Doxie One - Standalone Portable Document & Photo Scanner

The scans are ok but what I really dont like at all is the overall workflow. The way this works on the mac (Im assuming its similar on windows) is as follows : 1) you scan to the unit (which has its own SD card memory) 2) to move the scans to your computer you either plug it in via USB or insert the SD card into your computer 3) you then can use the software provided by doxie to view and rename and post process the scans 4) to save files you then need to manually save each one from the software to your folders on your computer This is just dumb and kind of a hack. This is sad since the company seems to be really trying to make a good user experience but they forgot to pay attention to the user. Say for example Im scanning bills (a common use case). In this case I most likely have some folders on my computer set up to hold them : one for the gas company, one for cell phone, one for my bank, etc. When I get a bill I want to scan it and then send it to the right folder in one, maybe two steps. Thats not possible here. I need to scan, transfer, and then save to the correct folder manually. If I have 2 bills scanned then I need to save each one to its folder. What I was expecting was a unit that plugged into my computer and scanned to the software directly and then inside the software it would allow me to drag it to some saved folder structure. The website says they have amazing software while its actually very pedestrian. What would be cool (and what I would do if I were the designer) is to have it remember the look of the scans and then auto name and auto drop into the correct places. It already has OCR abilities.. This is an ok scanner. But not a good solution for bill scanning and getting organized. The way it is, it would take me weeks to scan a box of old bills and get them to the right places.

I was super-excited to receive my Doxie One with the goal of going (mostly) paperless in a household full of stacks of paper. Out of the box, it is pretty easy to get started. Plug it in. Calibrate it (all you do is feed the included calibrating card into the scanner). Scan away! Pros: - Virtually no set up time to get up and running. No annoying setup CD or pages of instructions to read before you get started. You install the software direct from their website. - Compact size by far, makes it superior to larger scanning options like all-in-ones. - Quick and quiet scanning. Im a pretty impatient person, but Im happy with the speed of this. - Comes with memory card so you dont even have to have it plugged into the computer to scan. Also nice if youre in a situation where you just want to share the card with someone else or save to cards instead of your hard drive/cloud. - Option for battery operation is nice to reduce cord clutter or for portable on-the-go scanning. - Easy to operate. I admit my daughter (almost 5 years) LOVES putting papers through here. I hand her a stack of papers and she scans them for me. - Most of all, Im really happy with how straightforward and user-friendly the software is. Several quick and easy options for saving, including a staple function for merging multi-page documents into a single PDF file and option to save as JPG. I hate reading lengthy instructions. This product has a simple set up, simple software, but all the functions I needed to dive into my paperless quest. Cons: - Sometimes feeder can be very fickle. Ive struggled every now and then with papers that are not perfectly flat. The slightest bend in a corner has made it so that the document would not feed through. In those instances, I scanned the document upside-down. The good news is since the software is easy to use, rotating documents is quick and easy. - AC adapter plug on the unit is ill-fitting, in my opinion. It doesnt really snap into place and loosens fairly easily. I love the small size of it and it just sits on our bar counter, where mail and bills and important papers usually pile up. Instead, the Doxie sits there and is ready to scan papers immediately before being disposed of. I originally used a large all-in-one during my first quest to go paperless. The advantage there was that it had the option to stick a stack of papers in and allow them to auto-feed, but Id often get jams and the software that came with it (A Brother all-in-one) was annoyingly difficult to navigate. If youre using the Doxie as a means of going paperless, its a bit of a time investment to get caught up if youve got stacks of paper. Once you reach the point of maintaining, its the perfect tool. Versatile, simple, and easy. Overall, Id give the Doxie One 4.5 stars. -------------------- Edit: A rep from Doxie contacted me regarding my statement in my review regarding the plug coming unplugged easily. She said it was a defect in some units and had me a new unit shipped right away. I sent back the old unit using prepaid postage from them, and the newer unit has a more secure plug. They have AMAZING customer service. The fact that they even spend time reading all reviews, even ones that are overall positive, and then addressing any issues speaks volumes about the company. They really want their customers to be completely satisfied. My Doxie is still getting regular use and Im still really happy with it.

