Even if you are running a small home office, a scanner is an essential device for managing your paperwork and staying more organized. Here we walk about the 5 best scanners for home offices that you can get.
Digitizing your important document not only help you to be more organized, but it allows you to add more quality and efficiency for your customers. Some of the benefits of using a scanner for small offices are:
- Things are a lot more organized.
- It Saves a lot of space; you don’t need cupboards and drawers filled with paper.
- Documents are securely stored.
- Finding information or a document is more easy and convenient.
- Improves customer services
- It can save a lot of precious time.
Note that here we only cover scanners. If you are looking for all in one machine, we recommend reading this list.
List of Best Scanners for Home Offices
we have selected scanners for your home office.
- Epson WorkForce ES-400 – Efficient and High Speed
- Brother ImageCenter ADS – 2800W- Reliable and Robus
- Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 – Convenient and Organized
- Epson FastFoto FF-680W – Fast and Easy
- Epson Perfection V550 – Versatile and Efficient
Short Reviews
Lets have a look at short reviews of our selected scanners.
1. Epson WorkForce ES-400 – Efficient and High Speed
Epson’s ES-400 is a perfect scanner for your home base office. It’s a duplex scanner that can scan both sides of the paper with its Single Step Technology. Scanning speed is quite reasonable with 30ppm/17ppi.
The scanner is an auto-feed, that means you can feed as many as 50 documents in the feeder breeze through a stack of papers while you are doing other chores.
ES-400 not only makes scanning easily, but it also helps you manage your workload efficiently.
Even in a small business, you can’t afford to be disorganized. It allows you to send the scanned files directly to any cloud service like DropBox, Evernote, Google drive.
You can create searchable and editable PDF files and save them to your desired location.
ES-400 features TWAIN drivers that makes it compatible with almost all document organizing software. The scanner features a built-in Nuance OCR technology that read text on your scanned files.
It’s Ultrasonic Double feed detection prevents missing pages, and it also features a Dynamic Skew Correction.
You can also scan photos with ES-400, and its Image Processing Technology can help auto crop, edit, or remove blank pages or backgrounds with ease.
As far as popularity goes, this is definitely the best scanners for home offices.
2. Brother ImageCenter ADS – 2800W – Reliable and Robust
Brother ADS-2800W is a reliable and robust scanner for your mid to large size workgroup.
It simplifies the document capturing, scanning, processing, and sharing.
With 40 ppm speed, it can help you organize and get done with your scanning needs fast and easy.
ADS-2800W can work both through wireless and wired connections. The web connect option streamlines your documents enabling them to go to several pre-destined locations.
The ADS-2800 includes many features that can be helpful for your home office. Its image optimizing quality maximizes output quality. The scanner is certified with Kofax Express and Kofax VRS Elit software that is a patent image enhancement and perfection software.
ADS-2800 has many scanning software to meet your small business requirements. It features TWAIN drivers that enable it to integrate with all document managing applications.
ADS comes with enterprise-level security and provide many security features including secure Function Lock, SSL, and Enterprise security.
Its simple and user-friendly interface makes scanning process easy and hassle-free. The scanner is compatible with all mobile devices so that you can even operate it with your mobile.
A 3.7” color screen helps you to process information even if it is not connected to any system. A great option indeed for those who have small to medium working organization.
3. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 – Convenient and Organized
Fujitsu iX1500 is another good scanner that would cater your workplace’s scanning needs. It offers better ways to get organized. With its easy to use touch screen interface, operating it and handling documents becomes convenient.
iX1500 features ScanSnap software that helps you to stay organized and manage your workflow even with your iPhone or Andriod phone. OCR technology enables you to find your files and save them as text documents.
Not only great for organizing all your paperwork, but iX1500 is also equally efficient in scanning your photos and colored documents. Automatic Image Cleanup allows you to perform intelligent scan corrections for excellent results.
As far as the size is concerned, this is also pretty light and compact. It is not as portable as the handheld scanners, it is still fairly mobile.
With a scanning speed of 30 PPm, You can breeze through as many documents as you like. iX1500 provide easy and quick access to different cloud services for easy sharing, storing, or managing your work. Now you can manage your documents, photos, receipts, business cards, and anything else you need to scan.
It’s a portable scanner that you can fit anywhere in your small office requiring less space. It’s a great option for running your organization efficiently and paperless. Everything can be digitally stored very easily and conveniently.
