bulkcard
Scanner setup

Scan the stack. List the lot.

Set up your Ricoh fi-series scanner once. Then import each scanning session into bulkcard as a folder, and fronts and backs pair themselves.

Scanner
Ricoh fi-series
fi-8170, fi-8150, fi-8190, fi-7160 and similar.
Computer
Windows + PaperStream Capture
Free from Ricoh. Mac isn’t supported yet.
Cards
Raw cards, front and back
Sleeves, toploaders and slabs misfeed.

  1. Step 01

    Install PaperStream Capture

    PaperStream Capture is Ricoh's free scanning app for fi-series scanners. Install it with the PaperStream IP driver for your model, then connect the scanner by USB.

    Ricoh's PaperStream Capture page

  2. Step 02

    Create a bulkcard scan profile

    Make a new profile (a “job”) called bulkcard and set these options once. Every scan after that is one button.

    Colour mode
    Colour
    Card art, holo and condition all need colour.
    Paper source
    Feeder (Both Sides)
    One pass captures the front and back of every card.
    Resolution
    300 dpi
    Sharp enough to read set numbers, small enough to upload fast.
    Cropping
    Automatic size, 0–2 mm margin
    Wide borders stop us recognising card backs.
    Blank page detection
    Off
    Keeps every front matched with its own back.
    Multifeed detection
    Overlapping
    Catches two cards feeding at once. Switch it off if it stops on single cards.
    Rotation
    None
    Load the cards the same way up instead. Auto-rotate can misread card art.
    File type
    JPEG, one page per file
    PDF and TIFF files are skipped on import.
    File name
    Prefix + sheet counter + side
    Pairs each front with its back by number, whatever order the files arrive in.
    Save to
    “Use a batch folder” on
    Save into a scans folder. Each session lands in its own folder, ready to import.

    With the file name set to prefix + sheet counter + side, a scanning session looks like this:

    Pictures › bulkcard scans › Doc_01
    • card_00001_F.jpgCard 1 · front
    • card_00001_B.jpgCard 1 · back
    • card_00002_F.jpgCard 2 · front
    • card_00002_B.jpgCard 2 · back

  3. Step 03

    Load and scan your cards

    • Fan and square a stack of 40–50 cards so they feed one at a time.
    • Load them face down, top edge first, every card the same way up.
    • Scan, then add the next stack. The whole session saves into one batch folder.

  4. Step 04

    Import the folder into bulkcard

    1. 1Go to New batch and pick your game.
    2. 2Click Choose scan folder and pick the batch folder PaperStream saved.
    3. 3Check the pairing summary. Each front is matched to its back by card number.
    4. 4Upload & identify. Over 500 cards? We split them into consecutive batches, and the SKUs keep counting in order.

Troubleshooting

If something looks off

Fronts and backs are swapped

The stack went in face up. Flip it for the next scan. For this batch, tick the cards on the pairing step and use Swap front/back.

Some cards show no back

Blank page detection was on, or two cards fed together. Turn detection off and rescan those cards.

Files were skipped on import

The profile saved PDF or TIFF. Set the file type to JPEG and scan again.

Images come out sideways or upside down

Set rotation to none and load every card top edge first, the same way up.

The scanner stops with a multifeed error on single cards

Switch multifeed detection off. Ultrasonic detection can read one thick card as two.

My menus don’t match these names

Option names shift a little between PaperStream Capture versions. Pick the closest match. The settings in the table are what matter.

Try it on your next scanning session.

10 free scans is enough to run a real batch end to end.