Top rated photo scanners 2014 portable#
Want a portable document scanner, and don't want to pay much for it? Then you'll be pleased by the price of the Brother DS-640. Admittedly, it's pretty basic, feature wise: it’s not suitable for photos, there’s no Wi-Fi or automatic document feeder, and the maximum resolution is fairly low at 300dpi. So while it would be overkill for a home office, to say the least, it's a great choice for any workplace where a lot of scanning is the norm. In short, this is very much the Rolls Royce option of document scanners, with a price to match.
Top rated photo scanners 2014 software#
The 2.7-inch touchscreen provides easy access to scan jobs, settings, and maintenance features, and you can use on-board software to turn scans into searchable PDFs. You can scan folded pages, plastic cards, sealed envelopes, passports, and more, and resolution goes up to 600 dpi. Double-feed detection prevents missing pages from being scanned, and there's a slow mode for delicate sheets too. When it comes to normal letter-sized documents, it scans in both black-and-white and colour at a speedy 70 ppm in simplex mode and 140 ipm. And that's not all: in long scan mode, it scan documents up to a whopping 12 x 220 inches (30.48 x 558.8 cm). A duplex ADF scanner with tray that holds up to 120 sheets at a time, the DS-30000 Large-Format Document Scanner can capture scans as small as 2 x 2 inches (5.08 x 5.08cm) and as large as 12 x 17 inches (30.48 x 43.18 cm). If you regularly scan huge numbers of documents, including at large-format sizes, you'll love this scanner from Epson. If you don't need Wi-Fi connectivity, though, you may prefer the otherwise identical (and cheaper) Epson WorkForce ES-400 (opens in new tab) or the Canon imageFORMULA R40 (below). It works quickly, too, zipping through a steady 35 pages per minute. Other scanners on the market can beat some or all of these specs, but they're more expensive, and overkill for most people's needs. Plus it can also scan both side of each page if you wish.
It has a capacity of 50 sheets, so you can leave a big report to scan without constantly reloading pages. This scanner comes with Wi-Fi connectivity, scans text accurately, and reproduces all kinds of media well, from business cards to photos, thanks to its high resolution of 1200dpi (dots per inch). If that sounds like it would be useful, we'd recommend the Epson WorkForce ES-500.
What helps save a lot of time is a scanner with an automatic document feeder (ADF), which allows you to add a bunch of pages at once, and leave the scanner to get on with it. If you need to digitize long reports, or lots of individual documents, it can get very time consuming.