The best scanner for documents & photos in 2024 (2024)

The best scanner for documents and photos is well worth investing in. Nowadays, more and more services can only be accessed digitally. Which means there are more and more situations in which we need to scan things like bank letters, passports, signed documents or proof of address in order to get anything done online. And especially if you run a business, you'll find a fast and reliable scanner will pay for itself over time.

To help you find one, we've listed the best scanners on the market today for this article. However, if you'd prefer a scanner and a printer in one, rather than a dedicated device, read our guide to best all-in-one printers.

Alternatively, if you want a scanner just for negatives or slides, check out our roundup of the best film scanners.And if you need to scan books, see our list of best book scanners.

Our top picks

Best desktop scanners in 2024

Best scanner without Wi-Fi

If you don't need a Wi-Fi or Ethernet connection to your printer, and are happy with using USB, then the Canon imageFORMULA R40 has a lot to recommend it.Print speeds of 40ppm/80ipm are impressive, and you can stick a whole 60 sheets into the automatic document feeder at one time. You also get single-pass scanning for duplex pages, and multiple output options.

The 600dpi resolution isn't the most impressive on this list, and there's no touchscreen. But if you have a lot of documents to scan, as quickly as possible, this is a great choice. For more details, see our Canon imageFORMULA R40 review.The newer Canon imageFORMULA RS40 is very similar, but adds the option to scan stacks of photographic prints.

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Best scanner for documents

Need to digitize long reports, or lots of individual documents? Then you want 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 so, we'd recommend the Epson WorkForce ES-500WII.

If you don't need Wi-Fi connectivity, though, you may prefer the otherwise identical (and cheaper) Epson WorkForce ES-400 (see at Amazon) or the Canon imageFORMULA R40 (above).

It 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). It has a capacity of 50 sheets, so you can leave a big report to scan without constantly reloading pages. And it can also scan both side of each page if you wish.

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.

Read the full Epson ES-500W II review.

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Best scanner for photos

The Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a great option if you need to scan lots of photos. With a capacity of 36 photo sheets, it’s great for processing large stacks of old prints, and the resulting images are high quality.

How high quality is up to you: you can choose between modes for easy sharing (300dpi), archiving (600dpi) and enlarging (1200dpi). The lower the dots-per-inch, the faster the device scans, with 300dpi images taking just one second; great for getting a family archive into the digital age. The scanner is also cleverly designed to avoid tearing, creasing or otherwise damaging your valued prints in the process.

The Epson FastFoto FF-680W isn't just for photos, though. It also does a good job of scanning all kinds of documents, a you can load up 100 standard sheets into the feeder at once. We also love the plastic guides for various widths of paper, with marks for 4x6in and 5x7in photos.

See our full Epson FastFoto FF-680W review

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Best value scanner for slides

If the Epson Perfection V850 Pro, listed above, is too rich for your tastes, then Epson Perfection V600 is a great alternative.For a quite affordable price, this flatbed scanner allows you to scan a variety of film types. And while you won’t get quite the same quality as the top-range scanners, its maximum resolution of 6400dpi is still pretty impressive.

It handles just about any size and format, including 35mm filmstrips, mounted slides and full panoramic medium-format film, and comes with two film holders to make positioning everything very straightforward. It also boasts digital image correction and enhancement (ICE) tech, enabling you to remove dust and scratches from your scanned images, and a resizable preview window so you can check everything in minute detail.

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Best scanner for passports

If you're looking for a small scanner that can easily fit on a busy desk, here's one of our top recommendations. Not only is it nicely compact, it offers fast speeds of 40ppm (the equivalent of 3.5 seconds per sheet) and some sophisticated features.

These include smart facial recognition, which allows it to recognizes faces on ID cards and passports. It can also get data directly from the machine readable zone (MRZ) on passports so names, numbers, and nationality can be extracted automatically.

More broadly, this scanner includes an automated document feeder (ADF) and offers active skew correction, to minimize paper jams and incomplete scans.

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Fast scanner for old family photos

If you need to scan a lot of family photos, quickly, and are willing to take a hit on quality, I'd recommend the Plustek ePhoto Z300. When reviewing it, I found this sheet-fed scanner to be easy to set up and use, and reliable in operation.

In my tests, it lived up to the promise of scanning one 4x6 color photo in two seconds and one 8x10 size color photo in five. That means that if you have hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of photos to archive, it's possible within a relatively short amount of time.

The downside is that at this speed, you can only scan at 300dpi. You can go up to 600dpi, but that slows things down to 18-20 seconds to scan a 4x6 print and about 40-45 seconds to scan an A4 print or document. So really, the main reason to get this is to scan a lot of pictures where you don't really care too much about the quality.

