The 5 best photo scanners in 2024: Save your favorite prints, share in a snap

The latest photo scanners transform your favorite memories into high-resolution digital images that can be archived or shared online. Some of these scanners accommodate a wide range of print, slide and negative sizes and create digital files in your choice of format. If you have old photo albums you want to digitize, prints you’d like to share on social media, or images you want to securely store in the cloud, one of these photo scanners can handle the job. And these scanners will work beautifully with your Windows or Mac desktop or laptop computer.

Pro Tip: If you’re looking to scan photos simply to share online via email or social media, the scanner’s resolution isn’t too important. However, if you’re scanning photos for archival purposes, you want to scan those prints in the highest resolution possible, so seek out a scanner than can accommodate this.

The best photos scanners for digitizing your prints

Our in-house tech experts have curated this roundup of the best photo scanners currently available. Some offer a compact design, while others can help you scan large quantities of images quickly, especially if the prints are all the same size.

So, whether you’re looking to create a digital backup or archive of your most cherished printed photos, want to be able to create larger prints from digital image files, or share the scanned images online, a photo scanner is what you need. For photos, these stand-alone scanners work far better than scanner apps available for smartphones. And in many cases, they offer higher resolution and more options for scanning photos than the scanners built into the latest all-in-one printers.

Best photo scanner: Epson FastFoto FF-680W

For amateur, semi-pro and professional photographers alike, the Epson FastFoto FF-680W is a high-end, dedicated photo scanner that can process prints at up to 1,200 by 1,200 dpi. The built-in document feeder can hold up to 36 prints and then scan one image per second at 300 dpi. When set at a higher resolution, the scanner functions a bit slower.

Use the FF-680W to scan prints of almost any size, like Polaroid photos, panoramas, postcard-size images or anything up to 8 by 10 inches. The scanner comes with the free Perfect Picture Imaging software. It allows you to quickly edit and enhance scanned images and handle tasks like restoring color to old photos or fixing red-eye.

Use the Epson ScanSmart software (also included), to scan and store traditional documents, too. Documents can be up to 8.5 by 24 inches and the software’s OCR feature can transform scanned text into editable documents. 

Photos or documents scanned by the FF-680W can be stored locally or automatically uploaded to the cloud. The scanner supports Dropbox and Google Drive. Use a USB cable or a wireless connection between the scanner and your computer.

Best budget photo scanner: Canon CanoScan LiDE 300 Slim

This is a dedicated, flat-bed scanner that connects to a Windows or Mac computer via a USB cable. It’s then able to scan photos or documents, one at a time, at up to 2,400 by 2,400 dots per inch. The unit measures 14.5 by 9.9 by 1.7 inches and weighs just 3.6 pounds, so you can set it up when it’s needed, but easily store it away when it’s not being used.

The scanner’s Z-lid can be elevated parallel up to 21 millimeters from the platen surface, making quality scans possible when working with photo albums, bulky books, magazines or document stacks. The scanner is able to scan a single photo or document at 300 dpi, that’s up to 8.5 by 11 inches, in under 10 seconds.

For photos, the 300 Slim is a basic, budget-friendly scanner that’s great for occasional use, especially if you’re working with larger size prints.

Best flatbed photo scanner: Epson Perfection V850 Pro

Designed more for semi- and pro-level photographers, but usable by anyone, the V850 Pro is a desktop photo scanner that offers up to 6,400 by 6,400 dots-per-inch resolution. This means you can create extremely high-resolution digital images from your photo prints that are up to 8.5 by 11.7 inches.

During the scanning process, the software that comes with the scanner will automatically remove dust and scratches as it scans. Another key feature is that the scanner can also digitize one or more 35mm slides or negatives at the same time.

The V850 works with either a Windows or MacOS computer via a USB cable connection. Between the scanner itself and the supplied Epson scanning software, you’ll wind up with high-resolution scans that showcase impressive shadow detail and smooth gradations within each digital image.

Best photo scanner for prints, slides and negatives: ClearClick QuickConvert 2.0

If you have a collection of 4-by-6 inch prints, 35mm slides or negatives from 35mm, 110 or 126 film, the QuickConvert 2.0 photo scanner creates digital images from that content with no computer needed during the scanning process.

The unit is able to scan photos at up to 7,200 by 7,200 dots per inch.  The unit measures just 8 by 7 by 6 inches, so it’s easy to set up almost anywhere. Since the scanner does not have an auto-feeder, you need to feed one image or negative at a time to be scanned, but the scanning process takes less than three seconds per image.

As photos are scanned, they’re stored on an SD memory card, while can be removed from the scanner and inserted into the memory card slot of your computer when you want to work with the images or upload them to the cloud for storage. Keep in mind, this scanner works with 4-by- 6 inch prints (as well as slides and negatives), but not 5-by-7 inch prints.

The built in, five inch display shows you exactly what will be scanned, before the scanning process begins. The unit runs on a rechargeable battery. A 32GB SD memory card that can hold up to 8,000 scanned images is included.

Best high-resolution photo scanner: Canon CanoScan CS9000F Mark II

This dedicated flatbed photo scanner from Canon offers 9,600 by 9,600 dots per inch resolution for film, or 4,800 by 4,800 dots per inch resolution for printed photos and documents. It’s compatible with Windows PCs only and connects to a computer using a USB cable. Based on almost 1,000 user reviews on Amazon, the CS9000F Mark II has earned a 4.4-star rating out of five.

It takes this scanner about 18 seconds to scan a 35mm negative at 1,200 dots-per-inch resolution, or just seven seconds to scan a photo at 300 dots-per-inch resolution. In addition to prints and slides, the scanner works with a variety of negative formats. During the scanning process, dust and scratches are automatically removed and the scanner compensates for image fading.

Scanned images can be stored on your computer or uploaded directly to your Dropbox account. One thing we like about this scanner is that  it delivers detailed digital images that are ideal for enlargement and high resolution printing, while 48-bit color depth ensures accurate color reproduction. The scanner comes with the My Image Garden and Scanning Utility software that allows for easy, one-touch operation.

Jason R. Rich

Jason R. Rich (www.JasonRich.com) is an internationally recognized consumer technology expert with more than 30 years’ writing experience. He’s also an accomplished author and photographer. Two of his most recently published books, “iPhone 16 Pro Max Digital Photography” ($19.99) and
The Remote Worker’s Handbook: How to Effectively Work From Anywhere” ($24.99, Entrepreneur Books) are now available from Amazon and wherever books are sold.