Document scanner solution for frequent travelers

Question

I'm looking for a solution that would allow travelers to conveniently scan documents and fax/email the scanned documents at minimal cost.

I work as a salesman, and have to travel every week. I'm old school so I still generate my documents by writing and fax them to my employer (!) . My boss now wants to reduce the cost of faxing by having me send the document in digitally instead.

At first I was thinking about taking a picture of my hand-written documents, but since it's a hand-written, it probably doesn't look too good.

I type quite slow, so I thought it'd be best if I scan the document instead of emailing.

This is a pretty open question, but probably I'm looking for:

1. A super portable (read: easy to carry) scanner that can scan my documents
2. If possible, I would like to fax the scanned documents as opposed to emailing (yes, our company is pretty old school). What vendors would allow me to fax via internet?

The tools that I have available now are:

1. A laptop (hehe, this one is not old)
2. A smartphone with internet access

I tether my smartphone, so I get internet access wherever I go.

What else would I need?

Answer 1

You need to look at getting a Neat Receipts mobile scanner or a Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 Color Mobile Scanner. Both get great reviews. You can then use the website: Got Free Fax.com to send the fax for free. I used it last week for the first time with perfect results. It will even email you a confirmation.

Answer 2

Something like this portable scanner?

For internet faxing, take a look at this SU question - it has some suggestions.

Answer 3

Doxie

http://www.getdoxie.com/product/index.html

Answer 4

modern digital cameras do a pretty good job.

then use some image enhancement software (e.g. PhotoFiltre - light and fast, ideal for quick jobs on the go) or OCR software (e.g. TopOCR - incredible OCR accuracy, upto 99.8% with a 3 MP camera) to process the image.