
Having digitized copies of everything from receipts and invoices to client contracts protects you against bookkeeping errors and helps keep everything organized.

Redundancy is a safety and security measure for both home and traditional offices. Springing for a scanner that is capable of duplex (double-sided), single-pass scanning is another way to quickly digitize large documents since it can read both sides of a page at the same time. If it is printed on oversized paper or has more than 5 pages, you'll want to use a scanner with a loading tray and automatic page feeder to quickly digitize your text. If it's just a page or two, a flatbed style scanner would be perfectly fine. However, if you need to scan images or documents with charts and tables, a color scanner is better for capturing a true-to-life facsimile.įAQs What is the best way to scan documents? If you're dealing primarily with text documents without graphs, a black and white scanner will be fine for your home or office. This will give you an idea of how fast you'll be able to digitize photos and documents. Automatic feed style scanners can hold upwards of 100 pages at once, letting you quickly scan large documents or multiple documents without needing to stand around and wait for the machine to be done so you can change out sheets of paper.Ī scanner's online store description or box in a brick-and-mortar store should tell you how many pages or images per minute it can scan. Whether you're looking at a flatbed or automatic feed scanner, you'll want to see how many pages you can fit into it at any one time. What to Look For in a Document Scanner Load capacity You can create searchable PDFs, and the floating hinge lets you scan bulky items. The Canon CanoScan Lide 300 (view at Amazon) is a great entry-level scanner for home-based professionals and small businesses. You can wirelessly scan documents to PC, network, and even cloud storage services. It has a scanning speed of up to 35 pages per minute, and has a duplex scanning feature for double-sided pages. The Brother ADS-2700W ( view at Amazon) is one of the best document scanners on the market. It also has a very affordable price point, making it a perfect entry-level scanner for home offices and very small businesses.
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The front of the scanner has four, intuitive buttons for creating searchable PDFs, automatically detecting and scanning items, and sending files to PC or network locations. The bed lid has a floating hinge that lets it sit up to 21mm over the glass, allowing you to scan bulky items like books, magazines, and framed photos.
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It does require a manual feed and has a slow scanning speed of 10 seconds per page, but it's perfect for offices and home-based professionals that need to only scan things occasionally or need finely detailed digital copies of things. It has a 2400 DPI resolution, making it perfect for scanning photos, detailed graphs and tables, and fine text. The Canon CanoScan Lide 300 is designed for making high-quality scans of both text and images. While flatbed scanners aren't as popular as they once were, they still can find a place in any home or traditional office.

Take a look at our top picks below to see which document scanner is right for your office. Many brands also make mobile versions that are incredibly lightweight and compact for easier travel to off-site client meetings they're especially useful for contractors and estimators who need to quickly create digital copies of invoices and payment receipts. If your office handles many different types of documents, you'll want to invest in a model that can handle everything from traditional letter-sized paper to business cards and receipts. You can also send digitized documents to cloud storage services like Dropbox and Google Drive to create off-site backup copies. Almost all document scanners available allow for wireless connections over Wi-Fi so you can send documents and images to your email, smartphone, or laptop without the need for a USB connection. These include: automatic blank page removal, handwriting detection, and automatic skew adjustment. Models from brands like Brother and Epson usually come packaged with suites of software to help edit digitized documents for maximum legibility.

Many feature duplex scanning capabilities for handling double-sided documents and images, as well as high-capacity automatic document feeders to eliminate manual scanning. Learn more about our review process.ĭocument scanners may not be as popular as all-in-one printers, but they can still find a place in many traditional and home offices. We may receive commissions from purchases made after visiting links within our content. We are committed to researching, testing, and recommending the best products.
