With the evolution of the internet, some technology options got more importance while some others diminished. While coming to the diminished technologies, Fax has become a less convenient choice as documents can be sent online more efficiently and at less expense. When the demand for Fax fell, the need for scanners has gone up.
Scanners became an integral part of any business and even for personal use. It helps people to covert documents into digital in a quick span of time and sends it online across a large audience around the world. It has made the business operations smooth and more effective compared to the days of Fax.
If you are looking for a good quality scanner for your business operations, the best choice is a flatbed scanner. It is an optical scanner that comes with a flat surface to help you to keep the documents to be scanned.
Many flatbed scanners accept multiple sheets at a time compared to other types of scanners, and it is an excellent choice for bound documents.
Flatbed Scanners Compared To Document Scanners
Before we continue this article, you might be wondering about the differences of both of these devices. A flatbed unit is equipped with a cover and a glass surface where you place the document for scanning. The unit works by scanning the bottom of the document to covert it to a digital image.
Alternatively, document scanners use sheet feeders instead of glass panels. You’ll also find more diversity, such as a manual or automatic feed. This device creates a digital image by scanning the document, and some document scanners capture the image from the bottom and top of the page at the same time, leading to a quicker process.
Flatbed devices are great for scanning additional items than a piece of paper, including cards, stamps and bound materials that aren’t always flat. Plus, if you’re looking for a scanner that produces high-quality images, these are great options.
On the other hand, document scanners are mainly used for scanning documents that are flat. You also have the option to store the scanned documents on your smartphone, computer or memory card, as they provide more options than a flatbed scanner.
How To Choose a Flatbed Scanner For You
While choosing flatbed scanners, you should prioritize your needs before selecting a particular product. It can be the quality of the scanned copy, paper size and formats it handles, OS compatibility, speed, special features of the scanner, price, and more.
Resolution
One important element of a flatbed scanner is the resolution it offers. This feature measures the number of dots that create the digital image, and the more dots, the better the quality. First, you should determine if you’ll be scanning plenty of images as the quality will be more important than just documents.
If you’ll use the flatbed scanner mainly for digital images, research units that are at least 600 dpi or more.
Connection
Next, bear in mind how you’ll connect the scanner to your chosen device. Many units come with a Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB connection, though determining the best option depends on your preferences. For the fastest most reliable connection, opt for USB, though you should consider that this makes the device less portable.
Scanning Speed
If you intend on scanning an array of documents, you’ll need a scanner with a fast speed so you don’t have a backlog of work. A quicker speed can improve your productivity as you can get through more documents in less time.
The Top 10 Best Flatbed Scanners You Can Buy
Here, I can list top 10 best flatbed scanners for your reference in 2019.
Table of Contents
10. Plustek A3 Flatbed Scanner
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It is a cool scanner that scans even large paper formats including A3 12″x 17″. The scanner has multiple scan modes including color, grey-scale, and more to help the users to produce documents, arts, and more.
You can generate images, documents, and graphics up to a resolution of 1200 dpi, which can easily make your art also into digital form.
The scanner is coming with four built-in scanning options, and that are OCR, PDF, e-mail, and scan. When it comes to color scan, it shows a speed of 15 seconds whereas, in the case of grayscale, the speed is 9 seconds.
Pros
- Excellent option for scanning newspapers, both sides of the books, and large documents
- Works smoothly with Windows and Mac
- Highly cheap compared to other large scanners
Cons
- The scanning options are not fully equipped
- The driver found to be less stable
9. Epson 12000XL-PH Expression Flatbed Scanner
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It is an ideal choice for large businesses who are looking for high-quality large format scanner for their varied needs. It can accommodate 12.2″ x 17.2″ file sizes and produce the highest quality image at 2400 x 4800 dpi resolution.
With an extraordinary image quality, you can convert high-quality images into digital form without losing any of its key aspects.
It comes with a ColorTrue II Imaging System, and that produces excellent results while trying to scan colored documents. It can help you to scan multiple files or images at a time and easily save the soft copies on Mac or PC.
Pros
- An excellent choice for professional photographers
- It combines LED light source with Epson MatrixCCD technology
- One-touch color restoration to adjust the faded photos
Cons
- Some see the price as high
- More of artistic needs, not recommended for general office jobs
8. HD 3 in 1 Flatbed Scanner
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It is an economical option for people who are looking a general scanner that can meet their needs. You can scan negatives, slides, and photographs and can directly copy to the SD card later to open on the computer.
The scanner comes with frames of 4″ x 6″, 5″ x 7″, 3 1/2″ x 5″, Name Cardholder, Slide Holder, and Negative Holder.
While coming to quality, it produces HD 3000DPI solution documents, and that makes it an ideal choice for converting old photographs into digital.
If you are planning to buy this, it is good to use any photo processor as photos from different cameras show minute differences.
Pros
- Since it comes with SD card slot, the scanner does not need a PC to be connected
- Highly affordable with the options of the product
- Very easy to use
Cons
- Some SD cards may not work with the scanner
- Some flare-ups are noted on few glossy photos
7. HP ScanJet Pro 2500 f1 Flatbed OCR Scanner
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It is a product designed for quick scanning needs as it can generate 20 pages or 40 images per minute and can also produce 1,500 pages with single-pass per day.
To produce efficient work results, you can even activate two-side scanning of pages. It supports business, executive, legal, letter cards, 6×8, 4×6, 8×12, and 7×10.
