Settling on the best scanner for your specific day-to-day scanning needs is challenging. Most flatbed and sheetfed scanners today are geared toward everyday office tasks or photo image capture, but they come in various types and sizes, some fine-tuned for different kinds of scanning. Document, photo, receipt, and film scanners: That list is just a start, and we're here to help. PCMag experts have been reviewing scanners for decades, and we've outlined here the top scanners we have tested by category and user scenario. Our best overall photo scanner for most people is the Epson Perfection V39 II, and for document scanning, it's the Fujitsu SnapScan ix, but we stand behind all our recommendations. "Scan" our pick list for the kind of work you do, then read on for a deeper dive into scanner specs and how to choose the right model for what, exactly, you scan.
WCMI contains other products and information you need, so please check it out.
Deeper Dive: Our Top Tested Picks
Best Flatbed Photo Scanner
Epson Perfection V39 II
4.0 Excellent
-
High-quality photo scans
-
Fully automatic mode for easy scanning
-
Separates out individual photos
-
Scans to editable text in a searchable PDF
-
Comes with kickstand for upright positioning
-
Can't scan film
-
Lacks bundled applications
Most nonprofessional photographers can't afford a dedicated photo scanner. That's why the flatbed Epson Perfection V39 II doubles nicely at scanning document pages and turning them into editable text, although to be honest you'll want a higher-priced scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) for handling more than occasional multipage jobs. The V39 II saves desk space with a vertical kickstand and comes with impressive photo scanning and touch-up software. It can even stitch together multiple scans of photos too big for its scanning area.
The V39 II captures vibrant color and crisp detail and ably serves a single small-office PC connected via USB. (It lacks wired networking or Wi-Fi for mobile devices.) Considering its affordable price, it's a great solution for light-duty photo-quality scanning.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
pixels
Mechanical Resolution
pixels
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 11.7"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$99.99 Amazon
$119.95 Walmart
$99.99 Best Buy
Learn More
Epson Perfection V39 II Review
Best Desktop Document Scanner (Homes and Small Offices)
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX
4.5 Outstanding
-
Comprehensive ScanSnap software
-
Simple to learn and use
-
Accurate OCR
-
Versatile connectivity options, including mobile
-
6,000-scan daily duty cycle rating
It doesn't have Ethernet, because it's not built for a corporate network&#;just for connection to a single PC or handheld in a small office via USB or Wi-Fi&#;but otherwise the Fujitsu ScanSnap iX is pretty much a model desktop document scanner. This sheetfed unit offers an easy-to-use color touch screen, a 50-page automatic document feeder, and a hefty 6,000-scan daily duty cycle. (To overwork it, you'd have to load the ADF to capacity more than 120 times a day.) Best of all, it comes with first-class scanning, workflow-profile, and optical character recognition (OCR) software.
If you juggle a variety of pages, the iX automatically recognizes and organizes documents, receipts, and business cards&#;and even items with different orientations and color settings&#;in the same batch. It's a superb way for a home office or small office to get a handle on piles of papers.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
ppi
Mechanical Resolution
600 ppi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 14"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$399.99 Amazon
Learn More
Fujitsu ScanSnap iX Review
Best Desktop Document Scanner (High-Volume, for Offices)
Brother ADS-W
4.0 Excellent
-
Deep document management features
-
Fast scanning and reliable feeding
-
Accurate OCR
-
Can scan to USB memory devices without a computer
-
Versatile connectivity and strong mobile device support
-
Large touch screen control panel
Brother's scanners hold up well in a highly competitive, crowded market. That fact is more than enough to render the ADS-W our current favorite mid- to high-volume sheetfed document scanner for small to medium-size offices, workgroups, and enterprises. It stands out not because of any ground-breaking features or firsts, but because this is a terrific, rock-solid machine.
A whopping 9,000-scan daily duty cycle means you'll have to have a very determined paper-feeding person (and some really big jobs) to stress this scanner out. It's accurate, efficient, and reasonably priced (well under a grand) for what it is.
