Learn the eight characteristics of the best home office scanners
The past two years have completely changed the working world. While remote work used to be a relatively fringe practice, the pandemic saw almost 70% of the US workforce using their homes as offices. Even as offices began to reopen, many have elected to keep working from home.
The rise of this new paradigm means that more homes will need to be outfitted with the kind of devices that modern professionals have come to depend on in formal office environments — like scanners.
Wondering what to look for in these essential devices? This article outlines eight characteristics of a high-quality home office scanner.
Need help picking the right scanner for your needs? Check out our guide, How to Choose the Right Scanner for Your Computer
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8 characteristics of top home office scanners
Reliable paper feeding mechanics
Our recommended home office scanner: ScanSnap iX1600
8 characteristics of top home office scanners
An easy-to-use interface
Ease of use is one of the most important features to look for in a home office scanner. The last thing anyone wants is to have to read an instruction manual multiple times just to understand how to scan a simple form. Do yourself a favor and find a home scanning solution that features a high-resolution touchscreen interface and allows you to execute the scan, clean the image, and send the file to the correct location with the push of a button.
Smart image cleanup
Few things are as annoying as working through a large scanning job only to discover that several images have been ruined by dust, streaking, or some other distortion — necessitating time-consuming rescans. The best home scanners help you avoid this hassle with features designed to automatically clean up images as you scan.
Fast scanning speed
While you might not have to deal with production-level scanning volumes, it is always a good idea to look for a home office scanner with fast scan rates. This feature is critical if you work in paper-heavy sectors like education, law, healthcare, and accounting. The best home office scanners will be able to process 30 to 40 color documents per minute while preserving image fidelity of 300 or more dots per inch (DPI).
Reliable paper feeding mechanics
Although speed is key, it’s also essential for a home office scanner with a feeder to pair speed with smart paper feeding mechanics to ensure the whole process runs smoothly. Top-end scanning rates are only theoretical if they aren’t supported with features that prevent feeding errors and adjust to different document types and sizes.
- Feeding error prevention: Leading scanning solutions use advanced sensor and roller systems to provide high levels of reliability.
- Versatile document handling: From checks to envelopes, home office scanners are capable of handling a large variety of document types. The strongest solutions in this class offer the ability to scan thick documents and cards.
High document feeder capacity
This feature — like a high scanning rate — is also a must for professionals working in industries where processing large volumes of paper is par for the course. If this describes your workload, look for devices with automatic document feeders (ADF) that can hold at or around 20 to 50 sheets of paper. If you need greater capacity than that, you might be in the realm of enterprise scanners.
Comprehensive connectivity
The best home office scanners are as connected as many other modern devices. These Wi-Fi-enabled devices support desktop, laptop, tablet, smartphone, and cloud service connectivity, making it easy for you to scan from anywhere to everywhere.
All-in-one software
As for software, the best home office scanners pack all the key document processing features into a single platform. This all-in-one software should allow you to edit images, classify documents, and organize your files. This software should use optical character recognition (OCR) to support faster document classification and retrieval.
Minimal operating footprint
Desk space in the average home office is often hard to come by. Every inch of spare real estate is quickly claimed by everything from family photos to company reports. Crowded work areas make it vital for your home office tools to be as space-efficient as possible. Although quality home office scanners come in various sizes, several best-in-class models, like the ScanSnap iX1300, feature incredibly compact operating footprints.
Our recommended home office scanner: ScanSnap iX1600
If you’re looking for an all-around home office scanner that combines ease of use with outstanding performance, consider the ScanSnap iX1600. The flagship solution of our award-winning ScanSnap scanner line, the iX1600 features a 50-page document feeder, a scanning speed of 40 pages per minute, and best-in-class paper handling. The scanner pairs its high-performance features with an intuitive touch screen display and turn-key software that make the human side of the process as easy as possible.
To learn more about the ScanSnap iX1600 or browse the full line of scanners, just click here.