Scanning documents can be a huge hassle. You have to feed them to your scanner, convert them to PDF, name them, and organize them on your computer. I rarely had enough motivation to do all of the above at once, leading to huge piles of paper cluttering my home office. The doxie takes the pain out of scanning by separating different tasks and allowing you to work on documents in batches. Now, I just grab a stack of documents and feed them to the scanner during TV commercials or whenever I have some time but dont feel committed to doing any of the other steps. Then, when I feel like it, I upload the documents to my PC, name and sort them using the included software, and, as a last step, convert them to PDF and save them to my Google Drive. The conversion process takes a while, but you can do something else while the software is working. I really love this streamlined workflow. By the way, my scanner has no trouble scanning legal-sized documents, although this feature is not advertised for this model (officially supported on the Doxie Go only). The scanning is fast enough (about 10 seconds per page) . The scanner does not mind creases and rarely misfeeds or jams if the paper has clean edges. The scanner does get stuck if the edges of the paper -particularly the corners- are bent. Unlike the doxie go, the doxie one cannot be powered via the USB port and requires either an external adapter or a set of four rechargeable AAA batteries. Be sure to carry around an extra set of batteries as the scanner does not provide a warning when they run low and might quit in the middle of the scan. Transferring scans is seamless - either use a SD-card reader or connect the scanner to the computer via the supplied USB cable, which is the mini-USB kind, not the more popular micro-USB used with tablets and newer cell phones. As others have pointed out, the SD-card does stick out and needs to be removed for storage. The doxie Go offers internal memory for a sleeker look. Neither doxie offers the ability to zoom in on scans in the software, but this functionality is reportedly coming soon. In the meantime, an enlarged edit view can be used as a workaround, except for tiny text. One of the best things about doxie is its excellent customer service. When my scanner developed a problem with the power plug, doxie replaced it quickly and without any hassle. Not to mention, the people at doxie actually read your emails and reply -quickly- with a personalized message rather than some canned response. It is good to know that even in the unlikely event that something does go wrong, doxie wont leave you hanging.

The Doxie One is my first experience with a portable scanner. I have had it for less than a month and have had some success with scanning letter sized documents. As others have mentioned, the paper feed is tricky. It will grab the document on one edge and attempt to run it through crooked. Eventually, one gets the feel for how that works and it becomes less of a problem with practice. Every paper edge has to be straight which means sometimes I have to send the document in bottom edge first then rotate it in the software which comes with the device. The paper guide would be more useful if it were larger and in a contrasting color from the device. It also slides out of position easily so I do not bother with it anymore. As a result, there is almost always a black line on the right or left side of the scan which I crop off using the software. The software is straightforward to use. Although, it does not seem to want to delete files that have been saved elsewhere. I have followed the onscreen instructions and it appears that the files are gone but when I am ready to import a new set of scans, it gets busy importing old scans that should have been deleted. To get around this, I manually delete the saved files from the media card before starting a new set of scans. The power supply has multiple attachments for different types of electrical outlets. The end that goes into the device is easily dislodged though so I have to try not to move around too much while using it. It takes rechargeable batteries (sold separately). I do not want to invest anymore money in this device. The size and weight of the Doxie One are precisely what I was hoping to get. The speed of the scanning process is great. Importing the scan to a computer using the USB cable takes a long time even when it is not trying to import old scans. Since I have to manually delete files anyway, I am planning to experiment with importing directly from the media card to see if it will be faster. I am giving it three stars (Its OK) because of all the extra work I have to do to get the results I want. If I had not purchased this on sale at a good price, I would have returned it for something else.

Ive never experienced as much difficulty feeding a piece of paper into a scanner. The smallest deviation from a perfectly flat sheet of paper will cause the paper to feed crooked (even using the guide). But sometimes it will feed perfectly fine with same imperfections. I scanned at least 1,000 documents over the course of a week with this scanner and the scans are great when fed properly. A little patience is needed. The 300 dpi scans of this scanner are perfectly fine. 600 dpi would be overkill for scanning text, IMO. If youre needing to scan a lot of photographs, pick another scanner. The included photo carrier/sleeve works for the occasional photo but youll get better results from almost any all-in-one printer/scanner. I really like the software. It is very easy to grasp and ridiculously easy to merge documents into one PDF. The OCR is like magic. I can now hit Command-Spacebar on the Mac, type in a few letters, and find any document without ever having to visit the file system. Works great with Yosemite.

