These days, people are more fond of collecting good artwork. As people are leaning towards using digital painting, good artwork on paper or other mediums is slowly declining.
But we still have artworks on analog mediums, such as paper. However, they are prone to be damaged easily.
This is where scanners step in. Scanners will provide you with the ability to store your creations digitally. You’d be surprised as to how many people are opting to pick a scanner to digitize their artworks. But getting a good scanner can be tough as there are countless ones out there.
This is why in today’s article we’ll be discussing some of the best printers for artwork. We’ve put together this list while keeping value-for-money and overall usability in mind.
Let’s begin!
Our Recommendations
- Epson Perfection V600 – Best Overall
- Epson Perfection V39 – Best For Beginners
- Plustek OS 1180 – Best In Specs
- Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i – Best On-The-Go Scanner
- Canon CanoScan Lide 400 – Best In Price
- Canon LiDE220 A4 Scanner – Best In Quality
- Epson V37 – Best In Clarity
- Epson DS- 50000 – Best Scanning Speed
- The Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai (Film Scanner) – Best In Resolution
#1 – Epson Perfection V600
The Epson Perfection V600 is hands down the best overall scanner for artworks. It’s so in-demand that its actually been running out of stock in the last few months. Watch out for possible price inflation from resellers looking to cash in on its popularity.
It’s got everything you might want as an artist or photographer. Let’s dive into some of the features:
As you can see from the image above, the Epson Perfection V600 is a flatbed scanner. It comes with a maximum scan area of 8.5 x 11.7″. The max transparency scan area is 2.7 x 9.5″. It can scan 35mm, medium format files.
The Epson V600 supports Color, Grayscale, and Monochrome scanning. It comes with a maximum resolution of 6400 dpi (Optical). The color and grayscale depth are quite standard too. You’ll get 48-bit and 16-bit depth respectively.
The Epson Perfection V600 also comes with a few other features worth mentioning. It supports automatic image correction which fixes any dead areas or pixels you might have on your piece of scanned artwork. You can connect to it via a fast USB 2.0 port. Finally, the optical density is pretty good at just 3.4 Dmax
Overall, if you’re looking for a value-for-money scanner, then the Epson Perfection V600 is the one to go for without a doubt.
Pros
- It can scan all sorts of things as it’s a flatbed scanner.
- A pretty wide maximum scan area of 8.5 x 11.7″.
- Scans both 35mm and Medium Format files.
- Supports Color, Grayscale, Monochrome scanning.
- Super High optical resolution of 6400 dpi.
- The automatic image correction fixes any dead areas or pixels.
Cons
- Slows down if overheated.
- Clunky software.
#2 – Epson Perfection V39
If you’re looking for an entry-level scanner, the Epson Perfection V39 is the one to go for. It provides all the functionality you need at a much cheaper price than other scanners.
The Epson V39 is a flatbed scanner. It features CIS technology which is known to be the standard technology for scanners. The scan area of 8.5″ x 11.7″ is quite big and allows the users to print relatively bigger artworks with ease.
The color and pixel accuracy on the Epson V39 is pretty good too. It has 48 bits internal and 24 bits external color depth. In terms of the grayscale depth, it’s 16 bits internally and 8 bits externally. Couple that up with the 4,800 x 4,800 DPI max resolution and you’ll get perfect scans every time!
On top of all these features, you get a few other interesting ones too! You can scan directly to Cloud services such as Google Drive. The Epson V39 also has an Easy Photo Fix technology that restores color to faded photos. It’s also compatible with scanning oversized artworks.
However, with such a low price point you’re bound to get a few negatives. First of all, image quality is a bit average compared to other scanners. On top of that, it has a low operating speed.
Overall, the Epson Perfection V39 is a budget option scanner for artwork. Though it has a few downsides, they are negligible for the features this scanner provides.
Pros
- It features a standard CIS technology.
- Large scan area of 8.5″ x 11.7″.
- Pretty good color and grayscale depth.
- A solid 4,800 x 4,800 DPI max resolution.
- Supports scan to cloud.
- The Easy Photo Fix technology restores color to faded photos.
Cons
- Image quality is average.
- The scan speed is quite slow.
#3 – Plustek OS 1180
If you’re looking for a scanner that can not only scan artworks but also has OCR (optical character recognition), the Plustek OS 1180 would be a perfect fit for you.
The Plustek 1180 is a larger-sized scanner. It has a pretty big working area of 11.69” x 17” mainly designed for large format documents. This scanner can also handle relatively large-sized artwork with ease.
Not only does this printer come with good specs, but it performs quite well too. It features a LED light source design for which you won’t need to heat the machine. Plus, it can scan immediately. It scans super fast too. It only takes 15 seconds to scan color, and 9 seconds to scan grayscale (Both at 300 DPI resolution).
