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The 5 best photo scanners in 2024: Save your favorite prints, share in a snap
Epson
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
Amazon
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
Amazon
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
Amazon
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
Amazon
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
Amazon
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.
President-elect Donald Trump announced Tuesday that former Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe is his pick to lead the Central Intelligence Agency.
In a Truth Social post, Trump referred to Ratcliffe as “a warrior for Truth and Honesty” and said, “I look forward to John being the first person ever to serve in both of our Nation’s highest Intelligence positions.”
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Trump has kept up a steady clip of announcements about top aides and nominees for his second administration without as much drama as his first transition following his 2016 victory. He also said Tuesday he had chosen former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee as ambassador to Israel and his longtime friend Steven Witkoff to be a special envoy to the Middle East.
Ratcliffe, who was a GOP congressman from Texas, served as director of national intelligence in the final months of Trump’s first term, leading the U.S. government’s spy agencies during the coronavirus pandemic. He’s viewed as a more traditional pick for the role, which requires Senate confirmation, than some rumored loyalists pushed by some of Trump’s supporters. His last Senate confirmation, for the DNI role, was along party lines.
As intelligence director, he was criticized by Democrats for declassifying in the final days of the 2020 presidential election Russian intelligence alleging damaging information about Democrats during the 2016 race even though he acknowledged it might not be true.
Ratcliffe’s visibility rose as he emerged in 2019 as an ardent defender of Trump during the House’s first impeachment proceedings against him. He was a member of Trump’s impeachment advisory team and questioned witnesses during the impeachment hearings.
After the Democratic-led House voted to impeach Trump, Ratcliffe called it “the thinnest, fastest and weakest impeachment our country has ever seen.” He also forcefully questioned former special counsel Robert Mueller when he testified before the House Judiciary Committee about his investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election.
As Democrats work to sort out last week’s election results and determine why they lost Latino men in droves, a Latino Democrat and senator-elect has some advice for party leaders and top consultants: “Go touch grass and meet real Latinos.”
CBS News Tuesday projected Gallego as the victor in Arizona’s U.S. Senate contest against Republican Kari Lake. He believes much of his party is out of touch with a key demographic he says they can’t win national elections without.
“There is no winning nationally without Latinos,” Gallego said in an extensive interview with CBS News senior White House and political correspondent Ed O’Keefe Tuesday. “…There’s no path forward into the Democratic Party, into a national party, without Latinos.”
Exit polls show Vice President Kamala Harris lost Latino men to President-elect Donald Trump — a significant blow to a party that’s long relied on them as part of a broad coalition. The results were openly feared most of the past year by Democratic Party leaders and operatives.
Going forward, Gallego said candidates need to go out and find Latinos where they already are. Gallego focused on bringing his campaign to Latino voters — sometimes, without talking about politics at all. His campaign hosted rodeos, boxing match watch parties, and carne asada cookouts. His team took food to construction shift workers at work sites after they’d clocked out in the early morning. Knocking on people’s doors, after shift workers are exhausted and preparing for the next day, won’t work, he said.
“Talk to them. And talk to them as often as possible,” Gallego said. “And don’t expect you to be able to talk to them one way through TV.”
There are “millions and millions” of Latino men out there, Gallego said, and they’re not afraid to speak their mind.
Democrats on the national stage also missed the mark in how they spoke about immigration. Gallego’s first Spanish-language TV ad was about border security. Latinos in Arizona looked at the migration crisis at the border, with refugees pouring into the country, and called it “chaos,” Gallego said.
While campaigning, “We didn’t actually speak about immigration reform because we know that the Latino voter just doesn’t believe it anymore,” Gallego said, meaning, Latino voters don’t believe Washington will actually pass a massive immigration reform bill in the near future.
Instead, Congress needs to focus on fortifying U.S.-Mexico border security first to build trust, he said.
But that message, O’Keefe suggested, may be a hard pill to swallow for fellow Democrats.
“I’m a pharmacist about to give out very hard pills in the Senate,” Gallego said.
Gallego also hinted that Democrats missed the mark on addressing inflation. Born on the south side of Chicago to a Colombian mother and a Mexican father, with his mother raising four children alone, Gallego said he knows what it’s like to grow up struggling. He saw the flashing warning signs on inflation, not just in the polls, but as he talked with his working-class family members and constituents.
“Growing up working class, there’s nothing more hurtful than working hard and then not being able to provide for your family,” Gallego said. “And I instinctively knew that’s what these men were going through.”
“This is the first time I’ve ever seen men say I can’t do this,” Gallego said. “I can’t keep working, and it’s still not making a difference, and that’s when I realized it was really kind of a problem.”
Raised by his mother, Gallego became a U.S. Marine and served in the Iraq war. He moved to Arizona for a local political job, ran and won a seat in the state House before winning his first congressional race in 2014, representing most of Phoenix and Glendale.
He began on Capitol Hill with an outspoken progressive reputation and was among the Democrats calling on the U.S. Senate to abandon the filibuster. But Gallego has shifted his politics to the center in recent years, a reflection of the state’s roughly three-way voter registration split between Democrats, Republicans and independents.
He launched his Senate campaign nearly two years ago, focusing early advertising and outreach on his military service, a key credential in a state with a hefty military and veteran population and a history of electing military veterans, including the late Republican Sen. John McCain, to Congress. With nominal Democratic primary opposition and polls giving him an early lead, independent Sen. Kyrsten Sinema announced in March she would not run for reelection, avoiding a three-way contest.
Until Sinema won her Senate race in 2018, a Democrat hadn’t been elected to the Senate in Arizona in three decades, though Sinema went on to leave the party. Then in 2020, Sen. Mark Kelly, a Democrat, won a competitive Senate race to serve the remainder of McCain’s term after his death.
In his race, Gallego wasn’t about to give up on Trump voters — or any voters, he said.
A rising star in the party — a veteran and Latino who was victorious in a state Trump won — Gallego brushed off questions about a future bid for president.
“Can I rule out running? I can — I can rule out a lot of things,” Gallego said. “First thing I want to focus on is this U.S. Senate race.”
“That’s not a no,” O’Keefe pointed out.
“It’s not a yes, either,” Gallego said, adding a Spanish word for patience: “Cálmate.”
contributed to this report.
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