You like to travel or move quickly and want to carry everything in digital format? Yes be it a image, documents, ID’s, invitation card or business card. Carry everything smartly !!
Photo Clicking and posting with the best caption on Instagram is my hobby. Whenever I find any old picture from the album I just use my portable and HD Scanner and save it in my PC and cloud storage servers.
The rise in working from home, we need the right equipment obviously. In that list, we believe the portable scanner can do wonders. Only if you choose the smart features and price-wise.
Also Read => Best home printer with scanner
Here are the top 5 Best Portable Scanner in 2020:
1. Doxie Go SE – Best Overall Portable Scanner
The highest selling portable scanner which is best for both photo and documents. It comes with the two variants one is with USB and the other is WiFi based. We are reviewing only WiFi Doxie Go SE Scanner.
The size of the machine is so much portable, seriously as if you are carrying a rolled-up magazine into your bag or drawer once you are done using it.
You need to install the Doxie app, which is available free of cost on both Google Play store and iOS app on apple store. This assures you can use both on android, windows or apple appliances.
The scanning speed of the paper is fast. You can easily scan any colored photo or document in 8 seconds. The scanning quality is good, it comes out to at 600 dpi, which is good enough. The Doxie has the inbuilt memory which can store up to 4000 pages.
You can save the scanned file in 3 formats- PDF for documents, JPEG, and PNG for photos. For documents, this scanner has OCR technology, which reads the text from your sheet and makes the easily searchable pdf.
The battery is rechargeable and it will last long. You can scan up to 400 pages before recharging your battery again. You don’t need any computer. You can save the scanned files even on online storage servers you name it, this app support almost all.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: Both Wired and wireless
- Scan Speed: 8 second/page
- OCR Technology: Yes
- Resoluition: 600 dpi
- Battery Capacity: 400 Pages
Pros:
- Portable size just like the roll of magazine
- Battery life – Build in rechargeable battery
- Lightweight and compact
Cons:
- Sensitive document feeder
- No auto update of app, You have to check website manually for update.
2. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 – High speed Portable Scanner
The most advanced Scanner with the user friendly interference of 4.3 inches panel. We like the touch screen panel so much. I mean even after few months use the touch screen features work so smooth and fast.
The features on this small window are endless. The automatic software can do automatic cropping, re scaling image to correct size, remove blank pages and even it increase sharpness for the better output of scan file.
We also like the organized features within the build in storage. You just need to choose the correct option for the document, photo, business card, receipts or customize tag. In future you don’t have to check each saved file. All you have to do is open the relevant folder and your file will be retrieved with few touches.
You need to install the SnapScan app. This will let this scanner to connect with both IOS/MAC or PC, android and other online storage servers easily.
The wireless scanning feature will let you scan wireless, means once you scan the file you can share the file through WiFi to Google Drive, Dropbox or on your computer.
The best feature is the ADF (Automactic document feeder). The scanning speed is so much fast it only take 2 seconds to scan a sheet. Just feed the feeder with 50 sheets and forget, it will do it’s work at it’s own.
The double side scanning will just save your lot of time. All you have to do is insert the page with both sides and sensors will scan both sides of your document at the same time. We believe this scanner might not look portable but this is so small that you can carry to any small corner of your home or office.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: USB Cable and WiFi
- Scan Speed: 2 seconds per page
- OCR Technology: Yes
- Resolution: 600 dpi
- Battery Capacity: Plug and Play
Pros:
- 4.3 Inches Panel with ScanSnap Manager
- Durable
- Very fast- Scan both side in 2 seconds
Cons:
- Size
- Price
- App need to be install
3. Brother DS-640 – Best for portable printer for MAC
The portable scanner is so much compact that you can put this your pocket. Yes, the size of the Brother DS-60 scanner is only 11 inches and weighs only 1.5 lbs. Just carry this in your bag, pocket or purse.
If you work from home, have small business or student who need to submit his assignment/notes. This is ideal scanner with limited and cost efficient features.
The downside of this scanner is that you need to connect this with USB 3.0 to your computer or laptop for usage. Then only it will able to scan. So it is like plug and play type of scanner.
To enjoy the features such as auto crop, image modifier, background remover, text enhancer, you need to install the software. This suite also let you do document management.
The speed to scan one document, it can be black and white or colored one is less than 4 seconds. Speed is not that much fast but it is good enough for heavy duty work also.
This is one of the most affordable tag scanner with all the premium features you might find in expensive one.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: USB 3.0
- Scan Speed: Less than 4 seconds per page
- OCR Technology: Yes
- Resolution: 300 dpi
- Battery Capacity: USB
Pros:
- Compact and lightweight
- Plug and play
- Support – MAC, Windows and Linux
Cons:
- Support only USB 3.0
- You need PC to connect with
- 300 dpi
- No wireless option
4. Aibecy Portable Wand – Best Portable Handheld
Another best portable scanner that is perfect for businessmen, students, photographers, artists and travelers. We know how hectic is to carry your ID’s when you are person who love to move around. This small and lightweight handheld scanner can scan from 300 dpi to 900 dpi with crisp and sharp output.
