I’ve covered the document scanner industry for well over 20 years, and each year I find myself even more impressed with the sheer number of machines. There’s everything from tiny single-sheet portables capable of scanning and processing just a few pages per minute (ppm) up to high-volume workhorses rated at a few hundred pages per minute or more. These sheetfed document scanners are on the workhorse end of the spectrum. If you’ve only worked with the relatively slow scanners on all-in-one printers, you’ll be amazed how quick a dedicated sheetfed scanner can be.
Every multi-sheetfed document scanner has an automatic document feeder (ADF) for sending page after page into the machine and a relatively compact build. Unlike a flatbed scanner, a sheetfed scanner processes only individual pages and can’t be used to scan objects such as books. Most sheetfed scanners have two scanning sensors for simultaneously scanning both sides of a two-sided page. These top-notch fast document scanners, the best we’ve tested, are optimized for scanning lots of text quickly, accurately, and efficiently.
This roundup focuses primarily on desktop document scanners, but to keep it comprehensive, we’ve also included PCMag’s favorite multi-sheetfed portable document scanner and our top pick for a flatbed scanner with an ADF attachment. Our goal is to help you choose the best possible scanner for your needs, and there are plenty of factors to consider. Let’s start at the beginning.
How Much Scanning Do You Do?
Document scanners are classified and priced according to capacity, volume, and speed ratings, followed by connectivity and functionality (including the ability to scan to smartphones and tablets) and the integrated software bundle. Size, weight, and specialized features may also be factored in, but the primary thing that pushes prices up is how much scanning the scanner can do, and how quickly.
To keep from spending an arm and a leg on functionality you don’t need, start by figuring out how many pages you need to scan every day. A multi-sheetfed portable scanner, such as Epson’s WorkForce DS-300W, might be rated for a daily duty cycle of 500 pages or so. On the high end, the Visioneer Patriot H80’s daily duty cycle is 10,000 pages.
Another question is how many pages you’ll have to scan at a time. If you’re dealing with lengthy documents, you don’t want to have to break them up. A relatively inexpensive desktop model, such as Epson’s DS-410 Document Scanner, might come with a 50-sheet ADF; a high-end one could hold as many as 250 sheets for serious batch scanning.
One speed factor is whether the scanner has one or two sensors for scanning both sides of a two-sided document. Another is the size of page that you want to scan. All sheetfed document scanners can accept letter- and legal-size pages, but if you’re working with larger sheets, make sure the scanner is big enough to handle them. A few higher-end models can feed through sheets up to 20 feet long! On the small side, some scanners have special features for receipts and business cards.
No one wants to stand around waiting for a scan job to finish, and in the real world, that’s not just about the physical process of scanning. When we test scanners, our speed ratings also factor in the time it takes for the scanner’s bundled software to process the scan and save it to either image or searchable PDF. (We’ll look more closely at the bundled software below.) In general, the more you scan, the faster your scanner should be.
How Will You Operate the Scanner?
The most basic scanner interface is a Scan or Start button; that’s fine if all you want to do is basic scanning directly to your computer. Touch-screen panels with limited or extensive menus will give you more walk-up options. Sometimes scanning software lets you set up pre-defined profiles for file type, resolution, and destination that you can then select and run from the scanner’s interface.
In a few cases, the scanner’s own operating system handles profile management and other features. One of the better implementations of this shared functionality is on Fujitsu’s consumer- and small-business ScanSnap machines. Whether you’re using ScanSnap software on your computer or operating the touch screen, functions are almost identical, saving you from having to learn two different ways to do the same thing.
If you already have a document management system in place, you may not even need most of the software included with your new scanner. However, scanning software packages can do a lot. Various apps and plug-ins enhance and manipulate photos, convert scanned text to editable text with optical character recognition (OCR), organize and archive business cards, and even extract financial data from receipts and invoices and send it to your tax prep software. Scanning apps for mobile devices are increasingly feature-rich as well.
Software varies widely from manufacturer to manufacturer and even from product to product. This is one of the places where our reviews and roundups come in handy: We zero in on the specific features that make document scanners suited for particular tasks and needs.
Which Devices Will Connect to the Scanner?
Each scanner comes with a different mix of wired and wireless connectivity options. Those options control which computers and mobile devices the scanner can work with. They also affect how quickly the scanner can send a scan to your device, as data transfer over Wi-Fi will likely be slower than over an Ethernet or USB 3 connection.
USB will suffice for connecting a single computer. Bluetooth, Wi-Fi Direct, and near-field communication (NFC) will let the scanner talk to a single phone or tablet. If you’re looking for a scanner that multiple people can use, make sure it has Ethernet or Wi-Fi to connect to a computer network, or Bluetooth LE for handling multiple mobile devices. Some models, such as the Epson DS-970 Color Duplex Workgroup Document Scanner, don’t have Ethernet pre-installed but can be expanded with a separately purchased network interface unit.
The operating system of your computer, phone, or tablet matters a lot less than it used to. All major scanner manufacturers have drivers and software that run on both Windows and macOS, and apps for both iOS and Android. Some can also scan directly to USB flash drives.
Which Sheetfed Document Scanner Should You Get?
Before you purchase a scanner, make sure you know what you want it to do: how much you’ll scan, how fast the scanning process should be, which devices the scanner will connect with, and what the software should do with your scans once they’re processed. Then be prepared to make some trade-offs between features and budget. Multi-sheetfed scanners are often intended for business use and priced accordingly. But with a little research, you should be able to find one that meets your needs and doesn’t break the bank.
Want to know more about the many scanning options out there? Check out our roundup of the best scanners we’ve tested. And if you need to print, copy, and fax too, an all-in-one printer might be the best choice for you.
