Whether you are managing official documents, want to keep a digital footprint of the essential receipts, or just want to give the digital touch to an old photo, there is one thing that makes it all easy, which is a document scanner. With them, organizing papers at home becomes a hassle-free task.
When it comes to choosing the best document scanner for home, you will stumble upon a plethora of options that are going to be from different manufacturers. With all the options that are available in the market, it gets a little challenging to choose one among all of them.
But, as you have found us, you will not have to worry anymore. We are going to make things easier for you.
Benefits of Document Scanner
By scanning a document, you can make a digital image of the essential papers. There are many ways to do this, but a document scanner brings some advantages to the table that others can not offer. The most crucial ones are:
Organizing
As we have already said, making digital versions of the papers that are important to you can help you in organizing them properly. But instead of just clicking pictures and saving it in your storage device, you will be able to get clear and easy to read version of the paper with a document scanner.
After scanning the papers, you will be able to set the file names accordingly, organize them on a folder and store it.
Easy to Store
The file that gets generated after scanning a paper with a document scanner is usually a few kilobytes. To store a digital version of all the necessary papers in your home, you will not have to allot a large chunk of storage space. You will be able to store them easily without having to get a large storage device.
Portability
Carrying around all the essential papers with you can be a big hassle sometimes. But if you make a digital version of the documents by scanning it, you will be able to carry all the papers that you want in a small pocket-friendly device such as a pen drive or a memory card.
Easy to Restore
Papers are vulnerable to many things. You spill a cup of coffee in your bank receipt and its gone. If you scanned the document and saved it on a digital storage device, you can easily print it out again.
Besides storing it in a physical device, you can also opt for cloud storage for an additional level of the restore point.
Eco-friendly
Instead of making photocopies of the essential papers and wasting papers, you can instead opt for a greener option, which is to scan them. You never know how many trees you can save by stopping the use of the photocopy machine.
10 Best Document Scanner For Home
The good part of the market being filled with scanners is that you are going to have many options to choose from, and the bad part is that it is quite easy to get bewildered among them. For your convenience, we went through the popular ones and chose the best ten among them.
1. Epson WorkForce ES-50 Portable Sheet-Fed Document Scanner
2. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 Color Duplex
Paper scanners that come with a seamless paper feeding mechanism will make it easier for you to scan multiple pages at one go. In your search for the best document scanner for home, if you were looking for such devices, you can keep this scanner from Fujitsu into your mind.
First of all, the unit comes featured with an advanced feeding mechanism that can scan both sides of the paper at one go. With this, you will be able to finish scanning most of your documents within a matter of minutes.
The scanning speed is up to thirty pages per minute, and with the automatic feeding functionality, you can make the device read fifty pages automatically.
The device is extremely versatile too. You will not only be able to make the unit read documents but also business cards, photos, and receipts. There will be no need for a photocopy machine anymore.
It comes featured with a large 4.3 inches touch screen display that will let you quickly adjust the setting. Because of the wifi card that comes with, you will be able to send the scanned files directly to cloud storage, such as google drive and dropbox.
Other than that, you can also transfer the files directly to your personal computer too. In that case, you have to connect the device with a USB cable.
It comes featured with built-in software that will organize all your scanned documents. The software also features automatic cropping, deleting blank pages, and other functionalities.
Lastly, the integrated software features configurable profiles that will let you optimize your overall workflow. With just one touch, you will be able to save your settings. It can store up to 30 configured settings.
3. Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i Portable Color Duplex
The best document scanner for home office would be the ones that can seamlessly create editable documents. If you were looking for such a unit, you should keep this one from Fujitsu into your consideration.
Just like all the other modern scanners, it comes featured with a system that will let you output editable and searchable files. By just a click of the button, you will be able to create fully customizable multi-page PDFs, word, and excel files. This feature will allow you to organize your papers efficiently.
It also comes with a scanner that can scan both sides of the page at one go. Alongside that, the feeder comes with ADF functionality that will let the device read up to ten pages automatically.
The device is extremely versatile too. It will be able to read not only standard sized pages but also long sized documents, small receipts, ID cards, business cards, and more.