This is excellent scanner, just put inside the roller and it will scan the document within 3 seconds to 10 seconds. The speed varies depending on what quality of dpi you choose. The 300 dpi will give your ok ok scan, 600 dpi is ideal for photos, and 900 dpi option will give you high quality scan.
There is no OCR within this wand. But you can enjoy OCR technology once you install the driver which comes within the CD. You can either save your document to micro SD, it support upto 32 GB. And if you don’t have any SD card. Just plug and play with your computer or laptop and save your files into folders of computer.
You can operate this without computer also with 2 x AA batteries. The power saving option will help you save the battery of the scanner. It will go to sleep if you don’t use for 3 minutes.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: wired only
- Scan Speed: 3 to 10 seconds based on dpi you choose
- OCR Technology: Yes, Software is required
- Resolution: 300 dpi, 600 dpi and 900 dpi
- Battery Capacity: AA battery
Pros:
- Compact and lightweight
- Support 2.0 USB
- Build in image scanner
- plug and play
- small LCD display
- Affordable price
Cons:
- Does not support Legal Size paper
- Wired only
- Doesn’t support online servers storage like google drive and dropbox etc
5. Epson WorkForce DS-40 – Best wireless portable scanner
Having a small business or you always move around and don’t want to carry those bundle of documents, sheets, cards, and important documents. This is a reliable scanner you should consider to buy. It works wirelessly with such ease. All you have to do is 4 AA batteries and you are ready to scan anything the same or less than A4 sheets.
You can always choose a wireless or wired connection. This printer can easily be connected to all PC and MAC’s. You just have to plug and play. Or even without a computer, it can be easily. insert paper it will scan from 50 to 1200 dpi. Usually, the higher dpi is for better images (colorful) ones.
The TWAIN interface is there to support document management software. With that, you can control all the documents, color correcting tools by this printer.
The weight is just 1.1 lbs, that make it a good contender in the search of best portable scanner in market.
Scanning speed looks average, 8 second is neither the faster nor the slowest. But once scan you can have it either on computer or online cloud services such as Dropbox, Google Drive, and Evernote, etc. Because of OCR, we can easily convert the text page into the editable pdf file.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: Battery and USB Powered
- Scan Speed: 8 Seconds per document
- OCR Technology: Yes
- Resolution: 50 – 1200 dpi
- Battery Capacity: 4 AA Batteries
Pros:
- Image automatic adjuster
- Travel Friendly
- Lightweight
Cons:
- Not recommended for mass scanning
- slow speed
6. VuPoint Solutions PDS-ST441PU-VP
The colorful magic wants for multipurpose works- scan even the thick paper easily. Lightweight and easy to port are some physical look it gives to the user. We like purple color with the small LCD screen over it. The screen will let you choose how intensely scanning will be done.
The portable handheld scanner will support both color and black and white scanning. The output will be saved always in the JPG image format only. To get the OCR, you need to install the extra software, which we don’t like. Once OCR is installed you can have the PDF format files.
This Vupoint scanner is just for those who want the basic features only. Although you can save the scan into micro SD and later transfer to somewhere else like PC. But in the era of smart connectivity, you will miss the wireless connectivity in this portable scanner.
Quick Features:
- Connectivity: Micro SD
- Scan Speed: 8 seconds per document
- OCR Technology: Yes, software needs to install
- Resolution: 300, 600 or 900 dpi
- Battery Capacity: 2 AA batteries
Pros:
- Support micro SD
- Portable product
- Colourful scanner
Cons:
- Extra software for OCR
- slow-scanning
FAQ:
Q1. Is portable scanner good ?
Answer- The smart and easiest way to convert photos, magazines, IDs, business cards into digital format. The Portable scanners are fast, support USB and WiFi connectivity, and provides inbuilt memory. You may or may not require any computer to connect with it.
Almost all the smart portable scanners let you synchronize easily with cloud services like- Google Drive and DropBox etc.
Q2. Can Portable Scanner works without computer?
Answer- Yes, the handheld portable scanners do not require computer connectivity. All you have to do is let the paper pass through it. Your scanner will scan and save it into the inbuilt storage. Later you can transfer those stored files into your computer or mobiles.
CONCLUSION:
Today smartphones comes with lot of scanning apps both in google play store or apple store. They can serve your purpose but scan be always less than 200 dpi. That will be of no use !. For the clarity and other images brightening options only the good scanner is essential.
Always carry the best portable scanner either in your pocket, bag or purse. Whenever you feel like the high quality scan, just take out and do scan. Good scanner have both the connectivity options- wired and wireless.
Scan, share and get rid of those bundle sheets !!