4. Epson FastFoto FF-680W – Versatile and Efficient
Epson FF-680W is a high-speed scanner with everything you require for your office needs. It can efficiently scan everything you need to scan in your daily business, from receipts to the contracts, photos, or documents.
You can scan photos of wallet size, Polaroids, and even trading cards.
The scanner is capable of scanning one document per second which is great for heavy workloads.
The scanning process is made very easy and convenient in FF-680W. With one easy touch, you can process the scanning. It features a single-step technology that automatically captures both sides of paper including hand-written notes.
With its wireless connectivity, you can place the scanner in any corner of the house where it is out of place.
With its Second-Gen Fastfoto software, your documents and photos are automatically scanned, stored and organized. You can save your scanned documents directly to any cloud service.
It contained a powerful OCR technology for reading text documents and saving them as editable word, excel, or PDFs. FF-680 is a great option if you are running a small business or have a home-based office.
5. Epson Perfection V550 – For Photographers on a Budget
Epson V550 is a great choice as it is perfect for scanning both documents and photos. The scanner provides a wide range of options for scanning. It features amazing performance with versatility. It allows you to scan your old family photographs, negatives, slides, and films.
And for documents, you can scan receipts, pages, books, magazines, and all kind of official documents with perfection and details capturing even the minute details.
V550 features the ICE technology that is quite essential for scanning old photographs or magazines. It automatically corrects all scratches, stains, or creases on the paper, makes it look perfect and more presentable. You can easily bring your faded books back to life.
It’s ReadyScan LED technology the scanner allows great productivity as it requires no warm-up time at all. You can scan through stacks of papers without having to stop. Its OCR technology can easily read and identify text documents and convert them into PDFs and editable documents.
The scanning results are true to life and clear with its 48-bit color depth. No doubt it’s a good option that can fulfil your small office’s needs and you can scan your all family photographs as a bonus.
If you are into the business of photography or photo editing, the this is the best scanners for home offices.
FAQ
Which Scanner is Good for Your Small Business?
Well, it depends on individual needs. Mostly two kinds are popular, and both have their pros and cons lets dig it deeper.
ADF
Automatic Document Feeder is an excellent device for those who need to scan a lot of document daily. It allows you to feed a certain amount of papers in it feeder and it automatically process each page. You don’t have to put each page inside the scanner.
Pros
- These are usually high-speed scanners that allow you to get through a stack of papers within minutes.
- Reduces manual work involved.
- You can do other chores especially if you have a home base office.
- ADF usually configure both sides at a time, mean they are a duplex scanner.
Cons
- It can not scan oddly shaped documents.
- It may damage the paper if it is too old or an antique kind of piece. You can’t take the risk of putting it into the feeder.
Flatbed scanners
Many people find flatbed scanners to be the best scanners for home offices. This is especially the case for offices dedicated to graphic designing.
Flatbed scanners have a glass panel. You have to place the document or picture on the glass panel for scanning.
In some of the scanners, the lid is even removable, allowing you to scan big brochures, newspapers, or oddly shaped documents. Flatbed scanners can even scan art pieces, flowers or other 3D objects.
Pros
- Allows oddly shaped papers.
- Allows even 3D objects.
- You can place even very old pictures or documents without running the risk of harming the original.
Cons
- Involves a lot of manual work, you need to place each paper on glass panel one by one.
- May read only one side.
- Takes more time scanning as compared to ADF.
What Things to Consider While Buying a Scanner for a Small Office
Following things can help you select the best scanners for home offices.
Assess your workload
While choosing a scanner for your home office, it’s a good idea to make a random analysis of how much you are going to use it. You don’t need some heavy duty machine if all you need to scan is a few documents.
It will be needless and an over-expenditure. You can choose a smart and portable device that works well and can be useful in many ways.
Some useful features that we look for in the best scanners for home offices include:
- It should have an ADF (automatic document feeder) if you are looking to scan a lot of papers.
- Wireless connectivity is another useful option especially if you have a small working area. You can place the scanner anywhere where it keeps working without coming into anyone’s way.
- See if it can integrate to different systems at your workplace. Some scanners support Windows, and some allow both Windows and Mac system. See if you require anything particular.
- Check the duty cycle. It’s a good idea to check the duty cycle of your scanner before choosing. It can cause trouble if you continually exceed its duty cycle limit.
- It has to have the required software as OCR or ICE technology if you are looking to scan documents and photos.