Other than that, the unit comes packed with an intelligent algorithm. It will automatically scan your documents and make modifications to enhance it. The algorithm has features such as auto color correction, automatic rotation, and blank page deletion.
Besides that, there is software for the device that you can install on your personal computer. It is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows. In that, you will be able to choose different scanning modes such as monochrome and grayscale. Also, it can make the device read up to 12 double-sided pages at one go.
With the built-in software, you will be able to save the files in your computer device along with cloud storage such as Google drive, Dropbox, Evernote and more.
4. Epson WorkForce ES-400 Color Duplex
In your search for the best document scanner for home use, you will stumble upon a plethora of devices that are going to be from different manufacturers. But not all of them will be able to read as fast as this one from Epson can.
The device comes with an advanced paper feeding mechanism that will be able to read up to thirty-five pages per minute. With such scanning speed, you will be able to get the digital versions of the essential documents within a matter of minutes.
Along with that, the single-step technology that it comes featured will let the device read both the sides of the paper in one pass. With the automatic feeding system, it will be able to scan up to 50 pages. You will be able to stack all your essential documents and leave the rest to the device.
Just like most of the scanners that are out in the market, this unit is versatile too. It can not only read not only standard documents but also business cards, receipts, ID cards, and more.
The device comes with an innovative software. This ScanSmart software will be able to automatically rename the scanned documents and store them on the place that you prefer. You can also email the files or save them on the cloud. The software is compatible with both Mac OS and Windows.
Besides that, the software will be able to automatically crop, remove background, and delete the blank pages from the scanned documents.
It comes packed with Nuance Character Recognition technology that will let the device create searchable and editable PDF, excel, and word files. The device also comes with many connectivity ports.
5. Fujitsu fi-7160 Color Duplex
6. Brother Mobile Color Page Scanner, DS-620
7. Brother DS-720D Mobile Color Page Scanner
8. Brother High-Speed Desktop Document Scanner, ADS-2200
Scanners that come along with the capabilities of scanning and quickly sending files to a plethora of storage solutions can make organizing papers easy. If you were looking for such a unit, you should put this one from Brother into your consideration.
The device comes packed with the functionality of not only storing the scanned files to a physical storage device but also to the cloud. It will be able to send the files directly to an email, convert it into an image and send it to another destination or just store it in a USB drive.
It comes supported with multiple drivers too. The device comes with WIA, TWAIN, and SANE for ICA for Mac and PC. You will be able to connect it directly to those devices without having to worry about any compatibility issues.
The two-sided scanner that it comes with will make organizing a large number of papers easy. It can scan both sides of the pages at one go, and the speed of doing that is up to 35 pages per minute. You will be able to declutter your work table within a matter of minutes.
It also comes with the ASD2200 automatic feeder that will let you stack a large number of papers at one go. The maximum capacity of the feeder is 50 sheets. With this automatic and continuous feeding, you will be able to finish off scanning all your documents faster and move on to other important jobs.
The device can automatically create editable and searchable PDF, word, and excel files. Because of this OCR features, you will have full control over the documents. It also can automatically correct the cropping, remove backgrounds and delete blank pages.
9. Epson Perfection V19 Color Photo & Document Scanner
There might be instances in which you might require to scan a photo that you took years ago to bring it back to life. For that, you would need a scanner that can output files with excellent clarity. In that case, you can put this one from Epson into your list.
Just like the name of the model suggests, the device can scan pictures perfectly. It comes boasting with a 4800 dpi optical scanning resolution. With that, you are going to get an excellent level of detail and clarity on the pictures that you scan.
Other than just pictures, the scanner will also output sharp and highly readable files in the case of documents too. You will not have to worry about hazy and blurred looking texts anymore.
Keeping the tabs up with most of the modern scanners that are out there, it comes featured with advanced software too.
With the included Easy Photo Scan, you will be able to send the scanned files directly to the cloud. It supports Evernote, Google Drive, One Drive, and more. This feature will let you create multiple restore points at one go.
It also comes with easy to use buttons that will let you create PDF, word files, and send it to email directly with just one tap. The scanning speed is quite fast too.
Besides that, the unit is comparatively lightweight and compact too. With the vertical kickstand that it comes built-in, you will be able to keep it on your worktable without having to sacrifice too much space.
