Best Photo Scanner 2020: A Buyer's Guide

The flatbed scanner is a common home and office peripheral that gets its name from its large and flat fixed glass bed, which is where you lay your documents before closing the lid and scanning them. These scanners look like a miniature top of a photocopier, and they are among the best photo scanners for photos thanks to their higher resolution.

• Documents & Photos. Flatbed scanners are ideal if you have a variety of things to scan and aren't limited to just documents or just photos. You can scan both easily with a flatbed scanner.
• Durable Construction. Flatbed scanners are large enough (but not overwhelmingly so) that no corners are cut in their manufacturing.
• High Resolution. Flatbed scanners have the highest resolution available in the consumer scanner market, typically at 2,000 DPI (dots per inch) or more. As a reference, 600 DPI is enough to scan photos and provide crisp 1:1 reproduction. If you want to enlarge images, scans should be 3,200 DPI or higher.
• Affordable. Flatbed scanners usually cost between $50­ - $70.
• Ideal for Low-Volume. This model is best for a low-volume user scanning boxes of old photos or light office paperwork.
• Features to Look For: Different models can offer features such as push-button scanner and software that integrates with archiving applications such as Evernote and Dropbox.

Shop Flatbed Scanners

Sheet-fed scanners are the dream of office workers everywhere. You simply feed the documents into the scanner like a sheet feeder on the top of a copy machine, the scanner scans it and then spits it back out.

• Ideal for High-Volume Scanning. While flatbed scanners are cumbersome to use to scan a lot of paperwork, sheet-fed scanners are necessary if you want to have a paperless office and/or scan through a pile (or two or seven) of backlogged paperwork.
• Higher Cost, But More Efficient. Sheet-fed scanners range from $200-$400,  with the costlier versions saving you time by providing a larger feeder.
• Features to Look For. Brands such as Fujitsu offer a combination of speed, double-sided scanning and durable construction, but it comes with a price. There are other decent sheet-fed scanners on the market from other manufacturers such as Epson, though they don't offer the same number of features.
• Best for Documents, Not Photos. Sheet-fed scanners are not ideal for use as a photo scanner because they do not offer high resolution, which is necessary for scanning photos. However, there are photo scanners with feeders on the market, which will simplify the process and save you a lot of time over using a flatbed scanner. But that does come with a price—quadruple what you would pay for a flatbed.

Shop Sheet-Fed Scanners

Portable scanners are the tool for you if you have scanning needs while on the go. They can scan photos and documents with a simple push-button operation.

• Great Convenience, Less Function. While portable scanners can certainly get the job done, they don't have the power that you will find on a desktop flatbed or sheet-fed scanner. Even so, many users can’t live without the convenience that the portable design offers.
• Average Resolution. The DPI usually hovers around 600, which is good enough to scan photos, but you won't be able to enlarge them without distortion.
• Battery-Powered vs Wired Options. In searching for a portable scanner, the biggest decision to make will be whether you choose a wired version or a battery-powered version. Battery-powered portable scanners, such as those from Doxie and Fujitsu, cost more ($150-200). These models operate on battery power and can scan to nearby devices via Wi-Fi or to internal/removable storage. If you need a portable scanner to scan items directly to your laptop while out in the field, perhaps a wired version will work for you. Epson offers a portable scanner at half the price because it must be connected to your computer via USB.

Shop Portable Scanners

Combination scanners are also commonly known as all-in-one (AIO) or multifunction printers where printing, copying, scanning and sometimes faxing capabilities are combined into one unit.

• Great Convenience, Less Function. If you really need a scanner for photos, going the AIO route is probably not the best idea. These scanners are okay for scanning the occasional document, but they don't provide the resolution necessary for photo scanning or the speed necessary if you need to scan a lot of paperwork. They are also finicky, sometimes not scanning because the printer is out of ink or toner or following other strange rules.