Let’s face it. For us Mac users, it’s always been about quality. We’re always on the lookout for a product that’s an ideal combination of features AND performance. Only then we do we move on to price. And once we’ve found the right price, that’s the product of our dreams!
When you’re shopping around for a scanner, do consider the following:
- Scan speed
- Ability to scan multiple formats
- Paper capacity
- Optical character recognition (OCR) performance
- Ability to scan and read business cards
- Presence of a flatbed
- Ability to scan over networks
- Dust and scratch removal features
- And, of course, portability
So I understand the dilemma you’re in, as you search for the best scanner for your Mac. While most scanners are compatible with a Windows PC, not all of them work with an Apple computer. Don’t worry, my friend! Once you’re done with this article, you won’t have to go through the hassle of looking up hundreds of reviews online. We’ve got you covered on that front.
Let’s not delay this any further. Dive right in to read about the top 10 scanners we’ve picked for you. In my opinion, these are some of THE best scanners for Macs.
Table of Contents
Best Scanner for Mac – Review
1. Canon CanoScan Lide 400 Slim Scanner
A premium flatbed scanner with enhanced speed and high-resolution capabilities, the CanoScan Lide 400 produces highly accurate scans with a single button. What’s even better, it’s kind and considerate with space, power, and time.
The included software bundle contains IJ Scan Utility (Windows), IJ Scan Utility Lite (Mac), Auto Scan, Document Scan, Photo Scan, Custom Scan, Stitch Scan, OCR (Optical Character Recognition), ScanGear MP Driver, and Quick Menu.
The sophisticated designs of this compact scanner, upright stand, and single USB Type-C powered connection together adapt effortlessly to a home and an office environment. The Canon comes with a vertical stand offering an option to scan vertically as well, but it’s not the best in my experience.
What we liked:
- Affordable
- User-friendly
- Impressive speed
- Space-saving design ethos
- Exceptional quality
- Upright auto-scanning features
- Sizeable software bundle included
What we didn’t like:
- Any item not perfectly flat and in contact with the glass is out of focus
- Lacks mobile device and wireless support
- Can be a little noisy
2. Epson America DS-870 Document Scanner
This scanner is designed for environments where speed and dependability are paramount. The incredibly fast, reliable, and robust DS-870 document scanner truly delivers world-class performance. It’s not every day that you’ll find a better-performing upgrade for less money. This is why this item is an easy choice for our medium- to heavy-duty document scanner category.
This scanner will settle in perfectly in environments where there’s a ton of document-archiving going on. Its color LCD and convenient buttons offer easy access to user-defined jobs, settings, modes, and maintenance. USB connectivity is standard, and Epson offers an optional network interface.
What we liked:
- Precise scanning
- Can handle high volumes
- Has impressive capacity
- Superfast
- Can save as searchable PDFs
- Versatile paper handling in the price range
- Seamless compatibility
What we didn’t like:
- Lacks mobile connectivity
- Not available in office supply stores
3. Epson DS-80W Document Scanner
If dealing with documents off-site is your primary headache, not many scanners do the job as well as this Epson scanner. The DS-80W Wireless Portable Document Scanner is a fast and accurate single-sheet-feed scanner ideally suited for scanning on a laptop or a smartphone on the go.
I loved how it can automatically detect if it’s in wireless or USB mode without any annoying interruption. Apart from USB ports, it can link to wireless access points using WPS or Wi-Fi Direct.
You can connect your computers, tablets, and smartphones via a USB cable or wireless connection to send documents to a PC, Mac, iOS, or Android device. You can even scan directly to cloud-based programs like Google Drive or Dropbox, allowing multiple people to access the same document. How clever is that?
All these perks, along with its good accuracy and practical interface, are more than enough to make this portable scanner from Epson a solid choice.