It comes with a few ease-of-life features too. The Plustek OS 1180 features four one-touch buttons that are used for different functions. You can scan, email, OCR, and create PDF files simultaneously with this scanner.
Though the image quality isn’t the best. You won’t find a better scanner within this price range. We highly recommend this scanner!
Pros
- A pretty big working area of 11.69” x 17”.
- Compatible with large format artworks.
- Based on the CIS (Contact Imaging Sensor) technology.
- Doesn’t require heating up because of the LED light source design.
- Takes 15 seconds to scan color and 9 seconds to scan grayscale.
- Has multiple usabilities as you can scan, email, OCR, and create PDF files.
Cons
- Image quality isn’t the best.
#4 – Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i
Do you want a portable artwork scanner? Well, we’ve got that too! The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i is the perfect portable scanner for artwork. Besides scanning, it also has a few other key features which you might be interested in.
The Fujitsu ScanSnap was created for people that are always on the go. This is why it acts as a sort of mini-office. Not only can you scan your artworks, you can also create searchable multi-page documents, editable word documents, and Excel files too!
This scanner performs pretty decently. It can scan in color, grayscale, and monochrome. On top of that, it supports duplex printing. It’s also suitable for workaholic people as you can feed up to 10 pages with the ADF (Automatic document feeder).
The Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i has some interesting features to its name. It can auto-rotate upside-down artworks, detect color automatically, and remove blank pages. It prints quite fast too. You can get up to 12 double-sided PPM with this scanner.
However, it’s a bit slow. The ADF tray is also small.
Overall, the Fujitsu ScanSnap S1300i is the best portable scanner for artwork. Though it has a few minor inconveniences, you won’t notice the problems that much.
Pros
- Can create Office Docs such as Word and Excel.
- Scans in color, grayscale, and monochrome.
- Supports Duplex scanning and has an ADF.
- It can auto-rotate upside-down artworks and detect colors automatically.
- Scans at superfast 12 PPM speed.
- Portable.
Cons
- Operates at a slow speed.
- The ADF tray is too small.
#5 – Canon CanoScan Lide 400
But if you don’t want to spend much, there isn’t a better option than the Canon CanoScan Lide 400. It’s a sub $100 scanner that’s perfect for everyday usage.
The Canon CanoScan Lide 400 isn’t a perfect scanner by any means. But it does a good job of being a solid scanner for such a cheap price. It features a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) technology. It also has a LED light source for which you can use instantly.
The CanoScan Lide 400 consists of a decent 8.5 x L: 11.7″ working area. It can scan both in Grayscale and Color. It has 48 bits of color depth. You also get 16-bit gray depth internally and 8bit gray depth externally. Finally, it also has an optical resolution of 4800 DPI.
The CanoScan Lide 400 is a nifty little scanner. But it’s pretty fast too. It scans at a high speed of 8PPM. On top of that, this scanner is also Energy Star-certified so you won’t have to worry about it consuming a lot of electricity.
Though it lacks mobile and wireless support, you can’t ask for more at this price.
Overall, the Canon CanoScan Lide 400 is the cheapest scanner on this list. It’s a good one too! However, we only recommend it if you’re at a very tight budget.
Pros
- Doesn’t need to heat up as it features a LED light source.
- A decent working area of 8.5 x L: 11.7″.
- A decent optical resolution of 4800 DPI.
- It scans at a high speed of 8PPM.
- Energy-star certified scanner.
- It’s based on the Contact Image Sensor (CIS) technology.
Cons
- Lacks mobile and wireless support.
#6 – Canon LiDE220 A4 Scanner
The Canon LIDE comes in as our #1 top pick art scanner. It checks all the marks, including being cost-effective, excellent detail in color and depth, and extremely popular and well-reviewed.
The CanoScan LiDe 220 will allow you the freedom and ability to enjoy fast, superior-quality scanning at home with an ultra-compact and stylish frame. Additionally, it also provides you with the ability to capture high-resolution photos and documents, with the option to send them directly to your cloud services.
Pros
- This product provides you with high-resolution scans up to 4800 x 4800 dpi with its CIS sensor.
- The scanner will allow you to capture photos with exceptional detail and accurate colors, thanks to 48-bit internal color and depth.
- The product will enable you to save time with 300 dpi A4 colour scans, delivered in just ten seconds. With it, you’ll experience the freedom to scan directly to cloud services, using your PC.
- The product will also allow you to free up valuable desk space because it offers a vertically placed stand.
- It is effortless to control and function, thanks to its 5EX buttons.
- Additionally, it also comes with multipage PDF documents that instantly capture images from the scanner using PDF buttons.
- You have the freedom to enhance text graphics and pictures separately in scanned documents, using auto document and photo fix technology.
- Power and connect, using a single USB, which makes the device simple and easy to use through its viable connection portal.
- The Cano Scan offers superior quality service and simple cloud connectivity.
- The product quickly scans and sends high-quality documents and detailed photos to services such as Evernote and Dropbox.
