Back in 2017, we reviewed the Brother ADS-1500W scanner (read our full review here). This has been our go-to scanner for several years and the standard by which we judged all other scanners.
One of the things we liked most about the ADS-1500W was the
Brother ControlCenter 2 application that came with the scanner. While not the most attractive application we
ever used, it got the job done.
The ControlCenter 2 application supported duplex scanning in color and black & white, included OCR scanning, supported long-page documents and, with the dedicated card slot on the ADS-1500W, scanned business cards and credit cards.
The only problem with the Control Center 2 software was that it was a 32-bit application.
Starting with macOS Mojave, we would occasionally get the warning notice that the application would not be compatible with future versions of macOS.
Shortly before the public release of macOS Catalina, we reached out to Brother to inquire about their plans to update or replace ControlCenter 2 with a 64-bit application. The only response we got was that no information was currently available and to check back on the Brother Support site in the future.
With the release of macOS 10.15 Catalina, we again checked with Brother only to find that they announced that the ControlCenter2 application was not supported and would not be updated.
Here is what is posted on the Brother web site.
“For macOS 10.15 Users: ControlCenter2 is not supported. You may use one of the following as an alternative scanning method:
– Scan using iPrint&Scan, if available. Click here for a list of models that are currently compatible with iPrint&Scan. Please check back for additional models as they are added.
– Scan using Apple Image Capture.”
Unfortunately, the iPrint&Scan app suggested by Brother is not currently compatible with the ADS-1500W so your only option is to use a native Mac application for your scanning.
Image Capture
Image Capture is included in macOS Catalina. You will find it in the Applications folder and the icon looks like this.
The Image Capture application gives you basic control of
the scanning function and the application window looks like this.
You can set the scan type as Text, B&W or Color and adjust the resolution from 100 to 600 dpi. Other adjustments control scanning destination, page orientation, the ability to name the document and if needed, apply manual image correction to adjust brightness, tint temperature and saturation.
Perhaps most important are two check boxes that support the duplex scanning feature of the ADS-1500W and the ability to combine multiple scanned pages into a single document.
In late September 2019, Brother released an updated ICA (Image Capture Application) driver for the ADS-1500W (Version 1.5.0) which you can download here. We suggest you download and install this latest version to ensure you get all of the functionality available.
Using Preview
In cases where you may want to mark the document after you scan it, we suggest you use the Preview application, also included in macOS with this icon.
Preview incorporates the Image Capture scanning function into its functionality providing almost all the same document controls as you find in the Image Capture app. What’s missing is the ability to name the document before you scan it. To scan a document in Preview, click on File on the Menu bar and you will see an option for Import from Brother ADS-1500W.
Selecting that option opens a similar scanning window.
The Bottom Line
The Image Capture application is a workable alternative to the Control Center2 application and will probably meet your needs so you can continue to use the Brother ADS-1500W scanner. That said, we’re disappointed that Brother would abandon its loyal users and not invest the time to continue support for what is otherwise, a great piece of hardware.
Perhaps if the ADS-1500W was a discontinued model we could understand Brother’s position but we are hard pressed to recommend the ADS-1500W scanner for anyone looking to make a current purchase.
Do you own a Brother ADS-1500W scanner? What are your plans for continued use? Are you going to use Image Capture and Preview, or are you going to trade up to a different scanner with a supported scanning application? Why not join the conversation and leave a comment below?
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I have a Brother MFC-J875DW All-In-One and I find that using Image Capture to be a good alternative to the old ControlCenter2 program
We have been using the Image Capture application too and agree it does a good job. That said, we are still disappointed that Brother abandoned Apple users.
But how are you able to scan to an email in one step with Image Capture?
I’m very bummed about Brother’s lack of support for Mac and no ControlCenter app update.
The native apple Image Capture app does work in a pinch…but it’s MUCH MUCH slower and doesn’t compress scanned B&W PDF documents nearly as well as the Brother ControlCenter2 app.
I just time the same task with a stop watch.
Scan, via wifi: 4 double-sided (document feeder, duplex), B&W, 300dpi to PDF:
in ControlCenter2: 1 Minute(s) 20 Seconds.
in ImageCapture: 5 Minute(s) 5 Seconds
FYI: I have a MFC-9970CDW multifunction
Michael:
Thanks for your comment. While we don’t notice the scans taking much longer with Image Capture, we do agree that the compression is not as good as the Brother software.
One suggestion we use is, after we scan the image, we open it in Preview and Export it (not Export as PDF), and apply Reduce File Size as a Quartz filter from the drop-down at the bottom of the screen. We find that it usually compresses documents even better than the Brother software. We have had scan documents go from 4.3MB to 135KB. Hope that helps.
Thanks. That helps!
Of note, when scanning B/W documents; instead of exporting as PDF with Quartz filter “Reduce File Size”, I exported with the Quartz filter “Black & White”. The file size went from 1.7MB to 290kB (200 dpi page duplex page). When I used the “Reduce File Size” option, the file went smaller, to 91kB, but the text was illegible as the export reduced the resolution greatly. My 2 cents.
Cheers.
Thanks for sharing this news with us.
Its alternate is still available?
Thanks for explaining this. keep posting
I tried installing gmail 5x and no luck. OS Catalina including preview failed. iOS works-FU Brother.
On 08/09/20, updated our MFC-J5730DW firmware & Full Driver & Software Package ,on a MacBook Pro (16-inch 1919) OS 10.15.6. The software package now comes with a link to the Apple App Store to download Brother iPrint & Scan app. This seems to have solved the problem, we can now scan from the MFC LCD front panel to 2 x Mac laptops. Also downloaded from App Store the Brother ScannerApp – haven’t tried using that yet.
Roger:
Thanks for your comment. This is big news. We tested both the iPrint & Scan and the Brother Scanner app. While iPrint and Scan does not support the ADS-1500W scanner, the new Brother Scanner app works well. Thanks for bringing this to our attention.
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