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Cheap Scanners, Best Cheap Scanner

Related Guides: Desktops, Inkjet Printers and Multifunction Printers

According to our research, most cheap scanners do a fine job with scanning text documents, so the features and performance that frugal shoppers should pay most attention to are those concerning images. Here, the two most important features are resolution and color depth.

A scanner's resolution determines how much detail it can capture from a photo, and the higher the number, the better; the best and good cheap scanners on our list all feature a maximum resolution of 4800dpi, although 2400dpi is more than adequate. A scanner's color depth refers to how many colors a scanner can capture, and again, a higher number is better; the cheap scanners we feature all boast 48-bit, but 24-bit is the minimum you should accept. You'll also want a discount scanner with one-touch buttons for scanning, sending a scan to email, or converting a scanned item into a PDF file. Finally, if you have photo slides or negatives, look for a cheap scanner that can scan these items; not all scanners do, but we found several low-price scanners that can copy these media.

When it comes to performance, cheap scanners will meet your expectations. The best cheap scanners scan quickly while still churning out very high-quality images. These two attributes are a bit at odds, though. It's hard for a cheap scanner to scan an item fast while still capturing a lot of detail in the photo while a slow scan will capture a higher quality image. Having said that, most cheap scanners today deliver images nearly identical to the original in less than 60 seconds. Most also let you adjust the settings, so you have some control over the speed vs. quality issue.

One question you might ask yourself: are you missing out by going downscale rather than upscale? Not really. Expensive scanners offer higher optical resolutions, such as 6400dpi, but most users rarely, if ever, scan at such high resolutions. Higher-priced scanners often have more features, like additional one-touch buttons for tasks such as scanning several pages of a document, and can usually handle more strips of film at once than cheaper scanners. The main benefit of costly models is the quality of photo scans, which tends to be superior to what you get with inexpensive scanners. But the difference in quality generally isn't significant enough for casual or frugal users to worry about. If you're a serious amateur photographer (or a professional, for that matter), it may be worth spending more for a higher-end scanner. But the point-and-shoot camera crowd will be more than satisfied with a cheap scanner.

Most companies that make printers also make scanners. We found only a few companies, however, that make good cheap flatbed scanners; Epson, Canon, HP, and Visioneer are the names to look for. Many producers combine scanners and printers into one machine, called a multifunction device (MFD) scanner, which often includes a fax in the mix, giving you three products in one. (See our Cheap Multifunction Printers Buying Guide.) Some home office/small office users prefer an ADF (Automatic Document Feeder) scanner to a flatbed scanner. ADF scanners are designed to scan lots of pages of documents quickly, so ADF scanners aren't ideal for scanning photos. They tend to have less color depth and resolution than budget flatbed scanners because scanned pages of text simply don't require high resolution or color depth. ADF scanners tend to be expensive, however, usually costing $300 or more. You can also find an array of specialty scanners, like those designed for business cards or small photos, or others that are portable and can be used without a computer.

Our focus here is on cheap flatbed scanners. Flatbed scanners tend to be less costly than ADF and MFD scanners, and if you already have a printer, you may not want to buy a second printer just because it has a scanner built into it. The cheap scanners we like, because they sport the all-important features and perform at high levels, include the Epson Perfection V300 (starting at $80, Amazon), Canon CanoScan 5600f (starting at $105, Amazon), Canon CanoScan Lide 200 (starting at $60, Amazon), and Visioneer OneTouch 9520 (starting at $60, Amazon); two models that fall short in one or more critical dimensions are the HP ScanJet G3110 (starting at $87, Amazon) and Canon CanoScan Lide 100 (starting at $53, Amazon). Please continue reading for more detail.

Scanners typically don't have a lot of features due to their simplicity. There are a few specs you should look for, however, to make sure you're getting your money's worth when buying a cheap flatbed scanner.

Scanner Resolution.

The resolution on a cheap scanner, measured in dots per inch (dpi), indicates how much detail a scanner can capture when scanning an image. The higher the number, the sharper and more detailed images will appear. Manufacturers usually display two numbers when stating the resolution, for example 4800x9600. The first number is the scanner's actual optical resolution, in this case 4800dpi. The second number measures the movement of the scanner's motor when scanning an image and isn't relevant to the quality of the image.

Cheap scanners have adjustable resolutions, so a model that can scan images at 4800dpi can also scan images at, say, 300dpi, 600dpi, or 1200dpi. You don't always need to scan an image at the highest optical resolution. Choosing a lower resolution will result in a faster, though lower quality, scan. If you're scanning a simple text document, a resolution of 300dpi to 600dpi will work just fine; the text should still look sharp and clear even at that lower resolution. You can scan photos for Web sites at 600dpi and they'll be pleasing to the eye. But if you want to scan a 4x6 photo and then print the digital file as an 8x10 photo, you should use a higher optical resolution, such as 1200dpi.

Cheap flatbed scanners that we researched, including the Epson Perfection V300 (starting at $80, Amazon), Canon CanoScan 5600f (starting at $105, Amazon), Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 (starting at $60, Amazon), Visioneer OneTouch 9520 (starting at $60, Amazon), and HP ScanJet G3110 (starting at $87, Amazon), feature a maximum optical resolution of 4800dpi; the Canon CanoScan LiDE 100 (starting at $53, Amazon) has maximum resolution of 2400dpi, which, honestly, is sufficient for most scanning tasks. ADF (automatic document feeder) scanners, like the Visioneer Strobe (starting at $311, Amazon), tend to have much lower optical resolutions, usually 600dpi, because they're designed primarily for scanning text rather than images. The portable Pandigital PanSCN06 (starting at $100, Amazon) also maxes out at 600dpi; even though it's designed to scan photos, its purpose is to take fast scans of lower resolution photos.

