NAPS2: Nice (free) scanning software

I was looking for scanning software to digitize and order our documents. In NAPS2 I have found the perfect candidate for the job. NAPS stands for Not Another PDF Scanner.

Before I set out to find new software, I decided on a list of requirements. NAPS2 checks (almost) all of the boxes:

• • Dutch interface

• • Able to use my Brother ADS-1200 in WIA mode and double-sided single scan

• • Generate a PDF image that:

    • • Looks sharp
    • • Is small in filesize X
    • • Contains text content (scanned by OCR)

• • Affordable or free

• • Easy and efficient interface . Preferably scan start with a single key

• • Scan to a folder of choice or even to a cloud storage

So the only issue is the file size: 570kb for a double-sided A4 page is rather large. We need 200dpi for the sharp image. Although that’s the only downside I could find. The interface and setup are very easy. Create a profile in which you also select a scanner (probably you could even use multiple scanners from NAPS2 at the same time). To use OCR, you only have to download the language sets you need (English and Dutch for me). In the profile I have set up that the resulting PDF file is OCR scanned and saved automatically giving it a filename that consists of date and time of scanning. And the best feature I never found in other scanning software: Scanning with a single (function) keystroke! The first profile is started using F3, the second with F3 and I think so on…

Now I have set-up 2 profiles for color and black&white (greyscale) scanning. They are started using F2 or F3. NAPS2 scans all pages, removes blank pages, extracts text using OCR, saves the document, removes the image, and is ready for the next scan. So real 1-key scanning. Wow.