Including compact size, a portable document scanner must be light, reliable, fast, and user-friendly.
There's no reason to settle for second best. If you need a portable document scanner, it needs to be measurably superior to simply using a smartphone's camera. That means it has to excel in all categories, or it's not worth taking up room in your bag, briefcase, or pocket.
The best portable document scanner should be easy to carry, work fast, work well, and not require a college course to figure out. Here's what you should keep in mind when you're in the market.
Need to brush up on portable scanning fundamentals? Check out our helpful guide, Portable Scanners: What You Need to Know to Scan on the Go.
What is a portable document scanner?
A portable document scanner is a travel-size device you can use to digitize paper files wherever you go. These devices combine small physical footprints with high-quality scanning. Some incorporate advanced features, such as double-sided scanning or optical character recognition (OCR). Above all else, portable document scanners tend to prioritize ease of use. That way, no matter where you are, you can capture accurate document scans without hassle.
Key features of a portable document scanner
True portability
It's the 2020s. There is more to portability than fitting in a laptop bag. If your new portable document scanner requires a wall socket, a pack of single-use batteries, and/or several meters of extension cord, then it's not living up to its name. If it's so heavy that you're practically doing a bicep curl every time you get it out to use, then it's not a "portable" document scanner.
A perfect portable document scanner should be lightweight, ideally weighing about a pound. It should also balance being big enough to handle whatever documents you might encounter with being small enough to fit neatly into a carry-on or briefcase.
Fast and easy scanning
We expect all of our devices to be smart. Your portable document scanner shouldn't be the exception. It should be easy to use, with reliable wireless connectivity, cloud access, and rapid scanning speeds.
A good portable document scanner ought to have your files digitized and ready for use within seconds. You're on the road and on the move; you want to be able to scan once without post scan adjustments. You need both performance and portability in the same streamlined package.
When you scan a document with a purpose-built, well-made portable document scanner, you want it to be easy to use – power on, scan, and put away, without having to worry about image quality or file storage. You need responsive hardware, useful software, and fast-moving connectivity. If it's hard to use, awkward to move, and/or doesn't provide crystal-clear image clarity, it's not worth using.
Long battery life
A portable document scanner loses a lot of versatility if you need to plug it in during use. After all, you can't guarantee you’ll be near an outlet when you're on the move. At the same time, a scanner with a dead battery is useless. Prioritize a portable scanner with a long-lasting battery life to make sure it's always ready to go when you need it.
When your battery does run out, you can minimize downtime by choosing a fast-charging scanner. Look for a device that can recharge to a usable state as quickly as possible. A rapid return to full charge is a nice bonus.
Flexible connectivity
Your scanner will need to connect to a storage location before it can save its scans. The most reliable connectivity option is a wired connection to a computer, usually via USB. However, wires can quickly become cumbersome. Wireless connectivity via WiFi avoids that problem. It can also enable scanning straight to the cloud for high-capacity and secure storage.
Did You Know? If you’re looking for a top-of-the-line scanner to keep ready to go at a small or home office, we recommend our flagship ScanSnap iX1600. Click here to learn more.
Free up desk space and USB slots
Even on a designated work computer, you've only got room for so many devices at once. Between a mouse, keyboard, printer, microphone, camera, mobile devices, backup drives, and whatever other hardware you might need on any given day, your available USB ports and desk space are both at a premium. The best portable document scanners free up some of both.
With a wireless connection to a cloud service, your valuable documents, business cards, and other necessary items can be scanned and transmitted on the spot. When not in use, it's easy to stow your portable document scanner in a drawer or bag.
Portable document scanners in business
Portable document scanners are at their most useful in the hands of business professionals on the move. Here are a few instances in which these devices can prove their usefulness:
- Capturing travel receipts and routing them to the finance department for reimbursement
- Digitizing business cards collected at a convention and updating your customer relationship management (CRM) as soon as possible
- Transforming paper contracts into editable digital ones during off-site negotiations
Did You Know? PCMag gave the RICOH ScanSnap iX100 a 4 out of 5 "Excellent" rating, calling it a "fast and feature-packed" scanner well suited to data capture on the road. Read the full review here.
Our recommendation: RICOH ScanSnap iX100
We know you have no shortage of options when it comes to choosing a home document scanner. At Ricoh, we pride ourselves on having spent the last 50+ years designing and developing some of the most beloved electronics in the world, including our line of award-winning, easy-to-use, one-touch ScanSnap scanners.
Our ScanSnap iX100 single-feed scanner only weighs less than 1 lb., and can create up to 600 dpi images of documents as large as 8.5" x 14.17". Its "One Button Simplicity" is a hallmark of the ScanSnap line, where one-touch is enough to turn all your loose paper into useful digital documentation. The software enables you to transmit, store, and modify all your documents as easily as you scanned them. Click here to learn more and shop the full line of ScanSnap scanners.
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