What we liked:
- Small, portable, and lightweight
- Easy to carry around on the road
- Impressive speed
- Great output quality
- Has built-in Wi-Fi and battery
- Easy to install
- Comes with a great software bundle
What we didn’t like:
- No Automatic Document Feeder
- No Duplex feature (printing on both side)
4. Epson FastFoto FF-680W Wireless
With this offering, Epson has gone for the ultimate scanning machine in terms of versatility. Seriously, listen to all the crazy features they’ve squeezed into this product. The FF-680W features various modes for the fastest sharing, archiving, and enlargement of personal photos and documents.
A SafeTouch Technology offers you worry-free scanning for virtually any size, including postcards and Polaroids. The Single-Step Technology captures both image and any handwritten note on the other side of the image in a single scan. Epson’s FastFoto software helps you make frequently-needed and straightforward edits like red-eye reduction, color correction, and cropping. No need for pesky third-party software!
You won’t have to scan photos one by one anymore, or risk having them ripped in the scanner’s document feeder. The scanned copies can be directly uploaded to Dropbox and Google Drive for easier archiving and organization. It also has a quick plug-and-play setup process for both Windows and Mac.
No wonder this versatile home scanner was a PCMag Editors’ Choice for photo-centric household scanners!
What we liked:
- Multiple format options
- Easy to connect
- Perfect Picture Imaging
- Fast scanning
- Quick sharing
- Easy Auto-Upload and Backup options
- Excellent OCR performance
- Single-Step technology
What we didn’t like:
- Pricier than comparable options out there
- Switching from wireless to wired requires uninstalling and reinstalling every single time
- Comparatively slower photo scanning
5. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX100 Wireless
The Fujitsu ScanSnap iX100 is an update to the 2014 Editors’ Choice product of the same name. It was one of the most impressive portable document scanners in its time. While iX100’s hardware is virtually identical to the previous version’s, they have done an exceptional job updating its software bundle. It’s one of the best collections of portable scanner utilities in class.
Portable and completely wireless, this scanner offers on-the-go scanning with a rechargeable battery system. The One-touch scanning technology with ScanSnap Cloud automatically separates and sends documents, receipts, business cards, or photos to preset cloud services.
Given programs include Fujitsu’s scan utility; document management, business card, and receipts handling programs; and an integrated version of Abbyy FineReader for optical character recognition. The FineReader module can recognize text and save scanned documents to searchable PDF, Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint formats.
What we liked:
- Portable
- Quick scanning
- Automatic scan-to-cloud option
- Reasonably priced
- Total wireless connectivity
What we didn’t like:
- Doesn’t have single-pass auto-duplexing (printing on both sides)
- Poor battery life
- Price is comparatively higher
6. Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo
With one-touch color restoration and ArcSoft PhotoStudio included, Epson Perfection V600 Color Photo is your complete photo restoration solution. It has an energy-efficient ReadyScan LED light source. So, you can get this one up and running with no warm-up. And what’s there not to like about faster scans? It also allows the unit to consume less power.
The feature that sets V600 apart is its ability to scan negative films. I was really impressed how the digital ICE technology can remove dust and scratches from the film and prints with no fuss. And the photo fix feature restores old faded color photos with a single touch. Scanned documents can be quickly converted into editable and searchable text with the included ABBYY FineReader Sprint Plus OCR software.
What we liked:
- Value for money
- Sleek and compact design
- Energy-efficient
- Up to four customizable buttons.
- One-Touch Photo Restoration feature
- Image Enhancement features
What we didn’t like:
- High-quality scans take a long time
- Flimsy film trays
- No Automatic Document Feeder
7. Epson Perfection V39 Color Photo & Document Scanner
Epson Perfection V39 Color Photo & Document Scanner is one of the most compact and sleekest flatbed scanners you can find. But that’s not the remarkable part! It’s the features that set it apart:
You can convert digital images to JPEG, TIFF, PDF, PNG, and Bitmap formats. It includes software to scan oversized prints and documents, restore color to faded photos, remove dust and even convert documents into editable text. Be it photos or documents, this versatile performer makes scanning a breeze.
