Best Scanner for Photos in Scrapbook

BEST PHOTO SCANNERS | NOVEMBER 2021

Whether you're digitizing a collection of family photos or scanning images from an archive, a photo scanner is an incredibly useful preservation tool. There is a lot of variety when it comes to photo scanners, however, and selecting the right one largely depends on how you intend to use it. A home user may want the ability to quickly share scans via social media or e-mail, while an archivist may need more options for entering picture data. We looked at photo scanners aimed at both home and professional users to determine which ones produced the highest-quality scans while balancing ease-of-use and customization options. Read more about our methodology.

Best Overall

This flatbed photo scanner gives users a wide range of useful and easy-to-use features. It offers excellent image quality and color fidelity, along with the ability to enlarge photos and correct imperfections.

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RUNNER-UP

Users who want to digitize photos as well as scrapbooks and notebooks will get a lot of use out of this portable and versatile photo scanner, and will particularly benefit from its removable lid.

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Best Value

This affordable photo printer offers exceptional image resolution, especially at this price point. It also comes loaded with easy-to-use features and a space-saving design that cuts down on workspace clutter.

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RUNNER-UP

If you're looking for a portable, user-friendly photo scanner, this affordable model has several features that make it easy to pack in a bag, set up, and start scanning wherever you need to.

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Best by Category

Best Professional Photo Scanner

This high-powered, versatile photo, slide, and negative scanner is ideal for artists and archivists who need high-resolution images and very accurate color rendering. It works with almost any original format, from slides to negatives and prints.

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Best Slide and Negative Scanner

Users primarily looking to scan negatives and slides will get the most mileage from this film-focused scanner, which offers incredible image quality at an affordable price. It scans film at 9600 dpi and comes loaded with specialized attachments for film.

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Best Portable Photo Scanner

If you want a handy and quick tool for scanning family photos, this portable scanner provides a lightweight and convenient option. It's quick, straightforward to operate, and small enough to use anywhere.

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Best Photo Scanner with Feeder

This photo scanner's auto-feeder is ideal for bulk scanning projects, allowing you to quickly scan and process a large collection of photographs. It also has excellent double-sided scanning capabilities, which is great if your photos have writing on the reverse side.

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Photo Scanners BUYING GUIDE

KEY CONSIDERATIONS

Image Resolution

One of the most important considerations when buying a photo scanner is the image resolution. This is measured in dots per inch, or dpi. Generally, you'll want a higher dpi to more faithfully capture image details, although if photos are worn or damaged, you may also capture imperfections and need to do some fine-tuning. Higher-dpi scanners will also produce larger image files, which may necessitate an external storage drive for a larger digital photo collection.

Color Fidelity

Buyers should also consider color fidelity when purchasing a photo scanner, since in some cases this may be even more important than image resolution. You'll want a photo scanner that faithfully captures and reproduces the colors of the original photographs, without loss or fading. This is one of the biggest differences between a general-use scanner and a photo scanner: a general scanner may have decent resolution, but won't render color quite as well.

Customization Options

The ability to fine-tune photo scans is another important factor in buying a photo printer. Most photo scanners use proprietary software for scanning and capturing images, which can work well for quick scans, but might not give users the ability to tweak settings for specific images. Many printers do work with outside software, however, which can give users more control over image intake and rendering.

Ease of Use

Ultimately, most users will want a relatively easy-to-use photo scanner. While customization options can help get the absolute best image quality, many people might prefer the ability to scan a giant collection of 4x6 photographs without having to change image settings after each one. User-friendly features, such as straightforward scanning software and the ability to scan directly from the photo scanner or feeder tray, can save a lot of time and effort if you're working with a gigantic collection of old family photos.
PRICE BREAKDOWN

Photo scanners tend to be more expensive than general scanners due to their specialized features and higher image quality. An entry-level photo scanner might cost between $60 and $80, while a professional-quality scanner can easily cost between $1000 and $3000. Most consumer-grade photo scanners fall toward the lower end of this price range, and are generally in the $150 to $300 range.

Photo scanners in the $60 to $80 price range tend to scan images at about 4800 dpi, which is far higher than most document scanners, but not quite as high as mid-range scanners. They also tend to have lower image fidelity, but some will capture and reproduce images relatively faithfully. In the $100 to $300 range, you'll find printers with higher image resolution (commonly 6400 dpi, but sometimes 9600 dpi). Color fidelity also improves in this price range, as do customization options and added features like photo negative and slide scanning.

In the $500 and above range, photo scanners generally offer the highest image resolution and color fidelity, along with a host of customization options and professional-grade technology. While these scanners are extremely powerful, they may have more features and options than most users will need or use.

FULL product reviews

We research hundreds of products in order to bring you a final, unbiased list of the very best. We also use a proprietary algorithm to score each product in terms of quality, value, and brand reputation. These subscores are then weighted to calculate our overall scores. Read more about how we calculate our scores.