For medium- to heavy-volume scanning in all but the largest offices, the Brother ADS-W serves as an industrial-strength desktop option. Some competitors from the likes of Raven operate via big touch screens, but if you just need reliable, basic bulk document digitization for your business, this model is a great option.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
dpi
Mechanical Resolution
dpi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" X 197"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$650.00 Amazon
Learn More
Brother ADS-W Review
Best Desktop Enterprise Scanner (for Oversize Documents)
Epson DS-
4.0 Excellent
-
Fast and accurate scanning and text conversion
-
High volume rating, including large ADF
-
Scans documents up to 12 by 17 inches
-
Versatile scanner-interface software
-
Moderate-size footprint
-
Lacks wireless or mobile connectivity
-
USB interface only; no networking option available
-
Lacks business-card scanning and archiving software
The Epson DS- laughs at your mere letter- and legal-size pages&#;this enterprise-class document manager and archiver can handle tabloid (11-by-17-inch) sheets, despite taking little more room than a standard sheetfed desktop scanner. Its automatic document feeder holds up to 120 letter- or 60 A3-size pages, and its daily duty cycle is a juggernaut 30,000 scans. Epson backs it with a three-year warranty with next-business-day replacement and bundles it with state-of-the-art document-management and scanner-interface software. The latter not only scans to a plethora of file formats and cloud and archiving sites, but it offers friendly Home, Office, and Professional modes for different levels of user expertise.
It's far from cheap at $2,499, but the DS- is only half the cost of some of the copy-machine-size corporate scanners it competes with. Of course, it's overkill for a small or even midsize office, but it stands almost alone as a high-volume, large-format desktop document scanner.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
ppi
Mechanical Resolution
ppi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 220"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$2,499.00 Dell
$2,499.00 B&H Photo Video
Learn More
Epson DS- Review
Best Flatbed/Sheetfed Combo Scanner
HP ScanJet Pro f1
4.0 Excellent
-
Compact design
-
Relatively fast, highly accurate OCR
-
Excellent HP Scan Pro interface
-
Decent document archiving
-
Scans to flash and other USB drives with no PC required
-
Somewhat expensive
-
No Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or device support
Compact, easy to use, and accurate at OCR, the ScanJet Pro f1 is a winning hybrid flatbed/sheetfed design. As a flatbed, it can digitize photos, book or magazine pages, or fragile items that might not survive a trip through a sheet feeder; with its roomy 60-page auto-duplexing ADF, it's ready to process lengthy documents lickety-split. You can use it and control it from a PC, or scan straight to flash drives or other USB drives without one.
Doctor's offices, real estate or travel agencies, banks, and other small organizations and workgroups that need to stay on top of the ebb, flow, and occasional tidal wave of paper will find the ScanJet invaluable. Plus, its support for scan profiles and workflows makes repetitive scan tasks easy.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
600 pixels
Mechanical Resolution
pixels
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 120"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$599.00 HP
Learn More
HP ScanJet Pro f1 Review
Best High-Speed Snapshot Scanner
Epson FastFoto FF-680W
4.0 Excellent
-
Quickly scans stacks of photo prints.
-
Decent as a document scanner.
-
Scans to searchable PDF.
-
Solid OCR performance.
-
Somewhat pricey.
-
Slower at photo scanning than its predecessor.
The FastFoto has been on the market for some time, but this speedy, compact unit continues to be one of a kind. If you have stacks of old family snapshots, or similar card-size items to be scanned in bulk, the FastFoto can process them with speed and care. It's gentle on photos and can even scan both sides of a print without flipping it over, capturing possible date data or back-scrawled notations with the image. It can also pinch-hit as a perfectly workable document scanner for digitizing bills and those old tax records.
