NAPS2 - Free Alternative to Nuance PaperPort 14

Wynona · 12 Apr 2016

I've bought and paid for PaperPort 14 twice; both times to be told that I've reinstalled it too many times and I can no longer activate it! Enough, already, Nuance!

Somewhere along the line, in the last week or so, I got a notification about NAPS2, so I downloaded the file but didn't install it yet. It looks like there are multiple sites where it can be downloaded, but I chose the "official" site:

NAPS2 - Scan documents to PDF and other file types, as simply as possible. just to check it out to see if it might meet my needs . . .

Hot Dog! A free app that will do exactly what I need; what more could I ask!?

I had a two-page document standing in my document stand, so I stuck it into the document feeder of my Brother L2705DW Laser printer, clicked on scan and it scanned without issue; no setup of the printer or anything!

This is looking good; especially since I've already paid for PaperPort twice and now have nothing to show for it.

dalchina · 12 Apr 2016

Hmm - used Paperport a long time ago.. currently Abbyy Finereader, which doesn't have the desktop feel of Paperport, but very good OCR.
Looks interesting.. thanks.

(Abbyy FR OCRs text in an region where the text is surrounded by a large box with rounded corners, and NAPS2 achieves this too at the same resolution)

Dude · 12 Apr 2016

It's a great program @Wynona I just started using it recently too

Wynona · 12 Apr 2016

Dude said:

It's a great program @Wynona I just started using it recently too

I am happy for this one to have shown up, Dude. I think maybe it was from a "Friday Free Stuff" or something like that. Maybe from Cnet Cheapskate?

mikeincousa · 11 Mar 2019

Any updates to this?

I am restarting an old sheet-fed printer/ scanner.

The software that I have has long gone out of date.

Don't need anything fancy.

Just want to scan docs for archiving.

Once that is done the machine will go bye-bye.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Wynona · 11 Mar 2019

mikeincousa said:

Any updates to this?

I am restarting an old sheet-fed printer/ scanner.

The software that I have has long gone out of date.

Don't need anything fancy.

Just want to scan docs for archiving.

Once that is done the machine will go bye-bye.

Thanks for any suggestions.

Dang, Mike, you picked an old, old 2016 post! I'm so surprised you even found it.

I use mostly Brother printers, which have a scan utility that comes with them. I can also update my "Brother Utilities" at the Brother website.

You might try going to the site for your printer and see if you can get something similar; most printer OEMs will have it.

Edit: I just clicked on the link to NAPS2 and it's free to individuals and businesses. It's also open source. I hadn't thought of it in a long time, but I'm going to download it and see how it works now.

Try3 · 12 Mar 2019

Wynona,

This is probably too late for you but …

I use Nuance OmniPage and it also likes telling me it's been installed too many times [even if I have done it the proper way by uninstalling the previous copy whilst connected to the internet so it can automatically update their activation servers].

Every time this has happened, I have phoned their helpline and every time I have done so they have manually cleared their activations list so that I can reinstall.

Now that I am used to them, I call them before starting the reinstallation so I know it will all be cleared & ready for me.

[Now that I have an HP LaserJet-Scanner, I use its bundled OCR software almost every time & I hardly ever use OmniPage any more]

Denis

Wynona · 12 Mar 2019

Try3 said:

Wynona,

This is probably too late for you but …

I use Nuance OmniPage and it also likes telling me it's been installed too many times [even if I have done it the proper way by uninstalling the previous copy whilst connected to the internet so it can automatically update their activation servers].

Every time this has happened, I have phoned their helpline and every time I have done so they have manually cleared their activations list so that I can reinstall.

Now that I am used to them, I call them before starting the reinstallation so I know it will all be cleared & ready for me.

[Now that I have an HP LaserJet-Scanner, I use its bundled OCR software almost every time & I hardly ever use OmniPage any more]

Denis

The last time I called Nuance, they refused to clear the activation list, although I explained I'm a beta tester, so I'm not at all pleased with them. I'm done for sure.

I have a Brother Laser and a wide bed Inkjet machine, so I can also scan pretty much any size I need to. And I'm not told I've installed my printers too many times . . .

mikeincousa · 12 Mar 2019

Let me know how you come out with NAPS2.

I am temporarily stalled with getting the old-beast going again: it is a Brother MFC 8500. Think I purchased it somewhere around the dawn of time? I used it a lot in my business for faxing and printing.

I have the CD's but do not have the registration numbers, so I am not hopeful for getting that software running. I tried one this morning with the printer off-line and it would not install.

I need a longer cable for connecting it to the computer from where I want to use it. I should be able to get one at Walmart tomorrow. I will try the main install program again then.

I use a newer Brother printer for all my routine work.

FYI. I am digitizing somewhere around 5,000 10,000 or more pages. Most are mixed sizes with the larger percent being on 16 lb. ruled notebook paper. For these I am planning to photograph them one x one. I have a copy stand set up for this. They are mostly in chronological order. The hardest part of the project is keeping the files in the same order. Mixing scans and photos or trying to fuse batches with single sheets would make the task even harder. I have the task well organized so once I get in the groove the work goes pretty fast. Tagging them is another layer of complexity.

A small percentage consists of clusters of bond paper: maybe 40 to 500 pages or so per batch. This is where the MFC 8500 comes in. I do not have a need for a sheet-fed scanner after this: once this is done I will junk the MFC 8500..

I you have any ideas for this project I will appreciate your comments: thanks for any thoughts.

Wynona · 12 Mar 2019

Mike, I'm sorry, but I'm pretty sure there's a learning curve to NAPS2, and I've been sick with the creeping crud (very bad cold) for a couple of weeks and have gotten way behind on tutorials for teaching Windows 10 to my Senior Citizen peers. IOW, I just don't have time to get up to speed with NAPS2 again and get ready for class tomorrow.

It's been almost two years since I needed it and I've pretty much forgotten everything. Why don't you download NAPS2 and see what it will do? With as many files as you have to work with, I'm pretty sure the learning curve will be nothing to the time you'll save once you get up to speed.

Suggestion: If your current printer has an automatic feed, why not scan the files to it, save them as PDF and if you need to, print them from the old Brother?