The best photo scanners on the market today promise clear images, a quick scan time, and a reasonable price. There are quite a few from which to choose, but we've pared the options down to fit a number of different categories, including price, size, and image quality. If you'd like to get started digitizing all of your old prints, here are a bunch of the best photo scanners that will get the job done.
Budget scanning
Canon's CanoScan LiDE400 slim flatbed scanner comes at a great price and has a feature ideal for the average user. It scans quickly, it offers a max 4800 dpi resolution, and it handles documents up to letter size. Connect to your PC with USB-C and take control of operations with five physical buttons on the front of the scanner.
Fast scanning
Able to scan photos at a pace of one per second at 300 dpi (it's capable of up to 1200 dpi), Epson's FastFoto is for people who have a lot of photos to get through in a short time. It handles new photos, old photos, Polaroids with its pull-through scanner, and included software that makes it easy to touch up damaged documents.
Premium scanning
Epson's V850 flatbed scanner is an upgrade over the V800, ideal for those who take scanning seriously. Its dual-lens system (4800 x 9600 dpi and 6400 x 9600 dpi) and 4.0 Dmax optical density allow for professional-quality scans of film and photo, and the included ICE software heals damaged prints to have them looking new again. If you're dealing with a lot of scans and want a professional result, this is a great option.
Funky design
This Plustek photo scanner has a neat design and the capability to scan up to 8x10 photos and standard A4 paper. It's fast, it has a pull-through scanner rather than a flatbed build, and it won't take up much space on your desk. Imaging software is included to help with retouching old photos and expect scans up to 600 dpi.
Multipurpose scanning
The V600 is far cheaper than the V850 but still offers a variety of scanning functions. Your old slides, negatives, and panoramic film can be scanned, and included software can fix damaged photos. If not working with photos, it's still an excellent option for your usual documents, thanks to a quick speed. A 6400 x 9600 dpi delivers crisp scans of anything you place on the flatbed.
Solid value
Epson's Perfection V39 is the most affordable option on this list, but that doesn't mean it won't be all you need for home scanning. It has a 4800 dpi resolution to make your photo scans look great, and its flatbed design can be propped up to save space. Included is Epson software to make scans straight to cloud services as easy and automatic as possible.
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Whether you need something that's cheap but gets the job done, something high quality that will genuinely represent your physical photos in the digital realm, or something in between, there's a photo scanner for you. If you're still wondering where to turn, we can make some suggestions.
Unless you're looking for professional-grade scans of your photos — which something like the Epson FastFoto FF-680W offers for an elevated price — the Canon CanoScan LiDE400 will handle just about everything other than film. It's available for a great price that will appeal to most people. It's quick, it fits most documents, and it offers scans up to 4800 dpi to keep things looking crisp.
If you're in search of something that can scan and print, check out our roundup of the best all-in-one printers.
