- Best Photo Scanner For Mac Computers
- Photo Scanner For Mac Reviews
- Best Portable Photo Scanner For Mac
- Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner For Mac
- Best Flatbed Scanner For Mac 2018
How to Buy the Right Scanner
This Plustek photo scanner has a neat design and the capability to scan up to 8 x 10 photos and standard A4 paper. It's fast, it has a pull-through scanner rather than a flat-bed build, and it won.
- Shopping guide for best scanners Last Updated November 2018 Whether you want to archive your printed photos, digitize business records, or simply want a multifunctional machine for whatever needs arise, a decent scanner is an invaluable resource.
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- The Best Scanners of 2018. The Epson Perfection V800 Photo scanner delivers top-quality scans for photographic prints. The Best Photo Scanners of 2018. About the Author.
Settling on a scanner that meets your specific needs can be challenging. Most scanners on the market today can handle everyday office tasks, but they come in a wide variety of types and sizes that are fine-tuned for different purposes. Here are the key questions to ask before you buy. We'll also take a look at the different kinds of scanners and their features.
What Kind of Media Will You Scan?
Knowing what and how often you expect to scan will tell you everything you need to know about the features you'll need. The two most common classes of things that get scanned are photos and documents (that is, unbound pages), but plenty of other media are common scan targets, such as bound books, business cards, film (slides and negatives), magazines, and easily damaged originals like postage stamps. Somewhat less common are 3D objects, such as coins or flowers. You should also consider details like the maximum size of the originals (more on that in a moment) and whether you'll need to scan both sides of document pages.
Do You Need a Flatbed?
For photos or other easily damaged originals, bound material, and 3D objects, you need a flatbed scanner, which has a large glass platen on which you place the documents, books, or items. (When we talk about scanning objects, here we're talking about scanning 3D objects to two-dimensional images; 3D scanners—for scanning objects to 3D files for display or printing on a 3D printer—are a different beast entirely.)
Best Photo Scanner For Mac Computers
Originals like photos and stamps can go through a sheet feeder, but you risk damaging them. If you need to scan this sort of original only once in a while, you may be able to get by with a sheet-fed scanner that comes with a plastic carrier to protect the originals. Keep in mind, however, that even brand-new, unscratched plastic carriers can degrade scan quality.
Scanner models tend to stay on the market for a long time between iterations, and this is especially true of flatbed photo scanners. Not only do they often remain on sale for years, but also, few new models are introduced. We regularly update our Best Scanners roundup, so should you encounter an 'oldie but goodie,' it simply means that no similar model that we've reviewed has yet surpassed it.
Do You Need a Sheet Feeder?
If you plan to scan documents on a regular basis—particularly those longer than one or two pages—you almost certainly want a sheet feeder. Having to open a flatbed lid and set a page in place is a minor chore, but having to repeat the process 10 times for a 10-page document is a tiresome annoyance. Some sheet-fed scanners can also handle thick originals, such as health-insurance ID cards.
If you'll primarily be scanning one or two pages at a time, a manual sheet feeder is probably all you need. If you'll be scanning longer documents on a regular basis, however, you'll want an automatic document feeder (ADF) that will scan an entire stack of pages unattended. Pick an ADF capacity based on the number of pages in the typical document you expect to scan. If you occasionally have a document that is more pages than the ADF capacity, you can add more pages during the scan as the feeder processes them. Some ADFs can also handle stacks of business cards well.
How About Duplexing?
'Duplex scanning' means scanning both sides of a page at once. If you need a sheet feeder or ADF, and if on a regular basis you expect to scan documents that are printed on both sides, you'll want a duplexing scanner, a duplexing ADF, or a scanner with a driver that includes a manual-duplex feature.
The best, swiftest duplexing scanners have two scan elements, so that they can scan both sides of a page at the same time. A design like this will be faster than a scanner with a simple duplexing ADF, but it will likely also cost more. A duplexing ADF will just scan one side, turn the page over, and only then scan the other.
