Soda PDF Blog

Thinking of equipping your business with a photo scanner? Great idea. Instead of rooms packed with dusty filing cabinets and hours wasted searching for documents, you’ll be able to store, search, and even share your entire catalog in mere seconds. But don’t make the same mistake we (and plenty of others) made! They aren’t cheap, so if you get the wrong one, you’ll, at the very least, have wasted time and money. 

Use this list of the best photo scanners of 2019 to make sure you get the right one for your business and budget.

We’ve used our experience on the front lines of scanning god knows how many paper docs and uploading them (using awesome software like Soda PDF) to create this list. The best scanner really comes down to what’s best for you:

1)The Epson Perfection V800: The Ultimate Machine for Photographers

The Epson Perfection V800 is the next generation of the Epson V700 photo scanner, and everything that its predecessor does, it does better. It’s a flatbed scanner that can handle photographic prints, it’s also a film scanner. 6,400 pixel-per-inch (ppi) resolution, 4.0 Dmax rating, and a new LED light source that eliminates warm-up time—it’s one of the best new models in 2019. With impressive scanning times and relatively easy setup, it’s great for companies that rely on high-res images.

Where it really shines is in the detail. All 3 of its modes offer automatic color restoration and Professional mode offers a tool for getting rid of ugly scratches or dust, it’s hard to find any fault with it. The downside is the heftier price tag, but for a company that needs a top-of-the line photo scanner, you can’t go wrong.

2) Canon CanoScan LiDE 120: The Perfect Budget Option

Sometimes a company just needs a basic scanner that gets the job done well. If that’s you, then the CanoScan LiDE 120 from Canon is the answer.

This low-cost flatbed photo scanner punches far above its weight considering the rock bottom price tag. It’s aimed at companies who just need a basic scanner and don’t want to pay for frills they don’t need (or can’t figure out how to use).

At about 3 lbs., and with a ppi resolution of 2,400 it’s a great starter model for small companies. It also comes with built-in optical character recognition (OCR) software (we love this at Soda PDF!). You can easily turn a paper doc into a searchable PDF.  The downside is you can’t directly scan images to the cloud. Luckily, there are some excellent pieces of software out there to help (we think we know a very good one…).

What we love best? There are only 4 buttons! So it’s perfect for business owners who aren’t the most tech savvy.

3) Canon CanoScan LiDE 220: A Step Up

Think of this model as the big brother of the LiDE120. We consider the CanoScan LiDE 220 a high-end photo scanner that just doesn’t scan film. Either way, it’s a good option for companies that need a step up in resolution.

For just a bit extra, you get 4,800 ppi resolution rather than 2,400. One neat bonus is automatic color restoration for faded photos. For most businesses, the AutoScan feature is probably all you’ll ever need and the Basic and Advanced modes are fairly simple to figure out.

However, fair warning, there is no auto-document feed, meaning it isn’t the best choice for major scanning jobs.

4) Epson Perfection V550: Best Value for Money

The reason we give the Epson Perfection V550 the best value for money title is because you get all of the business necessities—quality, versatility, and durability—all at a price much lower than other high-end models.

You can scan slides, negatives, and medium-format film, and upload them directly to email or social media or to your cloud system. With 6,400 ppi resolution, it scans at the same quality as the big boys, and despite its lack of auto-feed, it’s still fast if you have light-duty requirements.

Two rows of 6 negatives each help increase its workload. You can’t find a better quality model at under $200.

5) Epson Expression 12000 XL-PH: The Lavish Option

The Epson Expression 12000 XL-PH is a high-res slide scanner handles negatives, slides, reflective photos, and artwork down to the minute detail. Professional photographers will love the tabloid-sized prints and flexible scanning capabilities.

It is MASSIVE, weighing in at over 30 lbs. And sporting a dots-per-square-inch (dpi) of 4,800.

It’s rather simple to set up, and once she’s ready to go, it packs a real punch. It can handle multiple items on the platen at the same time, and we’ve never seen a scanner reproduce such detail (it better at this price!). It handles up to 30 slides at the same time! There’s OCR to digitize business documents, too.

In the end, you pay big bucks but you get big performance. Perfect for huge organizations that need extreme detail.

Honorable Mention Photo Scanner

6) Plustek OpticFilm 8200 Ai: A Great Value Slide Scanner

7,200 ppi, dust and scratch removal, and faster software—the Plustek OpticFilm 8200 Ai is a step up from its predecessor in every way. The best part in our opinion is the color calibration that allows you to replicate the original in precise detail.

It’s a flatbed scanner for generic business documents, but it’s also a killer film scanner that can handle 12 slides at once. And each scan takes roughly 33 seconds. Not bad!

It wasn’t one of our favorites, but we gave it an honorable mention since it doubles as a slide scanner, flatbed, and film scanner, so it gives you max flexibility and good quality. You pay for what you get though! So, yeah, it isn’t the best at any of the things it does, but it does a lot of different things well. So, if you need flexibility and versatility, give it some consideration.

Make sure you get the right photo scanner for your business this year, and once you do, make sure you get some awesome PDF software to help you upload, edit, and share your business documents. You haven’t experienced a seamless business until you’ve experienced the Soda PDF revolution! Try it for FREE today!