Scrapbookers, family archivists, or folks looking to reproduce or digitize photo albums to the cloud will find the FastFoto a godsend. It can process a stack of snaps in mere minutes, and even tweak them on the fly and name them according to filename sequences that you specify in the software. It may not be cheap, but it will pay for itself in time savings many times over for big scan jobs.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
600 ppi
Mechanical Resolution
ppi
For more information, please visit Scanner Devices.
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" (wide)
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$499.99 Amazon
$499.99 Best Buy
$599.99 Epson
Learn More
Epson FastFoto FF-680W Review
Best Portable Document Scanner
Brother DSmobile DS-940DW
4.5 Outstanding
-
Small and light.
-
Fast scanning and processing.
-
Accurate OCR.
-
Solid software bundle.
-
Easy to use.
-
Autonomous scanning to microSD card.
-
Wi-Fi and USB 3.0 connectivity.
-
No automatic document feeder.
-
MicroSD card not included.
With no automatic document feeder, the Brother DSmobile DS-940DW obliges you to feed pages manually, so it's better suited to one- or two-page documents instead of lengthy reports or stacks of sheets. But otherwise, it's the very model of handy scanning on the road, complete with a rechargeable battery and the ability to scan to a microSD card for later transfer to a PC, so you don't even need to bring your laptop&#;just throw the 1.5-pound scanner into your briefcase and you're all set. The Brother is rated for 100 scans a day and comes with software for smartly managing business cards and receipts.
It's obviously not a high-volume, heavy-duty document manager, but the DSmobile DS-940DW's convenience, speed, and accuracy make it a standout in a crowded field of single-sheet portable scanners. Don't leave the office without it.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
ppi
Mechanical Resolution
600 ppi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 72"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$194.02 Amazon
$199.98 Walmart
$199.99 Best Buy
Learn More
Brother DSmobile DS-940DW Review
Best Front-Desk Document and Card Scanner
Fujitsu fi-800R
4.0 Excellent
-
Fast and compact.
-
Accurate OCR.
-
Robust software bundle.
-
High daily volume rating.
-
Well-suited to front-desk applications.
-
Expensive.
-
Connectivity limited to USB.
A cross between a desktop and a portable sheetfed document scanner, the Fujitsu fi-800R takes only about 12 by 4 inches of desk space but delivers robust performance thanks to unique Return Scan and U-Turn Scan technologies that move documents in and out without requiring multiple slots or paper trays. Its Active Skew Correction lets you be careless about placing documents in the feeder, and its speed and 4,500-scan daily duty cycle are closer to its desktop than portable rivals (though its 20-sheet ADF is on the skimpy side).
The fi-800R is a little pricey considering it supports only a USB instead of network connection and lacks a battery for portable scanning, but it fills a nifty niche as a front-desk document manager for handling customer and client paperwork. Its PaperStream Capture software is just the ticket for digitizing IDs, passports, and miscellaneous pages.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
600 ppi
Mechanical Resolution
ppi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 14"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$496.58 Amazon
$639.99 Walmart
Learn More
Fujitsu fi-800R Review
Best Receipt Scanner
Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W
4.5 Outstanding
-
Fast
-
Accurate OCR
-
Strong software bundle, including ScanSmart Accounting Edition
-
Huge 4.3-inch color touch screen
-
100-sheet ADF
-
Robust mobile device and USB thumb drive support
-
Low price for what you get
-
ScanSmart not supported on mobile devices
The Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W is a powerful desktop document scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF) that lets you capture up to 100 two-sided documents in one batch; it supports USB and Wi-Fi, and has a port for scanning directly to USB flash drives. Plus, its 4.3-inch graphical touch screen makes it easy to access scanning options or workflow profiles. But you're not going to buy a device named RapidReceipt for general-purpose scanning&#;you're going to take advantage of its ScanSmart Accounting Edition software that gets more intelligent as you use it, learning to identify recurring data like vendor names and monthly expenses. The app recognizes information, saves it to the appropriate fields in its built-in database, and exports to QuickBooks, TurboTax, or Excel-compatible CSV files.
