Best Document Scanner For A Small Office

When it comes to selecting supplies for small offices, you must be cautious. Because small firms have a limited budget, it is preferable to invest in items that give greater utility. Smaller companies, like local firms, have limited space in their workplaces. It indicates that you do not have adequate storage space for your enormous stacks of vital documents and records.

Therefore, it is a wise decision to invest in document scanners. The reason is, scanners can easily digitize your important files. Your large files will not only stay secure, but also you have more space for other tasks in your small offices. 

A scanner in your workplace also saves you time by eliminating the effort of looking for specific physical files in vast cabinets. You can hire remote personnel as well because of digital availability of every physical document, and they will have easy access to every document they need.

Purchasing a scanner may appear expensive at first, but it will save you money in the long run by lowering the amount of paper you consume, making your business more environmentally friendly.

Functions of Document Scanner

You may use scanners in your offices for the following purposes. 

1. Screen your photos and store them in your laptops or phones. 
2. Create a soft copy of your crucial documents, agreements, and contracts with your clients. 
3. Scan all of your office records and save space in your small workplaces. 
4. Mail your invoices and agreements instantly to your clients. 

Types Of Document Scanners

Different varieties of scanners are available on the market today, each capable of performing specific duties. Due to this, it is preferable to gain a basic knowledge of scanners’ types before purchasing the one that best suits your needs. The most common types of scanners are listed below.

• Flatbed Scanners

The most common type of scanner is a flatbed scanner. The paper to be scanned is put on a flat glass surface in these screening equipment. It also comes with a cover. The paper is covered with a lid after it has been laid. During the scanning process, light shines through the glass, capturing the paper’s text. The paper is then converted into a digital format.

These scanners also have Bluetooth and wireless connectivity to let your screening process go more smoothly. This flatbed is great if your business needs to scan a variety of books and publications as it can easily handle bulky books.

• Paper-Feeding Scanner

Scanning from heavy books or periodicals is not possible with this scanner. Due to the presence of a feeding tray on this scanner, you will be able to set a limited number of documents on the tray, which will be scanned automatically using an automatic document feeder. Because they are built to handle limited volume activities, certain scanners do not have this automatic feeding feature.

Paper-feeding scanners are ideal for small businesses that need to scan individual pages.   

• Compact Scanner

The most cost-effective scanners are compact scanners. They are best suited to sales representatives who need to scan slips, barcodes, and cards quickly. The fact that these scanners can’t scan huge documents is a major disadvantage.

Features Of Best Document Scanner

If you want to acquire the greatest scanner for your business, you should also look for the following aspects. Knowing what you’re looking for before you put one in your cart can help you find the best scanner for your small office.

• Accelerated Scanning

Consider your requirements before purchasing a scanner. There are different scanners that work faster and slower. Scanner speeds are measured in scanned papers per minute. Some screening equipment can scan up to 180 sheets in a minute, while others only digitize 8 pages in a minute.

The faster the scanner, the more expensive it is. It is preferable to invest in one that best meets your office’s necessities. If you acquire a cheap one with poor speed, most of your office chores will go unfinished, resulting in a complete waste of money. However, Panasnic and Epson make the best rapid scanners.

• Resolution

A scanner’s resolution is measured in dots per inch. If your office workload requires scanning of images, you should look for scanners with a DPI of up to 600. This will provide you with high-quality digitized and soft copies of your photos. Conversely, scanners with a lower DPI are also suitable for scanning solely paper documents. Moreover, they are cost-effective too.

• Colored or Black and White Scanners

Scanners, like printers, are available with colorful or black-and-white screens. Black and white scanners are sufficient for scanning simple text documents such as contracts and agreements. Colorful screeners, on the other hand, are the ideal option for scanning coloured graphs and monograms. Color scanners are, once again, more expensive than black-and-white scanners.

• Optical Character Recognition

Another feature to think about when looking for the best scanner is OCR. This technology allows you to scan a document and convert it not only to a digital but also to an editable format. As a result, you may effortlessly modify your documents and obtain a corrected version after making changes.

• Interface

The use of USB technology is quick and convenient. USB devices are compatible with PCs and Macs. As an additional feature, some portable document scanners also support direct USB powering. Be sure to invest in a scanner with USB ports. 

Conclusion

In small offices, document scanners are the most serviceable gadgets. They may quickly and easily make your workplaces the most organized and productive. Therefore, make sure you are well informed about the features of any scanner that you plan to buy.

Also, don’t forget to keep your scanners up to date. Your scanners will last longer if you perform maintenance on them on a monthly or weekly basis.