Minuses- You CANNOT scan anything when the Doxie is hooked to a computer via USB. You CAN import images that you scanned when the computer was disconnected, but you CANNOT scan any more images until you disconnect the USB! This is a real PITA. The software, while useful, does not allow you to import files that were not generated by the Doxie. If you try to import a pre-existing JPG scan into the software, the software generates an import error, stating that the file was not scanned with a Doxie scanner. Therefore, if you scan 10 things with the Doxie, and one thing with your flatbed scanner, you cannot combine the files in the Doxie software. This is a very unfortunate way to set things up! You cannot use AAA alkaline batteries. The hardware is purposely designed so that it wont work. You can only use NimH rechargeable AAA batteries, and you need four of them. This will be an extra expense for me. Yes, I know Doxie wants to save the whales, but this design ensures that you wont be able to pop in some available-anywhere-in-the-world-alkalines when your rechargeables crap out. So, you must either pack the power supply or a recharger for longer trips, defeating the purpose of being able to operate on batteries. The edge of the paper must be meticulously and seriously flat to enter the scanner. There is no room for error. The slightest edge crease will keep the paper from entering the scanner. Inserting the paper properly is a very delicate operation. My scanner seems to grip the paper tighter on the right side, which worries me. When something goes wrong, the right side of the paper will be drawn in, while the left side remains semi-stationary. Of course, this results in a failed scan. The Doxie seems to need more grip; it holds the paper VERY gently. If you are heavy-handed, this scanner is not for you. After a few scans, it is pretty easy to recognize when an item needs to be re-scanned. Obviously, since youre not hooked to a computer (CANT be hooked to a computer!), you cant tell for sure how the scan went. You want to make sure you re-scan it now, rather than later, which is easy enough to do. Pluses- Very simple to use. The scanner only has one on/off button to deal with. A flashing light in the on/off button alerts you when it (or you) screws up. Scan quality is very fine, more than enough for storing documents or receipts. A stack of old photos is incredibly easy to scan, and the scan quality is suitable for snapshots of the quality most people are likely to have. It is much easier than using a flatbed scanner to scan an existing folder full of stuff. Once your paper folder is scanned, you can sit down, easily delete bad scans (there will be a few baduns in each batch), re-order them if you want to, then export in a variety of formats. It is easy to make OCR documents. You can combine all your imported documents into one file, staple them together in the software, then export the entire file as a plain PDF or an OCR PDF, which allows you to easily seach larger PDF files for a single item. The OCR seems to work very well, but will obviously slow things down tremendously. The document auto-cropping works perfectly. This ensures documents are only as large as they need to be. Auto-cropping and straightening for scanned photos is fair, sometimes resulting in thin white edges. The software does a nice job of enhancing the documents contrast, straightening it, and making it more readable. Thats why I would REALLY LIKE to be able to combine files in the Doxie software from my flatbed scanner! Mine came with a 4GB SD card.

1) The software used to import and convert the scanned images lacks one major feature: Zoom. The preview of the scanned image is fairly small, and so when youre changing contrast settings and rotation, it can be difficult to tell how effective youre being until you actually export the file. Their support says this will be added soon, but theres no timeline on when that will be. 2) Document length limit. Admittedly, my 17 inch long auto warranty document is a beast, but none the less, it would be nice to be able to scan it. Doxie support tells me theres no way to scan it. They max out at 15 inches. 3) Imports slowly. Over USB, the document import is pretty slow. 1 A4 scan can take 30 to 45 seconds in total. 7 or 8 sheets and you could be there for a while. Not a deal breaker, but its definitely the slowest step in the process. *EDIT* Doxie support suggests I use an SD Card reader to speed things up. Ill have to try that. 4) This is a big one, I came back and edited this to add it. My wife and I use one Windows machine with separate accounts. If I open up Doxie and import scans, when my wife opens it up on her account, she cannot see any of those, and vice versa. If she opens up hers and hits import, documents Ive already imported are not imported into hers. So at this point we have essentially two separate Doxie apps with their own collection of scanned documents. This makes keeping things organized a bit more difficult. Doxie support says that the app is meant to be more of an inbox, where you should export the files therein to the format you prefer, but none the less... Overall, its a nice little scanner. Very portable, very quick and easy to use. But I think its worth mentioning these little details. Update: 10/16/13 Outstanding service. My kids knocked my Doxie off a table while it was plugged in. It broke the power connection internally. I send an email asking if there was a way to repair it. Their response? Sorry, theres no way to repair it. IS this the correct address to send you a replacement? They sent me a brand new Doxie One, with a case, and even a promotion waste paper basket basketball hoop. I never in my life expected that kind of response. Truly top notch service.