As we said, the RR-600W is a fine choice for any kind of office document management, with respectable speed, impressive accuracy, and a robust 4,000-scan daily duty cycle. But if receipts and invoices are your company's bread and butter, it's a better than fine choice.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
ppi
Mechanical Resolution
600 ppi
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
8.5" x 240"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$399.99 Amazon
$499.99 Walmart
$399.99 Best Buy
Learn More
Epson RapidReceipt RR-600W Review
Best Overhead Book and Magazine Scanner
CZUR ET24 Pro
4.0 Excellent
-
Automatic focus and page-turn detection
-
Can operate via a desk button or a foot pedal
-
HDMI video output
-
Business-card archiving
-
Accurate OCR
-
No wireless connectivity or support for handheld devices
-
Lacks networking
-
No battery for off-plug operation
Overhead scanners are specialized devices with elevated cameras for scanning book or magazine pages. The CZUR ET24 Pro comes with a foot pedal or desk button that frees your hands for turning book pages or placing new content (up to tabloid size) on the scan platform. It also features automatic focus and page-turn detection, and you can even use the device in a Visual Presenter mode, with an HDMI port for playing video captured by the CZUR directly to monitors or HDTVs or livestreaming.
In many ways, the CZUR ET24 Pro and its ilk resemble old-fashioned overhead projectors. Capturing book and magazine pages, however, is just one of many possible uses, ranging from capturing objects for presentations to classroom or online teaching. Its everyday book or magazine scanning speed depends more on your placement and page-turning hustle than its hardware, but the ET24 Pro is ideal for small and midsize offices, presenters, teachers, and others in need of its very specific talents.
Flatbed
Maximum Optical Resolution
320 pixels
Mechanical Resolution
320 pixels
Automatic Document Feeder
Ethernet Interface
Maximum Scan Area
11" x 17"
Film Scanning
GET IT NOW
$649.00 Amazon
Learn More
CZUR ET24 Pro Review
Buying Guide: The Best Scanners for
The first step in scanner buying comes down to a simple thing: what kind or kinds of media you'll be scanning. Knowing what (and how often) you expect to scan will tell you everything you need to know about the features you'll need.
Photos, unbound documents, receipts, and business cards are the most obvious things to scan, but you might also need to scan bound books, magazines, film (slides and negatives), or easily damaged originals like postage stamps. Somewhat less common are objects such as coins or flowers.
You should also consider details such as the maximum size of the originals and whether you'll need to scan both sides of document pages. This will tell you the kind of scanner you should be looking at: a classic flatbed, a model with a sheet feeder, or something else.
Do You Need a Flatbed Scanner, or an Overhead Scanner?
For photos or other easily damaged originals, bound material, and 3D objects, you need a flatbed scanner, which has a large glass platen on which you place the documents, photos, books, or items. (When we talk about scanning objects, here we're talking about scanning three-dimensional objects to two-dimensional images. 3D scanners&#;which digitize objects to special 3D files for display or printing on a 3D printer&#;are a different beast entirely.)
Books, magazines, and objects thicker than a sheet of paper or driver's license are good candidates for an overhead scanner, which resembles an old-fashioned overhead projector with an illuminated scanning head that looks down on a flat surface. These work like cameras, snapping pictures of items and feeding them to suitable software for optical character recognition (converting images to editable text) or flattening the curve near the spine of a book.
Delicate originals such as photos and stamps can go through a sheet feeder, but you risk damaging them. If you need to scan this sort of original only once in a while, you may be able to get by with a sheetfed scanner that comes with a plastic carrier to protect the originals. Keep in mind, however, that even brand-new, unscratched plastic carriers can degrade scan quality somewhat. Direct-to-glass is always better.
(Credit: Xerox)
Scanner models tend to stay on the market for a long time between iterations, and this is especially true of flatbed photo scanners. We regularly update our Best Scanners roundup, so should you encounter an "oldie but goodie," it simply means that no similar model that we've reviewed has yet surpassed it.
Does Your Scanner Need a Sheet Feeder?