- This scanner is simple and unique, and you can control it with ultimate ease with its one-touch operation buttons.
- Scan photos and documents with a quick click using the Auto Scan button, as it automatically recognizes the original document and optimizes the settings to match.
- You can instantly create multipage PDf documents of your scans using PDF develop buttons.
- These buttons automatically collate pages together for you, so you don’t need to return to your laptop or PC.
Cons
- N/A
# 7 – Epson V37
The Epson provides you with a fantastic scan that has versatile photos, delivering 4800 x 9600 dpi optical resolution for incredible detail and clarity. The Epson creates brilliant scans of photo albums, artwork (including watercolors, which are notoriously hard to convey to digital form) books, and more with the 180-degree lid.
The perfection V37 enables you to conveniently scan to email at the touch of a button or scan to multi-page searchable PDF. Other useful photos and document editing features are available using the included software. Epson Easy Photo Fix makes it easy to bring your originals back to life by restoring faded colour, removing the appearance of dust and scratches, and adjusting the backlight. Optical character recognition allows you to copy, paste and edit text from scanned documents, while Epson document capture enables direct scanning to your cloud storage services, allowing access to scans from any computer or mobile device.
Pros
- The scanner also offers powerful document capture software so you can quickly scan directly to cloud services, like Google Docs, MS SharePoint, Evernote, and more.
- It also provides one-touch buttons for scan-to-email, copy and PDF. Plus, use photo restoration to bring those faded family photos back to life.
- You can scan oversized artwork or photo album pages with ArcSoft Scan-stitch deluxe software.
- Thankfully, the product also has eliminated the need for warm-up time, meaning you can quickly get to cranking out your valuable content.
- The Epson indeed offers an innovative experience, so you can showcase your work anywhere, without the need of carrying around your portfolio at all times. The cloud computing software provides an advantage to mobile artists that are interested in showcasing their work to a broader audience.
Cons
- N/A
#8 – Epson DS- 50000
Epson DS- 50000 is equipped with a high resolution of 1200 dpi CCD sensor and fast scanning speed of 300 dpi that captures images, graphics and text for clarity and accuracy. It has a flatbed scanner that allows you to quickly and easily scan A3 sized and wide-format documents, such as maps, drawings or large bound books, and even odd shaped articles.
Pros
- The software allows you to scan, view, edit, save and transfer scanned documents easily.
- It can optically recognise barcodes, characters and blank pages in scanned documents, quickly sectioning them into different folders.
- The glass is flush on two sides with the scanner body, so you can scan even larger pieces of paper without any part of the article lifting off the glass surface.
- It scans very quickly and will dramatically improve your rate of output, compared to most other scanners.
Cons
- N/A
The Plustek OpticFilm 8200i Ai (Film Scanner)
The OpticFilm 8200i Ai from Plustek is a film scanner, and we include it in our list to give some options to the photographers or videographers out there that may want to scan their negatives. It offers you a high resolution, hardware-based scratch and dust removal which are perfect when taking photos as well as simple color calibration.
Pros
- This scanner allows you to calibrate the scanner to give you photos that are original. This makes it ideal for people who are interested in starting out in photography or amateurs. The scanner also has high resolution which guarantees better color quality.
- It’s designed in a way that it takes little space on your desk or counter as it’s not a flatbed as the other scanners in our review.
Cons
- It is expensive (but for good reason). It does handle regular photos or art prints, it’s specialized for film negatives.
What to Look for When Picking a Scanner
Resolution
SPI is the standard measurement for scanner resolution. SPI stands for “samples per inch” but is usually mislabeled as DPI, or “dots per inch” (which more specifically refers to printer output). The higher the number, the higher the resolution and the more detailed the scan will be. The absolute bare minimum for a quality scanner is 600 x 600, with some scanners boasting 4800 x 4800 or even up to 9600 x 9600.
Color Depth
The ability to fully reproduce color in a scan is essential for artists. You want smooth color without pixelation, which means you want a high bit count (you won’t be able to see the depth, however, without a good monitor: https://www.secretasianman.com/best-monitor-for-graphic-design/). Most scanner software will give you the option of scanning at different bit counts. 16-bits is the minimum. 48-bits is the gold standard. Scanners usually offer different options for grayscale and color scanning, so depending on your needs, you may want to consider the bit count for grayscale, as well.
Be aware that some scanners offer an “internal bit depth” that is different from their “external bit depth”. Internal bit depth is the number of bits the scanner uses to make the picture, and external bit depth is the number of bits the scanner sends to the computer.
Conclusion
To save your precious artwork, you’ll need scanners that have a good optical resolution, have the latest base technology, and a good amount of working area. In today’s list, we’ve featured the best scanners with the criteria stated above.
To be honest you can pick any of them from this list. There isn’t a clear winner as all of them are good at something. So pick the one that suits you the best!