Wirth Consulting

For in-depth print and business-process workflow research and insight

Hands-On Test Report, Videos and Photo Gallery: Brother’s ImageCenter ADS-2500We Document Scanner

by · Published · Updated

This affordable and compact color document scanner boasts thoughtful and high quality design. whose purpose is to suit the needs for both basic digital communications and more advanced, customized and authenticated workflows. In testing, we found that it does so very efficiently and is a big step up from the scanning capabilities provided by a garden-variety MFP or All-in-One.” – Terry Wirth, President, Wirth Consulting.

We recently completed Hands-On Testing of Brother’s ImageCenter ADS-2500We digital scanner ($699.99), which is the replacement model for the ADS 2500W that we tested back in 2012. Aside from a price reduction down from $799.99, key upgrades to the ADS-2500We include: KOFAX VRS compatibility; scan to Microsoft OneNote; integration with Brother Solutions Interface (BSI), which allows developers access to Brother’s internal Web services to create custom solutions and workflows; and less focus on scanning to social-networking services.

Like its predecessor, the ImageCenter ADS-2500We’s features include: swipe-enabled 3.7″ touch screen; scan to FTP, network folders, USB flash-memory devices, cloud services, and email servers; single-pass scanning of two-sided originals; and wired and wireless networking.

The ImageCenter ADS-2500 also includes a generous assortment of software, including: Brother ControlCenter 4 for Windows; ControlCenter 2 for Mac; Nuance Image Viewer, PDF Viewer and Paper Port 12 SE for Windows; PageManager 9 for Mac; and Presto! BizCard 6 for Windows, the last of which is for importing information scanned from business cards into a contact-management database.

Other Key Features

Functions: Scan
Suggested Daily Scan Volume: 1,500 scans
Estimated Street Price: $699.99
Availability: Brother Web site, Online, Retail
Introduction Date: March 2014
OS Compatibility: Windows, Mac OS X, Linux
Networking: Wired Ethernet 10Base-T/100Base-TX and 802.11 b/g/n wireless with AOSS and WPS
Memory: 256 MB

The Brother ImageCenter ADS-2500We as tested and shown with card and damaged/fragile original sleeves.

Mobile: Brother iPrint and Scan for Android and iOS
Minimum/Maximum Original Size: 2.0″x2.76″ (51x70mm)/8.5″x34″ (215.9x863mm)
Minimum/Maximum Original Weight: 14-53 lb. (52-200 gsm)
Minimum/Maximum Original Thickness: 3-10 mil (0.08 to 0.25 mm)
Scanning Speed (Simplex/Duplex): 24/48 ipm (Images Per Minute)
Scanning Modes: 24-bit color, 8-bit gray-scale (256 levels), 1 bit monochrome
Scan-Driver Compatibility: ISIS, TWAIN, WIA and ICA
Scan Resolution: 600×600 dpi; 1,200×1,200 dpi (interpolated)
Hardware Native File Formats: PDF, PDF/A Secure PDF, Signed PDF, JPEG, TIFF, XPS
Software Supported File Formats: PDF; Searchable, Secure and High Compression PDF; Windows Bitmap; JPEG; TIFF; Multi-Page TIFF; PNG;  XPS; MS Word (*.docx); MS PowerPoint (*.pptx)
Direct Scanning Locations: File, Image, e-mail, FTP, OCR, Print, USB 2.0 flash-memory devices, network folder, e-mail server, cloud locations
Cloud Scanning Locations: BR-DOCS; Google Drive; Evernote and Evernote Business; Dropbox; Box; and Microsoft OneDrive, OneNote and SharePoint (via the included Paper Port 12 SE software)
Security: Secure Function Lock, network user-authentication, and LDAP (corporate email address look-up via Active Directory)
Network Management: EWS; compatible with Brother BRAdmin Professional/Light fleet-management solutions

NOTICE:  All material on this Web site is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in any form without written permission from Wirth Consulting.  For information on commercial use, distribution and reprint rights contact us.