If your main scanning need is scanning documents on a regular basis&#;particularly those longer than one or two pages&#;you almost certainly want a document-centric scanner equipped with a sheet feeder. Having to open a flatbed lid and put a page on the glass is a minor chore, but having to repeat the process 10 times for a 10-page document is tiresome. Some sheetfed scanners can also handle thick originals such as ID cards.
(Credit: Fujitsu)
If you'll primarily be scanning one or two pages at a time, a manual sheet feeder is probably all you need, or you can get by just fine with the scanning capability of an all-in-one (AIO) printer. If you'll be scanning longer documents on a regular basis, however, you'll want an automatic document feeder (ADF) that will scan an entire stack of pages unattended. Pick an ADF capacity based on the number of pages in the typical document you expect to scan. If you occasionally have a document that is more pages than the ADF capacity, you can add more pages during the scan as the feeder processes them. Some ADFs can also handle stacks of business cards easily.
Do You Need Duplex (Two-Sided) Scanning?
Duplex scanning means scanning both sides of a page. If you often expect to scan documents that are printed on both sides, you'll want a duplexing scanner, a duplexing ADF, or a scanner with a driver that includes a manual-duplex feature.
The best, swiftest duplexing scanners have two scan elements, so they can scan both sides of a page at the same time. A design like this will be faster than a scanner with a simple duplexing ADF, but it will likely also cost more. A more ordinary duplexing ADF will just scan one side, turn the page over mechanically, and then scan the other.
In contrast, a scanner with a driver that supports manual duplexing will let you scan one side of a stack and then prompts you to flip and re-feed the stack to scan the other side, with the scanner driver automatically interfiling the pages. Manual duplexing in the driver is the most economical alternative, and it is a good choice if you don't scan two-sided documents very often or you're on a tight budget.
What's the Right Resolution for Your Scanner?
For most scanning, having a high enough resolution at your disposal for the job at hand isn't an issue. For, say, tax documents, even a 200-pixel-per-inch (ppi) scan will give you good enough quality for most purposes. A 300ppi scanning resolution is almost always sufficient, and it's hard to find a scanner today that maxes out at less than 600ppi. For photos, unless you plan to zoom in on a small part of the photo or print the photo at a larger size than the original, 600ppi is more than enough.
(Credit: Canon)
Some kinds of originals, however, require higher resolution. If you're scanning 35mm slides or negatives, or something small and finely detailed like a postage stamp, you'll need a scanner that claims an optical resolution of at least 4,800ppi.
Then there's the issue of the maximum scan size you can take. Picking a scanner that can handle the size of the originals you need to scan seems like an obvious point, but it's easy to overlook. For example, most flatbeds have a letter-size platen, which will be a problem if you occasionally need to scan legal-size pages. Most flatbeds with ADFs will scan legal-size pages via the ADF, but not all do, so be sure to check. You can also find scanners with larger flatbeds, but they will, of course, take up more desk space.
What Software Will You Use?
Most scanners come with basic scanning software. Depending on what you plan to scan, some of the features to look for include optical character recognition (OCR), text indexing, photo editing, and the ability to create searchable PDF documents. The days of platform-specific scanners are over; any modern scanner will work seamlessly with both macOS and Windows, and many of them can also scan to your or a cloud drive.
Specialized scanners have software with specialized functions. Receipt scanners come with accounting software for organizing your financial data. Scanners that handle business cards can usually extract the card data into a contact database (assuming the cards aren't too ornately designed for the OCR software to read).
If you're planning to scan photos or other images and then edit them in a program such as Adobe Photoshop, look for a scanner with TWAIN drivers that can scan directly into your photo editing app.
Do You Need a Special-Purpose Scanner?
Finally, consider whether you need a special-purpose scanner. Among the most common special-purpose choices are scanners for business cards (small and highly portable) and receipts (small and equipped with specialized software). Specialized slide scanners are smaller than flatbed scanners, but they're no better at scanning slides than flatbed scanners with equivalent features.