The V39 is Epson’s idea of a budget-friendly Flatbed Scanner for Mac. So, you have no reason to worry about compatibility. It’ll work with Apple devices like the iMac, Mac Pro and Macbook, and all Mac OS versions.
What we liked:
- USB powered — no AC adapter needed
- Offers over-sized scanning
- Energy-efficient
- High-quality photo scanning
- User-friendly compact size
- Easy to use
What we didn’t like:
- Lacks bundled applications
- Lacks film-scan capability
8. Fujitsu ScanSnap iX1500 Color Duplex Document Scanner
This is a no-nonsense scanner with an advanced feeding system and the ability to scan from both sides. You’ll be able to scan a variety of receipts, photos, business cards, and countless documents with the iX1500 document scanner by Fujitsu. It’s well-built, user-friendly, and so easy-to-configure on top of all this! It’s lightning-quick, while the scanning is exceptionally accurate as well.
It’s an ideal choice if you’re looking for an entry-level, sheet-fed document scanner for home or a small office.
However, for offices that have to scan a lot of paperwork, the iX1500 won’t be the best option. It’s an excellent pick for light-duty paperwork.
What we liked:
- Well-built with sophisticated design
- Wireless scanning
- Built-in organizer and clean-up software
- Free ScanSnap cloud access.
What we didn’t like:
- No Ethernet support
9. Canon ImageFORMULA R40 Office Document Scanner
Canon’s imageFormula R40 Office Document Scanner is an entry- to mid-level sheet-fed desktop scanner designed for home-based or small-office work. This desktop digitizer comes with a well-rounded software bundle that covers most types of business-oriented scanning, such as basic document management and business card archiving. And it’s affordable, too!
It has automatic double-sided scanning in both color and black-and-white, so if manually flipping pages is your ultimate nemesis, you’re in good hands. Additionally, it’s able to scan standard-sized as well as oversized documents and even receipts and business cards.
The easy-to-use Canon CaptureOnTouch scanning software offers high-quality imaging, and it automatically adjusts output resolution to improve file quality. It also reduces file size for easier mixed batch document scanning. This office scanner effortlessly converts documents from paper to easily searchable digital formats.
What we liked:
- Easy setup
- Fast and efficient scanning
- Reasonable price
- Compatible with both Mac and Windows
What we didn’t like:
- Lacks network and mobile connectivity
- Not ideal for photo scanning
10. Epson WorkForce ES-500W Wireless
Wireless, fast, efficient, and easy to use, the WorkForce ES-500W document scanner by Epson helps make sharp, crisp scans of all your everyday documents, including business cards and papers.
This powerful, wireless document scanner makes everyday scanning simple for smartphones, tablets, PCs, and Macs. The Single-step Technology scans both sides of a paper in one pass. It includes brilliant color and adjustment features that provide background removal, blank page removal, and even auto-crop.
With the most sophisticated control panel, ES-500W scans and saves to searchable PDFs faster than most entry-level scanners. If there’s one thing that holds this product back, it is the below-average OCR accuracy.
What we liked:
- Easy setup
- Wireless scanning
- Easy sharing
- Robust
- Ultrasonic Double Feed Detection
- Single-step Technology
What we didn’t like:
- Not a stand-alone scanner
- Lacks OCR accuracy
- Wi-Fi connectivity issues
Conclusion
A document scanner is an essential piece of equipment for offices and even homes. Whether you’re working with photos or just documents, a scanner that fits all your needs is a must. There’s no secret ingredient to discovering the best one. The factors that make a Mac-friendly model great are, by and large, the same as those that set the best Windows scanners apart.
After weighing your needs, considering the features on offer, and matching them with the best price, you can find the ideal scanner for your Mac. Now, we’ve done the grunt work for you. All you need to do is decide which one’s works for you, and make the splurge!