, no scanning to .TIF etc.


PaperStream Capture
On the other hand, the PaperStream Capture software has a completely different UI and a few more features. It comes with three default profiles with different settings for scanning BW, Color and "auto color". You can then create your own profiles to adjust the settings to fit your needs.

Many of the settings are same as in ScanSnap (up to 600 dpi, color mode: color-bw-auto color, paper size) but in output you can choose more formats including .tif!!!:
paperstream.png
A huge problem with this software is that the UI is very sluggish and laggy. It is also unintuitive, the layout is confusing and some of the buttons and settings have weird labels. For lack of a better word it just feels kinda old. The lag could of course be a problem with my PC, but I can't be possible to ask Fujitsu for help atm. :lol:

Regardless it gets the job done.
paperstream2.png
ScandAll Pro
Of the Fujitsu offerings, this software came across as the most powerful. The interface is straightforward, simply open up the program click scan settings and you can adjust tons of settings through the PaperStream IP TWAIN software.
scandallpro.png
Last edited by Scanallthebooks on 13 Dec 2016, 19:26, edited 5 times in total.
Scanallthebooks
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Re: Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

Post by Scanallthebooks »

Scans
Page from a somewhat yellowed paperback:
paperbackreduce.png
Full size

First scan is the 7160 using the Paperstream Capture software with settings: color, 600dpi, automatic size, save as .tif. Second scan is the 7160 using ScanSnap with settings: color, 600dpi, save as jpeg, lowest possible compression. Third scan is the ix500 using Scansanp, same settings as before. Notice how the first scan has a black right border, indicating the cropping is not completely optimal.
Scanallthebooks
Posts: 38
Joined: 01 Dec 2016, 19:05
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Country: Denmark

Re: Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

Post by Scanallthebooks »

greycomp.png
Same page as before, just scanned in greyscale in ScanSnap. 600dpi, lowest compression, no additional settings.

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bwcompare.png
bwcomparefull.zip
(492.93 KiB) Downloaded 510 times
Again, the paperback page, this time scanned in BW @1200dpi. No additional settings. zip contains the full original size.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
bwreducecontr.png
bwfullcontr.zip
(308.54 KiB) Downloaded 524 times
Again scanned in BW @ 1200dpi, however this time increased text contrast is ON and brightness set at 2.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
photoreduced.png
Small photo scanned in color @ 600dpi, lowest compression.

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photo2reduce.png
Another photo scanned in color @ 600dpi, lowest compression. Notice the increased amounts of dust picked up on the ix500 as well as the thin vertical lines running through the photo. However, the contrast on the 7160 is quite high and although both of the scanners miss a lot of details in the darker parts of the background (compared to the original photo) the 7160 misses more. I tried using ScandAll Pro on the 7160 with different settings such as turning brightness and scanning to .tif, but that just made the contrast worse. In short, none of these are any good at scanning photos. :lol:

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diagrreduc.png
diagrreduc2.png
Here's an article with some tables. Both scanned with scansnap as before, in color @ 600dpi, lowest compression.

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recaptcha
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Location: Calgary, Alberta, Canada

Re: Fujitsu ix500 vs fi-7160 - CIS vs CCD sensor comparison

Post by recaptcha »

This is fascinating.

There seems to be little if any difference between the CIS and CCD sensor. In fact, in many of your samples, the CIS sensor looks better. There seems to be slightly more contrast in the text. The color photo shows more natural, less red saturation for the CIS sensor.

Thanks!
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