583 products
considered

87K RATINGS
ANALYZED

26 research
hours

Best Overall

TOP PICK

Epson Perfection V600

The Epson Perfection V600 is an excellent printer for users who want to digitize collections of photographs, slides, and negatives. While it's relatively slow, the image and color quality are both exceptional, as is the ability to enlarge images from both photographs and negatives. It also offers a host of special features, such as image and color correction, that can help digitally restore older and damaged photographs and slides.

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Why We Recommend It

Amazing image and color quality. This scanner excels on both color fidelity and image resolution. Users love the ability to faithfully capture old photographs and color slides thanks to the scanner's 48-bit colors.
Versatile design scans prints, slides, and negatives. Users also praise this scanner's ability to handle slides and photo negatives. Several users focus on the ability to quickly create digital photographs from older slides and film.
Color and damage correction functions clean up older photos. Many users find the ability to color and damage correct photos while scanning a big selling point. The included software can remove lines from folding and enhance faded colors.

Other Considerations

Slow scan speed. Particularly while scanning images at a high dpi, users find the scanning process somewhat slow. While a 600 dpi photo is relatively quick, scanning at 2400 dpi and up is a long process.
Included software needs improvement. Many users criticize Epson's scanning software, which they find difficult to use and frustrating. This can make scanning projects take a lot longer and result in some annoyance.

RUNNER UP

Doxie Flip Cordless Flatbed Photo Scanner

Doxie's portable Flip scanner offers several unique features that make it a great photo scanner for both home and on-the-go use. Its combination of battery power and removable lid simplify scanning a scrapbook without having to remove photos, while its smaller profile provides added portability. While it may not handle larger photos as well, or have the same level of image quality as a stationary scanner, the portable and versatile design are hard to beat.

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Why We Recommend It

Removable lid gives users options. Users like the versatility that the Flip's removable lid provides. Several reviewers mention using it to scan scrapbook pages with glued-down photographs.
Battery power and onboard memory simplify scanning and uploading. The Doxie flip also benefits greatly from its lightweight, battery-operated design and expandable, SD card-based storage. Users praise the simplicity of uploading scans to their computers.
Included software is very useful. Users tend to really like Doxie's scanning software, which auto-detects image sizes and allows for combining multiple scans into a single image.

Other Considerations

Lower dpi than other models. One of the biggest shortcomings with the Doxie Flip is its relatively low dpi compared to other photo scanners. It scans at either 300 or 600 dpi, which is enough for sharing on social media, but not for archiving photos.
Smaller size limits types of pictures you can scan. Several users also express frustration with the Doxie Flip's smaller scanner window. While this enhances portability, it does present some limitations in capturing large-format images.

Best Value

TOP PICK

Epson Perfection V19

Epson's entry-level color photo scanner, the Perfection V19, delivers performance that rivals more expensive models, but at a much more accessible price point. It scans photos at resolutions up to 4800 dpi, and renders colors accurately with few adjustments needed. It also incorporates a space-saving stand for stowing it away between scans, and runs on USB power so there's no need for a separate power cord.

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Why We Recommend It

Excellent image quality and color fidelity. For a photo scanner that costs less than $100, the Epson V19 captures exceptionally high-quality scans. Users rave about its image quality and accurate color capturing.
One-button operation from scanner. Several users also like the ability to auto-scan directly from the scanner itself. This one-button operation can save a lot of time, especially if you're scanning in bulk.
USB power source makes it more portable. The V19 draws power directly through a USB cord, which eliminates the need for a dedicated power source. Users say this greatly enhances the scanner's portability, since they only need a single cord.
Space-saving stand keeps the scanner out of the way between uses. Reviewers also single out the space-saving stand design of the V19, which allows the scanner to be stored on its side, saving desk space.

Other Considerations

Epson Scan software can be frustrating. Several users report issues working with Epson's scan software, which they find clunky and hard to navigate. Users also note, however, that the scanner works with other scanning software.
Not compatible with Mac computers. If you're using a Mac computer, this scanner probably isn't your best bet. Many users have compatibility issues when trying to scan to their Macs.

RUNNER UP

Canon CanoScan LiDE220

Canon's CanoScan LiDE220 is a solid all-around scanner, with straightforward operation and several added features that make it a great budget choice for scanning photographs. It uses Canon's image-scanning software, which is much more intuitive and user-friendly than competitors' software, and saves time by allowing you to scan multiple photos at once and separate them into separate files afterward. It does suffer somewhat due to its lower resolution, however.

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Why We Recommend It

Fast and simple operation. Users praise the LiDE220's straightforward operation and quick scanning. They particularly note the ability to capture multiple photographs in one scan, which saves a lot of time.
Multiple features to enhance portability. Reviewers also like that this scanner incorporates several design elements aimed at making the printer more portable, including USB power, a locking lid, and a low-profile design.
Easy-to-use scanning software. Many reviewers find Canon's scanning software easy to use and intuitive. It works particularly well with Macs, which makes this a good pick for Mac users.

Other Considerations

Color accuracy could be better. Some users find the color accuracy falls a little bit short with the LiDE220. If you want completely faithful colors, you may need to adjust your photos in a dedicated image editing application.
Scanner has compatibility issues with Windows 10. Several users ran into compatibility issues with the Windows 10 operating system. This issue prevents users from installing the scanner, which is a big headache.