Some budget scanners state both a maximum optical resolution and a maximum software (or interpolated or "enhanced") resolution. The interpolated resolution is higher than the optical resolution, but that doesn't mean an interpolated scan will be higher quality than that of an optical scan. Interpolated scans use software tricks to blow up the scanned image, but the image quality suffers in the process. With today's cheap flatbed scanners supporting high optical resolutions, it's not really necessary to use a scanner's enhanced resolution settings. Besides, if you do want to blow up a scanned image, you can use photo editing software to achieve the same effect. Still, all the scanners on our list can create interpolated scans.

One thing to keep in mind when choosing a resolution setting: the higher the resolution, the larger the scanned file will be. Files get pretty large at higher resolutions, and while this isn't a huge problem with today's monstrous hard drives and zippy computers, larger files take more time to scan and are a little slower to load when you work with them.

Scanner Color Depth.

The color depth of a cheap flatbed scanner is a measurement of how many colors and shades it can record. A model that scans photos at 24-bit color depth can capture about 17 million colors. A scanner with 36-bit or 48-bit color depth can record literally billions of colors. A 24-bit color depth is sufficient for most any task (unless, perhaps, you're a professional photographer who wants the highest color accuracy possible), although all the scanners on our list have a 48-bit color depth. As with high scanner resolution settings, a higher color depth setting will result in a larger file size, but you can create a smaller file by choosing a smaller color depth setting.

Scanner Light Source.

For years, cheap flatbed scanners used CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent light) bulbs to provide the light necessary for scanning images, and some still do. But many newer models have switched over to LED bulbs as the light source. Discount scanners with CCFL bulbs need several seconds of warm-up time, while LED-based scanners get to work immediately. All the Canon models we researched (the Canon CanoScan 5600f, CanoScan LiDE 200, and CanoScan LiDE 100), as well as the Epson Perfection V300, use LED bulbs; the HP ScanJet G3110 and Visioneer OneTouch 9520 use CCFL bulbs.

Scanners Slide & Negatives Scanning.

If you or someone in your family is a shutterbug, you probably have boxes of slides and strips of photo negatives sitting around. Some cheap flatbed scanners can scan slides and photo negatives, letting you save those images directly to your PC. Most discount scanners only copy a few slides or negatives at a time, so if you have lots of images to scan, set aside some time. A cheap flatbed scanner can copy four slides and perhaps a strip of six negatives in one go; by contrast, pricier models that support negative scanning can usually handle up to 12 frames of negatives in one shot. The cheap scanners on our list that include slide and negative scanning include the HP ScanJet G3110, Canon CanoScan 5600f, Visioneer OneTouch 9520, and Epson Perfection V300.

Scanner Power Source.

There are two ways to power a cheap scanner: with a power cord that plugs into a wall socket or with a USB cable that draws power from your PC. A USB-powered scanner means one less cable cluttering up your desk area and one less device competing for a socket on your power strip. Both the Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 and CanoScan LiDE 100 are powered by their USB connections. But remember, you'll always need a USB cable to connect a flatbed scanner to your PC in order to save scanned images.

Scanners Special Features.

Scanner manufacturers like to make their budget models easy to use, and one way they do so is by loading them up with "one-touch" buttons. Typically this means one button to start a scan, one button to scan an item and automatically attach that file to an email, and another button to convert a scanned item directly into a PDF file that is saved to your PC. All the scanners we researched include at least a few one-touch buttons.

Any decent cheap scanner should also include some free programs that enhance your scanner's functionality. All scanners include a basic program to control the scanner (e.g., changing settings and running scans). Many low-cost scanners also come with extra programs to color-correct photos or digitally remove dust specs or scratches from photos. It's also fairly common for scanner manufacturers to include at least a basic photo editing program so you can crop, resize, or otherwise manipulate your photos once it's been saved to your PC.

Some cheap flatbed scanners also include OCR (optical character recognition) software, which we think is fairly important. When you initially scan a document, it simply takes a "photo" of the document, which means you won't be able to edit the text. OCR "reads" the text in the photo and converts the document into a text file that you can edit. We found a few inexpensive scanners that include OCR software, including the Epson Perfection V300, the HP ScanJet G3110, and Visioneer OneTouch 9520.

Specialty scanners, like the Visioneer Strobe or Pandigital SCN06, have features you won't find on cheap flatbed scanners. The Visioneer Strobe is a document scanner, so it includes an attached document cradle that you can load with several pages of documents, just like a printer; it scans up to 15 pages a minute -- much faster than a flatbed scanner. The Pandigital SCN06 is a portable scanner that you don't have to attach it to a PC at all. It scans photos up to 8.5x11inches at 600dpi directly to a built-in memory card, a neat and convenient trick that means you don't need a PC for storage.

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HP ScanJet G3110
Canon CanoScan LiDE 100
Canon CanoScan LiDE 200
Visioneer OneTouch 9520
Epson Perfection V300
Canon CanoScan 5600F

 

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