Most people use their scanners to scan books. Just as photography has evolved and photographers are now able to store their films digitally using scanners, so does book scanning. Whether you work as a freelancer or as a full-time employee, you have been able to witness that most of the official documents are sent via email either as Word or PDF attachments as they provide a cheaper and quicker option when compared to paper.
Book scanning is a common practice among university and college students especially when they are looking to save learning resources for revision and assignments. Teachers also scan books when they want to share the material in class. In general, people scan pages of books that they would like to share or keep as soft copies saved on their laptops.
While all this sounds exciting, finding one of the best scanners for books can be a hard task. Why? Because books are both thick and large and the standard scanners are generally unable to support them.
Scanning multiple pages can take you ages as well as the speed of the scanner tends to be slow. However, there are several options that you can consider when looking to buy a scanner for books. Below are some of the best scanners for books that you can consider buying.
Our Recommendations
- iCODIS X9 – Best Overall
- iCodis X3 – Best In Portability
- IRISCan Book 5 – Best In Speed
- Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 Book Scanner – Best In Resolution
- Vupoint Magic Wand Scanner – Best In Price
- CZUR ET16 Plus Scanner – Best In Features
iCODIS X9
One of the newer releases this year, the iCodis X9 is the best book scanner you can find anywhere. With excellent features and a reasonable price, this scanner is portable too!
The iCodis X9 is the perfect book scanner for quite a few reasons. It comes with a page flattening algorithm and finger removal function. It also supports auto-corrections so it’ll automatically filter out irrelevant content.
The performance portion of this scanner is nothing new to talk of. It comes with a 21-megapixel cam to provide Real-time HD instant presentation. It can display sizes up to A3/A4. The iCodis 9 also has built-in LED 9 lights that are perfect for working in a dim environment.
Design and usability are compact and easier than ever. The iCodis x9 comes with a high-quality aluminum alloy fuselage. It’s also foldable so you can carry it anywhere.
Though the price might seem costly to some, it’s still the best book scanner of 2024 and there isn’t any reason as to why you shouldn’t go for it!
Pros
- The page flattening algorithm and finger removal function are handy in many relevant situations.
- The auto-correction feature filters out irrelevant content.
- The 21-megapixel camera provides a Real-time HD instant presentation.
- Scan and display size up to A3/A4.
- It has built-in LED 9 lights that are perfect for working in a dim environment.
- Foldable and portable.
- The high-quality aluminum alloy fuselage makes the scanner even compact and strong.
Cons
- Expensive
iCodis X3
If you liked the iCodis X9 but don’t want to spend that much then you can take a look at the iCodis X3. Priced one-third of the X9, this scanner is one of the best at its price.
Like the X9, the X3 also uses OCR, SDK TWAIN, and auto-correction features while scanning. It also features the automatic image segmentation feature where it automatically merges both sides of the scanned document and erases the excess bits.
The performance of this scanner is bound to leave you stunned. It has an 8-megapixel camera with a resolution of 3264×2448. It can scan file sizes up to A3. It’s also a scanner that serves multi-purpose as you can record videos, do real-time projection, and do various tasks with it.
Unlike some other book scanners, the design of the iCodis X3 is phenomenal. It’s collapsible and thus easily portable. The base is made heavy by the manufacturers so that it stays stable. It’s quite easy to use as the installation wizard will guide you on how to use it.
Overall, the iCodis X3 is one of the better mid-range scanners currently. Though it isn’t compatible with Mac, it works just fine for a book scanner.
Pros
- Budget-friendly.
- It uses OCR, SDK TWAIN, and auto-correction features.
- The 8-megapixel camera has a high resolution of 3264×2448.
- It can scan file sizes up to A3.
- Great for multi-tasking as it can scan videos and do a real-time presentation.
- Collapsible and portable.
- The heavy base keeps the scanner stable.
Cons
- Not compatible with Mac OS.
IRISCan Book 5
Taking the top spot for the portable book scanner, IRISCan Book 5 is the best portable scanner you can get currently. It’s cheap, packed with tons of utility, and provides service for up to a few years!
As it’s a mobile scanner, the IRISCan book 5 is perfect for scanning press articles, flyers, ads, product competitor specs. It has a scan resolution of up to 1200 depending on the settings you go for. The scan speed is super fast too as it takes only a second to scan documents.
The IRISCan Book 5 is powered by a USB rechargeable battery. It can scan up to 100 documents daily. You can save those documents onto the Micro SD card (Included with the scanner)
You can convert any paper document of your with this scanner to any doc format ( PDF, DOC, Excel). You can also convert your old photos into digital files with this scanner. But one thing to note here is that the battery life is a bit short. So you might have to plug it in more than once a day.
Overall, the IRISCan Book 5 is the best portable book scanner there’s no question about it.
Pros
- Perfect for scanning press articles, flyers, ads, product competitor specs.
- The scan resolution goes up to 1200 dpi depending on the settings.
- Takes only 1 second to scan.
- Powered by a USB rechargeable battery.
- You can convert any paper document of your with this scanner to any doc format.
- Converts old photos to digital format.
Cons
- Poor battery life.
Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 Book Scanner
Fujitsu is a well-established brand in the scanner business. The scanner’s overhead design enables you to scan your delicate documents such as books and journals easily. One of the more sophisticated book scanners on this list, this scanner is bound to catch your attention.
