As some of you have gathered from previous posts, I’m a proud father—one who likes to preserve and protect important documents, memories, and keepsakes. What about your dad? For Father’s Day 2021, instead of bestowing the usual ties and shaving kits, I encourage you to think bigger. Consider a gift that will help your dad get organized and help him cut down on the paper clutter of life whether he works from home, or just needs to digitize his home bills, receipts, or even family pictures. Maybe it will even help him downsize if he’s already enjoying retirement and doesn’t want the hassle of storing boxes of papers and photos.
I’ve offered tips for buying a home scanner in previous posts. Your choice of a perfect document-scanning present will depend on how and when your dad is likely to be using the home office.
Dedicated work-from-home space
Has your dad always brought work home or worked remotely? If you know your dad’s work habits well, you can use that knowledge to find a great fit for his style and workspace.
Think about the space constraints first. You might need to choose a scanner with a small footprint, to fit into a tight space. After all, he’ll want it to be close-at-hand, but not in the way. You’ll also want to consider noise level and, of course, ease-of-use.
Our ScanSnap iX1600 features wireless connectivity that will let him put it anywhere in the house. Setup is so simple he’ll be scanning in no time. Once setup is done, simply open the lid and the scanner powers up—it’s ready to go! Plus, it’s super easy to use. Your dad can use the intuitive touch screen to scan directly to his PC or Mac, or even direct to the cloud. He can also use the ScanSnap Connect app to drive scans from his phone or tablet. Regardless of how he chooses to scan, it’s fast and easy.
And if your dad happens to need higher end capabilities for work—or maybe he’s just a spreadsheet kind of guy—he’ll be thrilled that the iX1600 includes software that has the ability to convert pages into fully editable files. He’ll be able to scan documents to and directly edit in Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.
No dedicated home office? No problem!
Of course, plenty of dads don’t work from home in an office setting. But that doesn’t mean they don’t have bills to pay, taxes to prep, and other household tasks to manage. The ScanSnap iX1400 is a great option for the dad who is not using office machines every day. He can scan with a single touch of the button, making it easy to capture all sizes of documents, from small pieces like receipts and photo prints to legal documents like mortgage paperwork —or even those long receipts you get at the grocery store.
To keep things simple, ScanSnap streamlines all of the pre-scan and post-scan requirements. Scanner settings, file names, and scan-to locations are all automated. With the iX1400 with ScanSnap Home, your dad can turn stacks of paper into fully searchable files. This makes it easy to find home appliance warranty information, vehicle registration, and tax receipts.
The truth is, both the iX1600 and iX1400 are also awesome at preserving memories. As I’ve mentioned in past blog posts, I love to mark the special moments as my kids grow up and I bet your dad does, too. It’s so great to just open the scanner, put in a stack of items—photos, birthday cards, a hand-drawn picture by my daughter—press a button-and bam! They are scanned in seconds and tagged and searchable almost as quickly. The images are clear, and everything is easy to organize and find later on.
The downsized home office
Perhaps your dad is a true empty nester at this point, however, and can hardly spare a corner of a table for occasional home administrative work. He’ll love the ScanSnap iX100. This Wi-Fi capable model features a dramatically compact design. It’s truly mobile with a rechargeable battery—excellent for use around the house or anywhere he goes. It’s great for scanning receipts, forms, pictures, or cards and has the option to scan to an iPhone or Android device or a Windows or Mac computer. It’s wireless and weighs just under a pound!
I’m sure your dad will love whichever scanner you choose. If you’re lucky, he might let you use it once in a while, too.