Maybe you’re a photographer. Or, maybe you just inherited a garage full of your uncle Fred’s old picture albums. No matter your situation, having a great photo scanner can save you a ton of storage space. There’s a ton of different types and sizes of photo scanners for every need. First, here’s our top pick.
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Our Choice for the Best photo scanner of 2023
The Good
- very fast
- compact
- great photo scans
The Bad
- expensive
- poor mac support
The Bottom Line:
The Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a fantastic photo scanner. This photo scanner is one of the fastest ways to scan stacks of photos. It also has great scan quality.
No matter what you are looking for in a photo scanner, you’ll find it in the Epson FastFoto FF-680W. That’s why it’s our choice for the best photo scanner of 2023.
Want to skip our list? Here are all the scanners that made our list of the best photo scanners of 2023.
- best photo scanner of 2023 | Epson FastFoto FF-680W
- best cheap photo scanner of 2023 | Epson Perfection V39
- best flatbed photo scanner of 2023 | Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo
- best photo scanner for home of 2023 | Canon ImageFORMULA P-215II
- best photo scanner for professionals of 2023 | Epson Expression 12000XL-PH
- best portable photo scanner of 2023 | Fujitsu – ScanSnap S1300i
- Doxie Q
- Epson Perfection V850 Pro
- Canon CanoScan Lide 400
- Plustek ephoto Z300
Best photo scanners of 2023 | Some Quick Background Info
What kinds of photo scanners are there?
Flatbed Scanners
A flatbed scanner has no automatic paper feed. These scanners have a flat scanning surface and a hinged lid for scanning documents and photos.
Feed Scanners
A feed scanner has an automatic paper feed and usually has some sort of paper tray. You feed your documents in one end, and the scanner does the rest. There aren’t many photo feed scanners, but, as you saw from our top pick, they are out there.
Slide Scanners
A slide scanner is any scanner that can scan photo slides and negatives. These days most slide scanners take the form of an extra tray for flatbed scanners.
Mobile Scanners
Mobile scanners, or portable scanners, are scanners that are meant to be used on the go. They are compact and portable and sometimes run on batteries.
Can a document scanner scan photos?
Some can, but almost all document scanners have low resolutions and poor photo replication. If you are scanning a lot of photos, you are better off with a photo scanner.
Top 10 Best photo scanners of 2023 | Here's Our List
Now that you have an idea of what you should be looking for, let’s get into our list. Here are our picks for the top 10 best photo scanners of 2023.
best photo scanner of 2023
The Good
- very fast
- compact
- great photo scans
The Bad
- expensive
- poor mac support
The Bottom Line:
As we said above, the Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a fantastic photo scanner. This photo scanner holds up to high volume scanning. It also works for hobbyists and professionals and it is one of the fastest ways to scan stacks of photos. It’s just a great photo scanner. That’s why we chose the Epson FastFoto FF-680W as the best photo scanner of 2023. We highly recommend you go and check it out.
best cheap photo scanner of 2023
The Good
- Easy push-button operation
- scan to google drive
- compact
The Bad
- cheap parts
- not built for volume
The Bottom Line:
The Epson Perfection V39 has been one of our favorite photo scanners for a long time.
This photo scanner can scan directly to Google Drive. It also has a simple push-button operation and it is small.
The Epson Perfection V39 is a great photo scanner, and we highly recommend you check it out. That’s why it’s so high on our list of the best photo scanners of 2023.
best flatbed photo scanner of 2023
The Good
- Ultra-high resolution
- scans slides and negatives
- OCR software included
The Bad
- doesn't work with mac
The Bottom Line:
Our choice for the best flatbed photo scanner is the Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo. Here’s why.
The Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo has super-high-resolution scanning. It also works with slides and negatives and includes OCR software to make your documents searchable. While the Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo is a little expensive, it’s still a great photo scanner. That’s why it’s our choice for the best flatbed photo scanner of 2023.
best photo scanner for home of 2023
The Good
- Mobile
- Affordable
- 20 sheet paper feed
The Bad
- double feeds
- scans blank pages
- sometimes jams
The Bottom Line:
The Canon ImageFORMULA P-215II is an awesome photo scanner. It is a more affordable option and it still has a 20 sheet paper feed. The Canon ImageFORMULA P-215II is the best photo scanner for home, and it’s well worth your time to give it a look.
best photo scanner for professionals of 2023
The Good
- Professional-quality scans
- large scanning area
- works with negatives and slides
The Bad
- expensive
- difficult operation
The Bottom Line:
If you are searching for the best photo scanner for professionals, then the Epson Expression 12000XL-PH is what you have been searching for. This photo scanner has amazing scan quality and it has a large scan area. Although the Epson Expression 12000XL-PH is a bit hard to use, it’s still an incredible option, and it’s our choice for the best photo scanner for professionals of 2023 .
best portable photo scanner of 2023
The Good
- versatile scan sizes
- affordable
- decent speed
The Bad
- frequent jamming
- low resolution
- very sensitive
The Bottom Line:
If you are looking for the best portable photo scanner, then you’ve found it. The Fujitsu – ScanSnap S1300i is a great photo scanner. It has great customer reviews. While it doesn’t have very high resolution, the Fujitsu – ScanSnap S1300i is rather affordable and works with multiple media sizes. It’s a fantastic option for anyone looking for a photo scanner in 2023.
Best photo scanners of 2023 | Other Great Options
The Good
- Automatic Operation
- Ample File Storage
- Auto Document Feeder
The Bad
- difficult setup
- no two-sided scanning
- buggy software
The Bottom Line:
If you need the best photo scanner, then we recommend you check out the Doxie Q. This photo scanner works automatically and stores files on the scanner. It doesn’t scan both sides of the document, and it is confusing to set up at first, but it’s still a great option for most people.
The Good
- Professional-quality photo scans
- sturdy flat-bed construction
- Dual-lens scan system
The Bad
- expensive
- poor software
The Bottom Line:
No list of the best photo scanners of 2023 would be complete without mentioning the Epson Perfection V850 Pro. This photo scanner has extremely high-quality scans. It also uses a dual-lens system to ensure consistent image duplication and is super sturdy for a flatbed scanner. While it has bad software, the Epson Perfection V850 Pro is still a great option for anyone looking for the best photo scanners of 2023.
The Good
- USB-C connection
- EZ buttons
- 8-second scans
The Bad
- cheaply built
- bad driver
- poor image duplication
The Bottom Line:
While the Canon CanoScan Lide 400 has awful software, it’s still a great photo scanner. It can connect with USB-C and it is super simple to use. If you still haven’t found the right photo scanner for you, then this might be the one you’re looking for!
The Good
- easy to use
- fast photo scanning
- easy file sorting
The Bad
- poor image quality
- bad software
- bad customer service
The Bottom Line:
While the Plustek ephoto Z300 doesn’t have great photo quality, it’s still a good photo scanner. This photo scanner is sleek and stylish and is simple to use. That’s why it got the final spot on our list of the best photo scanners of 2023.
Top 10 Best photo scanners of 2023 | Final Thoughts
That was our list of the best photo scanners of 2023. We hope you liked it! Our top choice was the Epson FastFoto FF-680W, but all of these photo scanners are great options. We hope you found one that works for you.
If you liked this list, let us know in the comments. Also, be sure to check out our other articles like this one!