In contrast, a scanner with a driver that supports manual duplexing will let you scan one side of a stack and then prompt you to flip and re-feed the stack to scan the other side, with the scanner driver automatically interfiling the pages. Manual duplexing in the driver is the most economical alternative, and it is a good choice if you don't scan two-sided documents very often, or you are on a tight budget.
See How We Test Scanners
What Resolution Do You Need?
For most scanning, resolution isn't an issue. For, say, tax documents, even a 200-pixel-per-inch (ppi) scan will give you good enough quality for most purposes, 300ppi is almost always sufficient, and it's hard to find a scanner today that supports less than 600ppi. Similarly for photos, unless you plan to crop in on a small part of the photo or print the photo at a larger size than the original, 600ppi is more than enough.
Some kinds of originals, however, require higher resolution. If you're scanning 35mm slides or negatives, for example, you'll probably want to print them at a much larger size than the original, which means you'll need to scan them at a high resolution. Similarly, if you want to see the fine detail in an original, like a stamp, you'll need to scan it at a high resolution. In these cases, you'll want a scanner that claims an optical resolution of at least 4,800ppi.
How Big Are Your Originals?
Picking a scanner that can handle the size of the originals you need to scan seems like an obvious point, but it's easy to overlook. For example, most flatbeds have a letter-size platen, which will be a problem if you occasionally need to scan legal-size pages. Most flatbeds with ADFs will scan legal-size pages via the ADF, but not all do, so be sure to check. You can also find scanners with larger flatbeds, but they will, of course, take up more desk space.
What Software Will You Need?
Most scanners will work with just about any scan-related program, but if the software you need already comes with the scanner, you won't have to pay extra for it. Depending on what you plan to scan, some of the software features you may want to look for include photo editing, optical character recognition (OCR), text indexing, the ability to create searchable PDF documents, and a business-card archiving or management program.
Photo Scanner For Mac Reviews
Do You Need a Special-Purpose Scanner?
Finally, consider whether you need a special-purpose, rather than general-purpose, scanner. Among the most common special-purpose choices are scanners for business cards (small and highly portable), books (designed to let pages lie flat), and slides (smaller than flatbed scanners, but no better at scanning slides than flatbed scanners with equivalent features).
Two other possibilities are portable scanners (general-purpose sheet-fed scanners small enough to fit in your laptop bag) and pen scanners (which you hold and trace over text). Some of the latest portable models can operate without a computer attached, scanning to a memory card or even to a smartphone. You can also find some that function as both portable and desktop document scanners by combining a portable scanner with a docking station that includes an ADF. Depending on what you need to scan, any one of these may be a good choice, either as your only scanner or as a supplement to a general-purpose scanner.
Let's Get Down to Scanner Shopping..
Best Portable Photo Scanner For Mac
Multifunction printers (MFPs) have built-in scanners, nearly all with flatbeds and many with sheet feeders and ADFs. To get the most out of your scanning, however, you'll probably want to get a single-function scanner. Fortunately, there are many models to choose from, and the 10 below are among the best we've tested. For more advice, check out our roundup of the top scanners for photos, or our list of the best all-in-one printers, if having a scanner attached to your printer is more appealing.
And finally, after you've digitized all that paper, take a look at the best shredders we've tested.
