Review: @Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner

The very handy Doxie Flip the inventive new mobile, battery-powered flatbed scanner designed for photos, sketches, keepsakes, and pocket notebooks. ... What's that? Pocket notebooks? You don't mean this is perfect for we folks who hoard Field Notes, right? Um, yes. It is perfect for those of us who do that.

I hate having things in my space - I like a clean desk and very empty space (surprising given how many pens and inks I have, I know, so quiet). When I have papers that I need a copy of, I take a picture of them with my iPhone. It's not quite a scan, but I'm always too lazy to dig out my Canon scanner to actually scan things. Sound familiar?

The Doxie Flip is a lightweight, portable scanner with many advantages that gives it the edge over my regular flatbed scanner. Apart from the fact that the dot over the i is a heart, and apart from the fact that it's plain ol' cute. This Doxie Flip arrived with a USA-exclusive Field Notes Doxie pocket notebook, a soft travel case, and the SD card with SD card reader, as well as batteries. 

 

PROS of the Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner

Cordless - No cords makes this scanner extra portable. No cords to wrestle with.

SD Card Memory - No computer needed to store your scanned works, they can be scanned on the go and stored directly on the memory card. You can store a huge amount of things on SD cards and you can easily pick up more SD cards with large storage capacities.

Removable Lid - See what you're scanning, and scan those otherwise impossible to scan surfaces!

A6 Scanning Surface - The 4" x 6" scanning surface is a very common size for notebooks and photos, which is quite convenient, and perfect for my 3.5" x 5.5" Field Notes (of which I have a disturbing amount). 

Battery operated - Pick up some rechargeable batteries and you'll never need to wrestle with cables again. Nor will your cat eat them. (Come on, I'm not the only person this happens to.)

Portable - Apart from being its portability because it is cordless and uses batteries, the Doxie Flip is portable because it is about the size of a hardcover book (10.23" x 6.46" x 1.34”). Plus it only weighs 1.26 lbs. The size of a fat rat?

AutoStitch - The free AutoStitch software update available in December seamlessly merges together large, overlapping scans. SCAN A BEAST OF A DRAWING. Like something you drew all over your driveway. In Sharpie.

iOS Compatible - You can get a lightning adapter for your iPad that will read your SD card in case you need to work with your scans right away.

How Does It Work?

One thing I really love about the Doxie Flip is how easy it was to use. My flatbed scanner was a pain to set up - not in terms of the cords, but in terms of its software. The Doxie Flip was so easy: unpack, remove tab from battery door (four AA batteries are already installed), turn on power.

Doxie can scan in two resolutions: 300 dpi and 600 dpi. I was surprised how fast the 300 dpi setting scanned, and even the 600 dpi was only a few seconds longer.

Scanned at 300 dpi

Scanned at 600 dpi

Scanned at 300 dpi

Scanned at 600 dpi

Doxie can scan two ways: with the lid on or flipped over. You can put your, for example, photograph on the glass, close the lid, and scan. The scan is automatically stored to the installed SD card.

You can also remove the lid to scan notebooks or other difficult to scan surfaces (like uneven notebook covers). There's a window in which you can see what you're scanning.

Scanning an uneven surface - a leather notebook cover.

Pop your SD card into your computer and you can either use an app or treat it like a regular SD card if you prefer. Easy, and versatile. You can organize, staple documents, stitch, send to Evernote/Acrobat/iPhoto, or even upload to Dropbox or Flickr.

What Can You Scan?

• Photographs.
• Newspaper clippings.
• Coins.
• Leaves.
• Stamps.
• Clippings from books.
• Pocket Notebooks (Field Notes, Moleskine).
• Your cat's paws.
• Old birthday cards.
• Weird things you (or somebody else) wrote on your hand the night before.

CONS of the Doxie Flip Mobile Scanner

Price - At $149USD, the Doxie Flip isn't exactly inexpensive. You could get a pretty good flatbed scanner for approximately $80USD. But you're paying a premium for its great portability!

No Cable Option - A USB cable option would have been nice in case you didn't want to use batteries all the time (or ran out of battery juice and really needed to scan something).

Scan Button Location - It's very convenient, but while turning the Doxie Flip over to scan different surfaces, it's really easy to press the green scan button and I ended up having to wait for the Doxie Flip to scan nothing. Maybe I'm just a klutz. 

Where to Buy?

Doxie Store USA - $149USD. While supplies last, buy Doxie Flip direct from Doxie Store USA and get a free Doxie/Field Notes™ limited edition notebook with textured French Paper Cream Cordtone covers.

Check out The Pen Addict's review of the Doxie Flip, as well as Roh Design's, and Ed Jelley's.