The SV600 is an overhead scanner. It features a Color CCD sensor with lens reduction optics. Because of this, it filters out the unnecessary lines in your scan. The resolution is decent too as you’ll be getting 285-218 dpi horizontally and 283-152 dpi vertically.
The SV600 has quite a large scanning area as you can scan up to 11.8 x 17.0″ sized books. It has 4 scan modes (Color, Grayscale, Monochrome, Automatic). In automatic mode, the scanner detects the best mode for you. The speed is decent too as you’ll be getting a scan speed of 3 seconds per page.
Though the sv600 uses a USB 2.0 interface, it won’t slow down. And on top of that, it’s quite cost-friendly too. It’s an Energy Star-certified scanner so be sure you won’t have to worry about electricity anytime soon. This scanner also has auto page-turning detection and auto image corrections.
However, adjusting the crop line can get tedious at times if the auto crop doesn’t work out.
Overall, the Fujitsu Scansnap SV600 is still one of the top scanners for books despite being a rather old scanner. I use one and haven’t been disappointed even once.
Pros
- The Color CCD sensor with lens reduction optics filters out the unnecessary lines in your scan.
- The resolution of 285-218 dpi horizontal and 283-152 dpi vertical is standard for book scanners.
- A decent scanning area of 11.8 x 17.0″.
- 4 scan modes (Color, Grayscale, Monochrome, Automatic).
- A fast scan speed of 3 seconds per page.
- Energy-star certified scanner.
- Uses a fast USB 2.0 scanner.
Cons
- Adjusting the crop line can get tedious at times if the auto crop doesn’t work out.
Vupoint Magic Wand Scanner
The Vupoint Magic Wand scanner stands out because of its mobility, and it is affordable. This is one of the best portable scanners at the moment despite aging out a bit. Let’s find out why!
The Vupoint Magic Wand Scanner uses a Color Contact Image Sensor technology. It has a decent resolution of 600 x 600 dpi. The scan area is quite big for a portable scanner as you’ll be able to scan up to 8.27″ x 50.0″ sized media.
It’s one of the fastest scanners while I’m writing this article. The scan speed goes as low as 2 seconds (On Standard Resolution Grayscale mode). The scanner can scan in both color and grayscale modes. You can also pick if you want the resolution to be high or standard.
A USB 2.0 interface is used to connect with computers. It also supports MicroSD & MicroSDHC cards up to 32GB. Though it has a minimum requirement of Windows 7, Vista, XP, Mac OS 10.4, no drivers are required for installation. It’ll also auto power off in 3 minutes to save battery.
However, though it doesn’t have any weak links, it’s kind of an older model. Other than that it’s one of the perfect portable scanners I’ve ever seen.
Pros
- It uses a Color Contact Image Sensor technology that provides color-accurate scans.
- A decent resolution of 600 x 600 dpi.
- It scans up to 8.27″ x 50.0″ sized media.
- Fast scanning speed of as low as 2 seconds.
- Supports MicroSD & microSDHC cards up to 32GB.
- Can be used without a computer and installation is easy.
Cons
- A slightly older model.
CZUR ET16 Plus Scanner
The CZUR ET16 Plus Scanner is among some of the best luxurious overhead scanners that you can get. The scanner helps improve the entire scanning process in all areas thanks to the features it has that work together to deliver exceptional images of your scanned book.
The CZUR ET16 Plus comes with 2 side lamps. These lamps cover the whole scan area evenly to ensure you get excellent scans. The black mat included with the scanner ensures that there isn’t any kind of surface glare or interference.
You can pick from two different sizes, this is important as you’ll be able to pick the one that suits you the best. It also comes with edge detection software that detects the edges automatically and adjusts them as needed.
The CZUR ET16 Plus has a super high scan speed of just above .5 seconds. And thanks to the incorporated ABBYY technology, this scanner easily recognizes 187 language characters. You can also save the book pages as editable documents in PDF, Word, TIFF, or any other major format
However, the scanner is a bit costly. On top of that, the thumbprint removal feature is a bit of a hassle to take care of.
Overall, the CZUR ET16 Plus is one of the best book scanners you can find anywhere. So if your budget allows it then you should go for it.
Pros
- Available in two different sizes to suit your preference
- The scanner has two side lamps that cover the whole scan area evenly to ensure
- you get excellent scans
- The scanner’s black mat helps reduce surface glare, artifact, and scan interference
- Offers reduced glare especially when scanning glossy pages, magazines,
- laminated documents and certificates
- Pages are automatically flattened, and your fingers cropped out when holding the
- pages thanks to the Smart software technology
- The scanner’s ET Smart Book software recognizes the edges of pages
- automatically and adjusts them as needed
- Amazing scan speeds of 1.5 seconds per two pages
- With the incorporated ABBYY technology, this scanner easily recognizes 187
- language characters
- OCR technology allows you to effortlessly scan and store the pages of your book
- as editable documents in PDF, Word, TIFF, or any other major format
- The scanner has a sleek design, is convenient, fast, and powerful
Cons
- It is a bit costly
- The thumbprint removal feature is quirky as it sometimes eats into the pages and
- chops words
Final Thoughts
When looking at options for scanners for scanning books, you must consider whether you want a flatbed, overhead, or handheld scanner. And while each scanner model can work perfectly okay to serve your needs, when it comes to scanning books, it’s important to consider the speed of the scanner.
Remember, ease of use, scanning efficiency, cost, and functionality are some great factors that you need to have in mind before settling on a scanner for books.