You can also use different paper types including greeting cards, labels, envelopes, index cards, various types of papers, and more.
It supports Windows 7 and above and Mac computers. The software of the scanner offers many features, including background cleanup, automatic crop, straighten content, edge erase, and more.
Pros
- The users have the option to scan and automatically move to the given folder
- Excellent software features for editing purposes
- Fast and efficient scanning
Cons
- The software converts the files to PDF format only
- Multiple page scanning at a time is not available with the scanner
6. Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII Photo, Film and Negative Scanner
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It is another great choice for the film, photo, and negative scanning, and it comes with FARE Level 3 option – a retouching technology that helps you to make an automatic correction in photos and film.
It produces excellent quality documents as it scans at 9600 x 9600 dpi when it comes to film, and 4800 x 4800 on other types of files and documents.
The scanner produces an A4 color document in seven seconds, and while it comes to standard film scan, you can expect the document in 18 seconds. To enhance the scanning experience, it offers two scanning modes, namely Color, and Output Grayscale.
Pros
- Excellent speed even at the highest quality scanning
- It comes with a number of features like FARE Level 3, Built-In Power Supply, and more
- Works with major OS versions of Windows and Mac
Cons
- The software is not highly customized for use
- Large size papers cannot be scanned by the machines
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5. Epson Perfection V550 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner
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It is an excellent option for almost all the scanning needs from documents to film and negative. The scanner creates the documents with amazing quality and generates at 6400 dpi resolution.
It can also produce large files size including 17″x22″, and users have the option to share the documents through social media channels automatically
The scanner comes with a Digital ICE technology that allows the users to remove the scratches and dust on the film smoothly for producing excellent digital copies, in addition to one-touch restoration options for the photos.
It also showcases fast scanning using the technology called ReadyScan LED Technology.
Pros
- Brilliant 48-bit color depth
- Options to scan multiple photos at a time
- Works with Mac and Windows computers
Cons
- The software is not up to the needs of current times
- While scanning slides, you may find it bit slow
4. Epson Perfection V800 Photo Scanner
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It is a great scanner from Epson to get accurate color and details, and it produces impressive quality scans at 6400 dpi resolution.
It is an excellent choice for someone who is looking for different film holders as it comes with 35mm slides, 35mm negatives, 4″ x 5″ and 6 x 20cm. To produce the best quality scanned documents, it uses a dual lens system.
Additionally, the scanner can produce even large documents up to a size of 8.5″ x 11.7″. The scanner is designed to reproduce the visual effects of an image with advanced shadow details and improved tonal range to give a lasting impression.
Pros
- Good quality images with excellent effects
- It works with all the major Windows and Mac versions
- Dual lens system for better scan results
Cons
- Does not have an inbuilt photo editor
- No Automatic Document Feeder
3. Epson Perfection V550 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner
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It is another great product from Epson that can produce scanned documents at optical resolution 6400 dpi using Epson MatrixCCD.
It makes the images sharp irrespective of you are using photos, negatives, slides, films, and more. You should note that the hardware supports the resolution at a maximum of 12,800 dpi with a unique Micro Step Drive technology.
It supports large document creation at a size of 17″ x 22″ and offers a fantastic 48-bit color depth to give vivid colors beyond your expectations. While the speed of the scanning is found excellent, people may find it in the case of slides not very appealing.
Pros
- Excellent quality images
- Great retouching and editing options
- Works with Windows and Mac version
Cons
- There is no separation of negatives with respect to format
- Slide scanning is found to be very slow
2. Epson Perfection V370 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner
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It is another high-quality scanner from Epson that is coming with Document Capture Pro software and making the documents even accessing from the mobile devices.
It even helps the users to scan the documents and images to cloud that too with exceptional clarity by producing documents at 4800 x 9600 optical resolution. The scanner can create digital copies of documents as large as 13″ x 19″ and restore old faded photos with one click.
The scanner enables you to scan and email the copies using one-touch buttons. Using the ReadyScan LED technology you can quickly scan and convert the documents into digital format.
Pros
- Its lid opens at 180 degrees to scan books and albums
- Quick options to restore faded images
- An excellent value product with the given price
Cons
- Need better instruction manual
- It is found slow on few occasions
1. Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo, Image, Film, Negative & Document Scanner
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One of the best scanners from Epson with options to convert film, image, photo, document, and negative to very high-quality digital form. With its 6400 x 9600 dpi resolution, the users can expect sharp reproductions up to a size of 17″ x 22″.
By using DIGITAL ICE function, you can remove creases and tears from the photos and dust and scratches from film.
Users have even options to make digital copies to editable texts using ABBYY® FineReader Sprint Plus OCR. It showcases a color depth of 48-bits per pixel, and that helps you to recreate the images more vivid and specific.
Pros
- Quick conversion of various docs with very high quality
- Options to scan multiple photos at a time
- It works with both Mac and Windows
Cons
- First-time users may struggle with it
- Better instruction manual is needed
Which Flatbed Scanner Should You Buy?
While choosing flatbed scanners, you have multiple choices available, but the objective of each scanner is different.
Therefore, before choosing the scanner, you should think of your needs and invest in the right product. You are not only spending your money but investing your time to do great things with that.
According to me, Epson Perfection V600 is an excellent choice for anyone who wanted to create anything from photos to negatives with exceptional quality and retouching options. It is not much costlier as well, and it gives you great value at the price range.