Epson Perfection V600 Photo Scanner For Mac
Best Scanners Featured in This Roundup:
Best Flatbed Scanner For Mac 2018
Visioneer Patriot H60 Review
MSRP: $1095.00Pros: Exceptional optical character recognition (OCR) accuracy. Feature-rich, easy-to-deploy software. Very fast scanning and saving to PDF. 10,000-page daily duty cycle.Cons: Would be more competitive at a lower price.Bottom Line: The Visioneer Patriot H60 scans quickly and accurately, and it has a huge daily duty cycle and a comprehensive software bundle.Read ReviewAlaris S2060w Scanner by Kodak Alaris Review
MSRP: $1295.00Pros: Fast scanning. Reasonably speedy when saving to searchable PDF. Onboard CPU allows for quicker, more accurate processing. Terrific OCR accuracy.Cons: Somewhat pricey. Expensive accessories.Bottom Line: The Alaris S2060w Scanner is reasonably fast and highly accurate, and it comes with an impressive software bundle, making it a good fit for medium- to heavy-volume workloads.Read ReviewCanon CanoScan LiDE 400 Review
MSRP: $89.99Pros: Vibrant photo scans. Excellent software bundle. Comes with kickstand for upright positioning. Very simple to use.Cons: Lacks mobile device and wireless support. Could be more accurate when scanning serif fonts.Bottom Line: The entry-level Canon CanoScan LiDE 400 is a software-rich flatbed photo scanner that also handles text documents with ease.Read ReviewEpson DS-870 Review
MSRP: $799.00Pros: Fast scanning and saving to searchable PDF. Huge volume and capacity for the price. Highly accurate.Cons: Networking is an add-on. No wireless or mobile connectivity.Bottom Line: The highly capable Epson WorkForce DS-870 is a fast, no frills high-volume scanner ideal for heavy-duty scanning and document-archiving environments.Read ReviewEpson WorkForce ES-60W Wireless Portable Document Scanner Review
MSRP: $159.99Pros: Fast. Robust software. Accurate OCR. Built-in battery. Wi-Fi and USB connectivity.Cons: Lacks memory card support. No automatic document feeder.Bottom Line: The Epson ES-60W is a fast, accurate, and lightweight portable document scanner designed for one- and two-page scan jobs.Read ReviewHP ScanJet Pro 3000 s3 Sheet-Feed Scanner Review
MSRP: $429.99Pros: Excellent speed and accuracy for the price. Well-rounded software bundle, including document and business-card archiving software. High daily duty cycle.Cons: Primary scanning utility is slow.Bottom Line: The moderately priced HP ScanJet Pro 3000 delivers excellent speed and respectable accuracy, as well as an inclusive software bundle, making it a good value.Read ReviewKodak i3300 Scanner Review
MSRP: $4495.00Pros: Fast scanning. Excellent OCR accuracy. Massive input capacity. Supports tabloid-size and larger pages. Robust, easy-to-use software.Cons: Slow at saving to searchable PDF.Bottom Line: The Kodak i3300 is a fast, high-volume document scanner, and it comes with excellent full-featured scanning and processing software at a competitive price.Read ReviewBrother ADS-1700W Review
MSRP: $269.99Pros: Fast scanning and text recognition. Accurate OCR. Strong software bundle. Supports scanning to USB drives. Color touch screen.Cons: No battery. Heavier than other portable scanners.Bottom Line: The Brother ADS-1700W is a fast and accurate portable document scanner that offers a slew of features that will be attractive to road warriors.Read ReviewFujitsu ScanSnap iX100 (2019) Review
MSRP: $229.00Pros: Accurate OCR. Fast. Robust software bundle. Versatile connectivity options, including mobile. Reasonable price.Cons: Lacks single-pass auto-duplexing.Bottom Line: The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX100 is a fast and feature-packed manual-feed document scanner designed for light-duty data capture on the road.Read ReviewPanasonic KV-N1028X Review
MSRP: $1495.00Pros: Superb OCR accuracy. Customizable touch screen. Comprehensive software. Competitive speed when scanning to image files and searchable PDF. Wired and wireless networking, including Wi-Fi Direct. Three-year warranty.Cons: Individual workstation licenses sold separately. A bit pricey.Bottom Line: The Panasonic KV-N1028X is a snappy and exceptionally accurate networkable document scanner, designed primarily for enterprise environments.The Best Video Editing Software of 2018 Whether you're a weekend GoPro shooter or a full-time video professional, you need editing software that's powerful but easy to use. Here's how the best. Top 5 free video editors. Here are 10 video-editing programs for Windows, ranked from best to worst, based on usability, video quality and render/export times. Whether you're a weekend GoPro shooter or a full-time video professional, you need editing software that's powerful but easy to use. Here's how the best video editing software stacks up. Here are 10 video-editing programs for Windows, ranked from best to worst, based on usability, video quality and render/export times. Top 10 Best Free Video Editing Software in 2018 for Mac Users. Many people are looking of free Mac video editing software since they have tons of videos and are eager to edit the videos either for better presentation or preservation.Read Review