(Credit: Epson)
If you travel often, you might want a portable scanner that's small enough to fit in your laptop bag, or a handheld scanner that you hold and trace over text. Some portable models can operate without a computer attached, scanning to a memory card or smartphone. You can also find some that function as both portable and desktop document scanners by combining a portable scanner with a docking station that includes an ADF.
Depending on what you need to scan, any one of these may be a good choice, either as your only scanner or as a supplement to a general-purpose scanner. We've highlighted a few of our favorite special scanners in the picks above.
Ready to Buy the Right Scanner for You?
We trust our advice and product picks have clarified your potential purchase decision. All-in-one or multifunction printers have built-in scanners, nearly all equipped with a flatbed and many with ADFs. That may be sufficient for light scanning needs. However, you'll probably want to get a single-function scanner to get the most out of your scanning. The models listed here are the best we've tested, but for more focused advice, check out our roundup of the top scanners for photos, as well as our guide to the best all-in-one printers, if having a scanner attached to your printer is more appealing. (Finally, after you've digitized all that paper, look at the best shredders we've tested.)
Are you likely to increase the throughput in the coming months / years?
Often it's better to buy a machine capable of scanning higher quantities than you initially require as there's a good chance you'll find more and more to scan.
Do you have a backlog of paper to scan?
Again, buying a scanner that is capable of doing a few hundred sheets per day is fine when in general use, but if you intend to scan thousands at first, the scanner may not be up to it. If you're unsure, please
Again, buying a scanner that is capable of doing a few hundred sheets per day is fine when in general use, but if you intend to scan thousands at first, the scanner may not be up to it. If you're unsure, please contact us and we can advise.
Types of document to be scanned
If you need to be able to scan unusual items, such as tachographs or passports, your choices may be limited. If you only need to scan 100 pages per day, but some are A3, you will have to spend a lot more on a scanner. We recommend in this case looking at ways to scan the A3 without the expense. Some of the A4 scanners offer a "folio-mode" which enables you to fold the A3 sheet in half and scan it - the software then intelligently pieces together the two images giving you one on the screen.
Scanning over a network
There are many
There are many network scanners on the market these days which will allow for streamling document capture into your workflow by reducing the number of steps needed to capture, convert and distribute scanned information in your document management system or cloud based services. They&#;re designed to be simple to use allowing for quick and easy scanning to , network folders, FTP, USB memory, fax, or printers directly from the scanner (depending on specification). Alternatively, you can scan into a network folder using any of the scanners, or you can make a scanner available on several workstations by adding a Silex DS-510
Scanning via WiFi
There are now a number of scanners that will enable
There are now a number of scanners that will enable scanning using a WiFi connection enabling you to wirelessly scan to your PC, Mac, iPad/iPhone, Android and Kindle devices.
Cloud scanning
On selected scanners you can scan to and view across a range of popular cloud services such as Evernote, Dropbox, Google Drive and Microsoft OneDrive.
Flatbed Scanning
Document fed scanners will have the capability of scanning mixed document sizes and weights including A3, A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, business card, postcard, letter and legal, but there are still times when a flatbed scanner is required such as a book or documents on a bind for example. If a flatbed scanner is required then you have the option of a
Document fed scanners will have the capability of scanning mixed document sizes and weights including A3, A4, A5, A6, B5, B6, business card, postcard, letter and legal, but there are still times when a flatbed scanner is required such as a book or documents on a bind for example. If a flatbed scanner is required then you have the option of a standlone flatbed device or a document fed scanner with a built in flatbed
How much to spend?
Like anything, buying the cheapest scanner and over-using it will cost you more in the long run. It's important that you find a balance between a sensible cost and a scanner which will do what you need with a little room for increased use.
Below are our recommendations for each category which should give you an idea on what to spend...
Contact us to discuss your requirements of Handheld Scanner for Warehouse. Our experienced sales team can help you identify the options that best suit your needs.
Comments
0