Unlike the pricier models on our list, you don’t get any fancy features such as double-sided printing or Wi-Fi. But it is easy to use. It’s very affordable. And it comes with some okay image enhancement software, allowing you to quickly enhance and restore old faded images with a click of your mouse without having to mess about in Photoshop.

You can scan documents, too, although its capabilities here are limited, so you wouldn’t want to buy this scanner for that purpose alone.

For more details, see my full Plustek ePhoto Z300 review.

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Best scanner for negatives

If you need to scan slides and negatives, as well as prints and documents, the Epsom V850 Pro is our top pick. (If you're not bothered about prints and documents, though, turn to our guide to the best film scanners instead.)

This dual-lens scanner selects the best lens for the job each time, and scans at up to 4800dpi for photo scanning and 6400dpi for scanning film and slides.It requires virtually no warm-up time and comes with two sets of professional-quality film holders to help you scan quicker.

The V850 Pro features a high dynamic range for accurate reproduction of tonal range and gradation. It can remove dust and scratches automatically from photos and film scans. And it includes its own software to help optimise results.

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Best scanner for small desktops

If space is limited in your office, or you just like to keep things uncluttered, then the small and beautifully formed Canon DR-C225W II is our recommended buy.

Thanks to its slim profile, it can easily fit on cramped office desks or customer retail points. With its Wi-Fi connectivity, there’s minimal clutter from wires. And yet there’s no compromise on features, with a capacity of 30 sheets, scanning speeds of up to 25 pages per minute, and duplex printing all included.

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Best scanner for volume

If you regularly scan huge numbers of documents, including at large-format sizes, you'll love this scanner from Epson. A duplex ADF scanner with tray that holds up to 120 sheets at a time, the DS-30000 Large-Format Document Scannercan 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 43.18cm). And that's not all: in long scan mode, it scan documents up to a whopping 12 x 220 inches (30.48 x 558.8cm).

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. Double-feed detection prevents missing pages from being scanned, and there's a slow mode for delicate sheets too. You can scan folded pages, plastic cards, sealed envelopes, passports, and more, and resolution goes up to 600 dpi.

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. In short, this is very much the Rolls Royce option of document scanners, with a price to match. So while it would be overkill for a home office, it's a great choice for any workplace where a lot of scanning is the norm.

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Best portable scanners

Best portable scanner

Need to scan documents, photos, receits and more while on the go? Then the Canon P-208II is the perfect choice. Only slightly bigger than a ruler, this light device slips easily into any bag, and yet still offers a capacity of 10 sheets and duplex printing. There’s also an optional Wi-Fi unit if you wish to wirelessly scan documents directly to your smartphone, tablet or PC, or share the scanner amongst a group of users.

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Best portable scanner for sheet capacity

This scanner is lovely and portable, folding down to a compact carrying size of just 285 x 95 x 40mm and weighing just under a kilo. And yet it can hold up to 20 sheets, which is impressive in a scanner this portable.

It comes with an auto document feeder and single-pass duplex scanning. Page lengths of between 70mm and 356mm are supported. The companion app is brilliantly simple. And there's even a separate motorized slot for business cards. For more details, read our Canon imageFORMULA R10 portable scanner review.

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FAQs

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How to choose the best scanner

How do you choose the best scanner for you? Wel, first ask yourself how much scanning you're likely to need. If it's just the occasional photo or receipt, then you'll be best off with a traditional flatbed scanner, where you lay down and scan one sheet at a time. If you need to do more, though, a sheet-feed scanner will be better, as this type lets you scan several pages at once via an automatic document feeder (ADF). Alternatively, you could opt for a hybrid scanner, aka combo scanner, which combines both a flatbed and a sheet-feed scanner in one.

Secondly, think about whether you'll need to carry your scanner to different places, or if it'll just stay on one desk. In the latter case, you'll want a desktop scanner. However, if you travel a lot, a portable scanner may be better.

Also think about how you want a scanner to connect to your computer (via USB, Wi-Fi, or both) and how fast you'll need your scanner to work. Finally, do you want to speed things up further with double-sided scanning (aka duplex), and what level of resolution you're likely to need in your scans.

How we test the best scanners

When we test scanners, we evaluate each model according to a series of criteria, including image quality, focus precision, sharpness, color accuracy, and vibrancy/saturation. We also scrutinize each model's build quality and user-friendliness, and thoroughly assess any accompanying software for both functionality and usability.

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Read more:

Best 3D scanner
Best book scanner
The best wireless printer
The best large format printer
The best photo printer: desktop photo printers compared
The best portable printers
The best film scanners

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