X. Fossor on Amazon 7 years ago
02/06/2016, 15:54 PM
Very, Very Nice. But Not Sure the Networking Capability & Increased Daily Duty Cycle is Worth the Increased Cost....
I have (and have extensively used) both theBrother ImageCenter ADS-2000 High Speed Document Scanner, Blackand theBrother High Speed Desktop Document Scanner (ImageCenter ADS-2000e). I love these scanners: they're super speedy (Brother states they scan at 24 pages per minute), the included software allows for a great amount of flexibility, and the footprint when folded up makes them somewhat portable.
This ADS-3000n improves upon one of the 2000/2000e's virtues, ties with another, and loses against the third. It improves upon the 2000/2000e by seemingly upping the max scan speed to 50 pages per minute. It ties with the 2000/2000e in that it uses the same control panel software of the 2000e (the 2000 uses an earlier version of the Brother Control Panel software). And it loses against the 2000/2000e in that it is not really very portable (it can be toted around, but it doesn't fold up in the neatest of packages as the 2000/2000e does).
But this knock on portability is really not a problem as the ADS-3000n is not meant to be (frequently) moved. Instead, it's meant for the SOHO (small office/home office) where it will be connected to a wired network. But this issue of portability is worth mentioning because I'm sure I'm not alone in having a "SOHO in a suitcase" (my SOHO is packed in and out of aVaultz Locking Chest, Letter and Legal Size, 17.5 x 14 x 12.5 Inches, Black (VZ01008)and packing up the ADS-3000n just doesn't quite work; instead, I pack/unpack the ADS-2000e). So if portability is important I would urge the prospective buyer to think about the ADS-2000 or ADS-2000e.
But even if portability isn't important one might want to consider the ADS-2000 or ADS-2000e anyway. Why? Well, networking aside, the 2000/2000e holds up quite nicely to the ADS-3000n. Though the ADS-3000n is advertised to run at twice the scanning speed, in practice I found the speeds to be just about the same. Resolution is the same (600/1200).
So the prospective buyer will have to consider if the networking capability and higher daily duty cycle of the ADS-3000n (5000 pages to 1500 pages of the 2000/2000e) is worth the extra cost ($340 more than the ADS-2000e and $420 more than the ADS-2000 on Amazon at the time of this review). Yes, the networking is cool. And the increased scan count per day could be important. But I could buy 2 ADS-2000e for the cost of one ADS-3000n (or 2.5 ADS-2000) and get similar performance. (FYI, I reviewed both the ADS-2000 and ADS-2000e and gave each 5 stars; I still lean toward the ADS-2000, though, because it's $80 cheaper than the essentially identical ADS-2000e.)
So while I love this ADS-3000n, I find the networking capability and higher cycle count not worth the premium paid to get them. Remember, one buys a scanner for its scanning ability and this ADS-3000n scans no better (or faster, in practice) than either the ADS-2000 or ADS-2000e. If you take a look at the product brochures (found on the Brother web site) you'll find that these scanners are pretty comparable in capability and features (except, of course, for the networking and daily duty cycle count).
In the end, if you need networking and an allegedly more rugged scanner, there's no reason not to buy this ADS-3000n. But if the premium to get these benefits is too steep, you can get pretty much the same scanning capabilities at a lower cost with the ADS-2000 or ADS-2000e. For me, for example, I'd rather have two ADS-2000e scanners for less than the cost of one ADS-3000n and avoid the networking issue entirely (especially since much of my scanning are documents of a sensitive, personal, legally-must-be-protected type).
Summary: Nice, but there are better alternatives (at least, that's the way it played out for me with my SOHO set-up).