Scanners: Buying Advice, Tips, and News
Whether you're digitizing receipts, organizing paperwork, or preserving family photos, the right scanner makes the job easy. We test portable scanners, desktop flatbeds, and high-volume document and photo models (as well as some specialized models, like book scanners) to recommend the best scanner for every need and budget.
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How to Buy the Right Scanner: Today's Top Models, Tested and RatedNeed to scan family photos, piles of documents, or expense receipts? Our experts have tested the best options for every scanning scenario.
By Tony Hoffman
Our Current Top Tested Picks
Epson Perfection V39 II
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
The Epson Perfection V39 II is an excellent budget flatbed photo scanner, with robust software that includes newly streamlined tasks and expanded settings, making it an especially good choice for creative types and hobbyists.
Full Epson Perfection V39 II ReviewPros
- 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
Cons
- Can't scan film
- Lacks bundled applications
Pros
- 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
Cons
- Can't scan film
- Lacks bundled applications
Ricoh ScanSnap iX2500
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Ricoh’s top-of-line ScanSnap iX2500 combines fast scan speeds with a large paper capacity, an effective skew-detection system, and a receipt attachment. It's a superior document scanner for a very reasonable price.
Full Ricoh ScanSnap iX2500 ReviewPros
- Fast scanning with accurate OCR
- Advanced skew detection
- 100-page ADF and hefty daily duty cycle
- Includes a removable receipt guide
- 5-inch color touch screen
- Excellent mobile app support
- USB and Wi-Fi connectivity
Cons
- No USB port for thumb drives
- No Ethernet port
Pros
- Fast scanning with accurate OCR
- Advanced skew detection
- 100-page ADF and hefty daily duty cycle
- Includes a removable receipt guide
- 5-inch color touch screen
- Excellent mobile app support
- USB and Wi-Fi connectivity
Cons
- No USB port for thumb drives
- No Ethernet port
Brother ADS-4900W
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Brother's speedy ADS-4900W is an accurate, efficient, and reasonably priced sheetfed document scanner well-suited for mid- to high-volume jobs in busy offices and workgroups.
Full Brother ADS-4900W ReviewPros
- 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
Cons
- Lacks strong Mac support
Pros
- 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
Cons
- Lacks strong Mac support
Epson DS-30000
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
The fast, accurate Epson DS-30000 is a sheetfed document scanner designed for high-volume management and archiving of documents of all sizes, including large-format sheets.
Full Epson DS-30000 ReviewPros
- 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
Cons
- Lacks wireless or mobile connectivity
- USB interface only; no networking option available
- Lacks business-card scanning and archiving software
Pros
- 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
Cons
- Lacks wireless or mobile connectivity
- USB interface only; no networking option available
- Lacks business-card scanning and archiving software
Epson DS-1760WN
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
Epson’s DS-1760WN is the sheetfed/flatbed combo scanner to beat. It's reasonably fast, with accurate OCR, and its compact size and Wi-Fi connectivity further enhance its versatility.
Full Epson DS-1760WN ReviewPros
- Relatively fast, with accurate OCR
- Supports USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity
- 60-sheet ADF
- 2.4-inch color touch screen
- Dedicated USB port for saving scans to a thumb drive
- Can automatically scan multiple objects into separate files or individual pages
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
Pros
- Relatively fast, with accurate OCR
- Supports USB, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi connectivity
- 60-sheet ADF
- 2.4-inch color touch screen
- Dedicated USB port for saving scans to a thumb drive
- Can automatically scan multiple objects into separate files or individual pages
Cons
- Somewhat expensive
Epson FastFoto FF-680W
- 5.0 - Exemplary: Near perfection, ground-breaking
- 4.5 - Outstanding: Best in class, acts as a benchmark for measuring competitors
- 4.0 - Excellent: A performance, feature, or value leader in its class, with few shortfalls
- 3.5 - Good: Does what the product should do, and does so better than many competitors
- 3.0 - Average: Does what the product should do, and sits in the middle of the pack
- 2.5 - Fair: We have some reservations, buy with caution
- 2.0 - Subpar: We do not recommend, buy with extreme caution
- 1.5 - Poor: Do not buy this product
- 1.0 - Dismal: Don't even think about buying this product
Read Our Editorial Mission Statement and Testing Methodologies.
The Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a sheet-feed desktop scanner that excels at scanning stacks of snapshots while doing a credible job at document scanning.
Full Epson FastFoto FF-680W ReviewPros
- Quickly scans stacks of photo prints.
- Decent as a document scanner.
- Scans to searchable PDF.
- Solid OCR performance.
Cons
- Somewhat pricey.
- Slower at photo scanning than its predecessor.
Pros
- Quickly scans stacks of photo prints.
- Decent as a document scanner.
- Scans to searchable PDF.
- Solid OCR performance.
Cons
- Somewhat pricey.
- Slower at photo scanning than its predecessor.