When I first got this it worked for one scan and then didnt work at all. I contacted the company and they mailed me a replacement along with a return sticker immediately after a little troubleshooting. It was annoying that the first one didnt work but the company was quick to make sure I got a good working scanner. It works well and getting the documents on my computer is easy. One complaint I have is that, no matter how I feed documents into the scanner, they always catch on one side and go in crooked. Since I am using this so I can get rid of a lot of paper documentation and to send simple signed documents to people, it is fine but I really wish it would feed documents in straight. Also, I found out that you can only use a certain kind of rechargeable batteries and they will not charge while in the scanner even if it is plugged in. So you have to purchase rechargeable batteries AND a separate charger and then constantly remove them from the scanner to charge them. This means you may even want to purchase two sets of batteries so you can swap them, allowing one set to charge while the others are in use. This will tack another good $30 onto your investment in this scanner if you need to use it when not plugged in. At least the recommended brand of batteries are reasonably priced on Amazon. Finally, their documentation is... shall we say... suggestive. I showed it to several people and it is clear there are sexual innuendos throughout. It would be mildly humorous if it didnt involve a little girl which makes it disturbing instead. I am betting they are, for some reason, either not aware of the suggestivity or havent clued in on its inappropriateness. However, it is interesting that doxie is street slang for a prostitute which makes me wonder... I think they need to update the imagery in their documentation as it is rather inappropriate.

Its a good scanner. Image quality is top notch and it having an SD card is great when on the go. You can leave your cables at home. The only drawback is that its a little slow and you have to manually feed it, so if you have a stack you want to scan in, youll be sitting there a while. Other than that, its great. I would recommend it for someone who needs to scan paperwork on simple things. I wouldnt recommend it for someone who needs to scan mountain of papers daily. Things that I like about it: - Its great to travel with - small and fits in any briefcase. - Easy to use - my mother can use it. - SD card - Fast On/Off - Slick Things I dont like - Manual feed - Speed of scanning - No leeway in feeding error - If you dont feed it correctly, youll definitely bend your page. You have to hit it right on the money to feed it right.

Ive ONLY had the Doxie for a short period of time. I only used it twice. Put it away and guess what---when I needed to use it a third time---it doesnt work. You need special batteries---Im using them---the light keeps flashing rapidly---the machine simply stopped working--and the card is fine. It just stopped working. This is the worse purchase Ive made because the product is so whack. I contacted Doxie----the never responded back. Dont bother. There are other portable scanners on the market that work so much better. This is a waste. Update: Today a friendly representative contacted me regarding my Doxie. Theyre replacing my Doxie promptly and assured me that my initial contact emails had not gone unnoticed. I really appreciate the follow-up and professional customer service received today and Im glad that my Doxie is being replaced--because initially it worked perfectly well and I was extremely pleased with the quality of the product and the scan. Its refreshing to have had someone reach out-genuinely-to help me resolve the issue. Apparent really cares about its customers---thats important and they stand behind their products fully. The representative also explained that Doxies main power source is the A/C adapter, and rechargeable batteries are optional. Roxie must use Ni-MH rechargeable batteries because regular alkaline batteries dont provide a steady flow of power to run the feeding motor. Most likely my original Doxie had a rare misphap and the memory and card werent functioning properly together. Im sure the new scanner will work. Im looking forward to purchasing the Doxie Flip! Update: Works Perfectly!!! Thank you for the great customer service.