It does not require any large wall adapters to power on. All you have to do is connect it to your PC with a USB cable.
10. Canon CanoScan Lide 300 Scanner
We are going to finish off our document scanner for home reviews with this device from Canon. If you were searching for a flat and compact scanner, then you should have a look into this one.
The device is extremely compact and lightweight. This small form factor will allow you to store the scanner in a tight and small space. You will not have to sacrifice too much of the space of your busy worktable to install this.
Aside from just being compact and easy to store, it comes with a fast scanner too. The device will be able to read large papers within ten seconds. This fast scanning will let you declutter all the documents that are lying on your table quickly.
Besides that, the scanner has high resolution scanning features too. It can read pictures at a substantial 2400 x 2400 resolution. That means you will be able to give the digital touch to your age-old family photo without sacrificing the level of detail and enhancing the overall clarity.
Alongside just scanning the photos, the device will automatically make adjustments to the scanned file to enhance it. It will correct the color, reduce noise, and perform fade correction. Your scanned photos will look great with this.
It comes with easy to use buttons on the body. There are four essential buttons on the device. You will also be able to create a PDF with the touch of the button. With the OCR functionalities that it comes with, the PDFs are going to be searchable and editable.
To power the device on, you are not going to need any external power adapter. Instead, you can power it on by simply connecting it with your computer with a USB cable.
Things To Consider Before Buying
You might have already understood what things you can expect from a decent device after going through our document scanner for home reviews. To solidify that even further, we are going to let you know the factors you should consider before you make a purchase.
Size and heft
If you are always managing documents in your house and have to rush from one cabinet to another, then you should keep the size of the scanner into your consideration. The smaller the footprint, the easier it will be for you to maneuver it. Also, compact devices are not going to need that much space.
Besides the size, you should also keep the overall heft of the unit if you want to carry it with yourself from one place to another. The lighter the device, the more portable it will be.
Versatility
Other than just scanning standard-sized papers, at some point, you might require to scan small receipts, bank cheques, and different types of documents. In that case, if the scanner is not versatile enough, you will not be able to scan these essential papers efficiently.
That is why we would suggest you to go for the versatile ones. The ones that come with a feeder compatible with most of the paper sizes. Those will make it easier for you to scan not only standard documents but also a plethora of other papers too.
Reading Speed
The reading speed is another crucial factor in the case of a document scanner. In this case, the faster the scanner can read, the faster you will be able to organize a large number of papers. These will make you efficient and save you a load of time.
Automatic Feeder
Most of the regular-sized document scanner will come with a caddy that will let you stack papers on it. But in that case, the number of pages you can accumulate at a time will differ.
Many will sport a maximum of 50, while some might support only 20. The more the device can hold the easier it will be for you to handle large number of documents
The Software
The included software is the most critical factor in the case of document scanners. Without efficient and well-optimized software, you will not be able to manage the scanned files properly.
In this case, what you should look for is if the built-in software has an organizing feature or not and if it is compatible with your computer or not.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Can document scanners scan photos?Most of the scanners should be able to scan photos. But not all of them will be able to scan images with proper color and clarity. In this case, what you should look for is the ones that have a high-resolution scanner installed.
2. How does a document scanner works?For most of the scanner, the feeder will feed the pages to the scanner that will shine a light on the paper. After that, through a series of lenses and mirrors, the device will make a digital version of the documents and create a machine readable file.
3. Which scanners will be able to offer me an editable and searchable file?The devices that come packed with OCR functionalities will be able to output searchable and editable PDF, Word, and Excel files.
4. What software should I install in my PC for document scanners?You should install the software that comes bundled with the scanner that you got. Other software might work, but only if they are compatible with your device.
5. Is it better to scan photos as PDF or JPEG?In the case of photographs, PDF will not be a viable option. Instead of that, you should scan them as JPEG or JPG. Those are the most efficient format for images.
Final WordsInvesting in the best document scanner for home will not only make it easier for you to organize the essential papers at your home but also will let you quickly save a digital copy of them. We hope that we were able to make things easier for you, and by now, you are confident enough to get the best one for yourself.