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Buying Guide: 8 Great Portable Scanners
Need to scan documents while on the road? You can't take your multi-function printer (MFP) or flatbed scanner with you, but don't fret: there are plenty of good portable scanners these days to choose from. In fact, the majority of scanners we review these days are portable models.
Some mobile scanners are hybrids, operating as desktop scanners when attached to a dock but can operate independently when undocked. Many mobile scanners can get their power over a USB connection with a computer and/or an AC power adapter, while a few battery-powered scanners have also hit the scene.
Most portable scanners let you scan directly to your PC via a USB connection. Some have memory card slots, letting you scan independently of your laptop, while a few recent models offer Wi-Fi connectivity so you can preview or store scans on your smart phone or tablet.
Mobile scanners are widely used by businesspeople to scan business cards and receipts while on the road. Some offer duplex scanning: the ability to scan both sides of a two-sided document simultaneously, and a few come with automatic document feeders (ADFs) so you can scan multi-page documents without having to feed each page by hand.
There's never been a better time to get a portable scanner. Here are eight of our favorites; all earned high marks in our reviews, and most are Editors' Choice models.
FEATURED IN THIS ROUNDUP:
Canon imageFormula P-150 Scan-tini
$295 direct
The Canon imageFormula P-150 Scan-tini more than justifies its large size with fast speed, an automatic document feeder, and the ability to scan both sides of a page.
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Canon imageFormula P-215 Scan-tini Personal Document Scanner
$325 direct
Although big and heavy for a portable scanner, the Canon imageFormula P-215 Personal Document Scanner's fast speed, duplexing, and ADF make it well worth the extra size and weight.
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Recommended by Our Editors
Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300
$295 direct
The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300 combines a reasonably portable size and weight with an automatic document feeder and the ability to scan both sides of a page at once.
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VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand PDS-ST415-VPS
$90 street
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The VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand PDS-ST415-VPS combines portability, ease of use, and a capable optical character recognition program. Read the full review ››
Visioneer Mobility
$199.99 direct
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The Visioneer Mobility is the first portable scanner we've seen that can scan without a computer and still let you see the scans immediately, as long as you have a smartphone.
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VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP
$130 street
The VuPoint Solutions Magic Wand Wi-Fi PDSWF-ST44-VP wand scanner lets you both scan and confirm scan quality without a computer.
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Xerox DocuMate 3115
$399.99 direct
The Xerox DocuMate 3115 is best thought of as a personal desktop scanner that can shed its docking station to double as a portable if necessary.
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