REASONS TO BUY
Scans bigger objects
Auto-feed
REASONS TO AVOID
Large footprint
Nothing unique
No wireless scanning
Xerox Duplex Combo Review
A very run-of-the-mill scanner that is relatively fast, while still providing a flatbed for scanning larger objects
Credit: Xerox
RELATED: Best Scanners
Our Verdict
The Xerox Duplex Combo is a fairly run-of-the-mill scanner that doesn't offer much more performance or ease of use than many scanners at a similar price point. While it sits in the average to the above-average range, it simply can't compete with the incredible speeds and almost-perfect scanning quality of the most premium models on the market today. However, a flatbed style design does allow you to scan larger objects, like book pages, while also incorporating a feed tray, making larger multipage documents a much easier task to handle with auto-feeding. It may not be the best of both worlds, but it will get most jobs done satisfactorily.
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Xerox Duplex Combo | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  |  | ||
| Price | $270 List $239.99 at Amazon | $329 List $269.00 at Amazon | $160 List $146.24 at Amazon | $110 List Check Price at Amazon | $0.00 List |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Scans bigger objects, auto-feed | User-friendly app, large queue capacity, fast, great images, awesome OCR | Great portability, up to 1200 dpi, wireless | Great scan quality, small and portable, simple operation, good OCR | Now available for free, high quality scans, great text recognition |
| Cons | Large footprint, nothing unique, no wireless scanning | Requires plug-in | Slow, no auto-feed or output tray | Slow | Slow and laborious for multi-page documents |
| Bottom Line | A very run-of-the-mill scanner that is relatively fast, while still providing a flatbed for scanning larger objects | A great tabletop scanner, providing really good image quality with a small footprint that we are quick to recommend | A great, lightweight, and portable scanner that is sure to fit into your budget | A great balance between performance, quality, and portability, all at a reasonable price | A perfect free option for those that occasionally scan shorter documents and receipts |
| Rating Categories | Xerox Duplex Combo | Canon ImageFORMULA R40 | Epson WorkForce ES-60W | Brother DS-640 | Scanner Pro App |
| Scanning Performance (35%) | |||||
| Speed (30%) | |||||
| Software (20%) | |||||
| User Friendliness (15%) | |||||
| Specs | Xerox Duplex Combo | Canon ImageFORMULA R40 | Epson WorkForce ES-60W | Brother DS-640 | Scanner Pro App |
| Paper Sizes | Max: 8.5" x 118" Min: 3" x 5.9" |
Max: 8.5" x 14" Min: 2" x 2.1" |
Max: 8.5" x 72" | Max: 8.5" x 32" | Any size |
| Weight | 5.9 lbs | 6.17 lbs | .7 lbs | 1.0 lbs | N/A |
| Resolution | 600 dpi | 600 dpi | 1200 dpi | 600 x 600 dpi | N/A |
| Simplex/Duplex | Simplex/Duplex | Duplex | Simplex | Simplex | Simplex |
| Scanning Modes | Color, Grayscale, Black and White | Color, Grayscale, Black and White | Color, Grayscale, Black and White | 24-bit color, 8-bit (256 levels) gray scale, 1 bit monochrome | Color Document, Black and White, Color Photo, Grayscale Photo |
| Automatic Document Feeder | 35-page | 60-page | No | No | No |
| PC Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Mac Compatible | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | N/A |
| Measured Pages Per Minute | 25 | 40 | 15 | 4 | 3 |
Show full specification detailsHide full specification details
Our Analysis and Test Results
The Xerox Duplex Combo is a flatbed style scanner with average to above-average performance. It incorporates an auto-feed to perform more like non-flatbed style scanners. Everything about this model is about what you would expect to get when you purchase a scanner, performing better than most scanners we've tested overall but nowhere near as great as the best devices we've tested.
Performance Comparison
The Duplex is an average to above-average choice in a market full of options.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Scanning Performance
Because an illegible scan is useless, we weighted scanning performance to account heavily for the overall score of the Xerox Duplex Combo. In order to measure scanning performance, our testers focus on black and white scanning and color photo scanning separately, each with their own subset of tests.
When it comes to black and white scanning, we perform tests to determine receipt quality, text clarity, and handwriting quality. The Xerox Duplex Combo exhibited average to above-average performances in those tests. Its ability to scan blotchy receipt ink and printed text with high clarity and quality weren't the best. It certainly wasn't horrible and will get the job done, but it did not exhibit the more impressive performance of the top models we tested.
Black and white scans, specifically handwriting, receipts, and document text were average to above-average.
Credit: Matt Spencer
The Xerox Duplex Combo performed even better in our color and photo scanning tests than it did on black and white tests. This model excels when it comes to color accuracy. The brightness and sharpness accuracy were also above average, although not as good as the best devices. Scans looked very similar to the originals, but the brightness of white areas increased during scanning.
Speed
The Xerox Duplex Combo could not compete with top models in our speed test. It is very fast for single-page scanning on a 600 dpi duplex setting, but it only averages about 10 pages per minute in 10-page duplex and simplex tests. While that is fast enough for most tasks, it is all relative. The fastest model in our tests can turn out a task four times as large in the same amount of time. Overall, the performance of the Xerox Duplex Combo was average in speed tests.
This model is a flatbed design, but also speeds things up with an autofeed.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Software
The software included with the Duplex Combo includes optical character recognition, which works, but is not as accurate as the best performing models. This scanner automatically turns everything, including pictures, into a PDF. This function is less than desirable as some users may want other options. However, changes in settings can be made to change output file types.
The Xerox software for the Duplex Combo is straightforward and easy to use. It is fairly run-of-the-mill and doesn't offer anything exceptional or inferior to many other models.
Credit: Matt Spencer
User Friendliness
Setting up the Xerox Duplex Combo was a bit confusing at the start, and we ran into an error in the process. From start to completion, we were ready to start scanning in 15 minutes, much slower than the most setup-friendly models we tested.
The overall interface could also be better. The app is pretty simple and can do two types of scanning, which are one-sided and two-sided. An auto-feed and an output tray make larger jobs easier than devices without one. Unfortunately, there is no one-button scanning on the Mac operating system. All around, this model is very average in terms of user-friendliness.
Although it is a flatbed scanner, it also has an autofeed.
Credit: Chris McNamara
Should You Buy the Xerox Duplex Combo?
The Xerox Duplex Combo is fairly run of the mill. It does okay when it comes to scanning speed, especially at lower dpi, but that's really about it. It also takes up a large footprint and is only slightly cheaper than faster, more capable scanners.
What Other Scanners Should You Consider?
We would recommend taking a look at a scanner like the Canon ImageFormula R40, over the Xerox Duplex Combo. It is similarly priced, but its performance makes it one of the best models on the market today. To get the absolute best all-around performance, take a look at Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1600, but you'll have to increase your budget quite a bit.
—
Matt Spencer and Benjamin Hickok
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