Even half a decade ago, it would’ve cost a lot to get yourself an OCR scanner. But thanks to the latest technological advancements, you can get one for a minimal price. OCR is primarily a software that’s used to scan documents and convert them into digital files.
Since scanners don’t usually come with OCR installed, it can be a bit of a problem to find a quality scanner that has OCR installed in it. Even though it might seem to be a bit of a hassle at first, there are a few scanners with OCR which you can pick based on a few things.
Two things matter the most: optical resolution and color depth. You also need to keep in mind the other features a scanner offers. Remember, the more optical resolution and color depth there is, the merrier a scan becomes.
In today’s article, we’ll be taking a look at some of the best OCR scanners. Let’s begin!
Visioneer Patriot H60
If you have an untidy office and want the best OCR scanner, the Visioneer Patriot H60 is the one to go for. Designed for tackling huge volumes of workload, this scanner scans bulks of documents with ease.
The Visioneer H60 is the most feature-heavy and tanky scanner on this list. The Visioneer H60 comes with a huge scan area of 9.5 x 236″. It can scan in three modes including Color, Grayscale, and Monochrome.
The performance on this scanner is aspiring to say the least. You can get up to 600 DPI optical resolution and 1200 DPI interpolated resolution. The color bit is 48 internally and 24 bit externally. The scan speed is quite good too. You can scan up to 140 IPM with this scanner.
As we stated already, this scanner packs a whole lot of features. It supports duplex scanning and has an ADF (Automatic Document Scanner). It’s also an Energy Star certified scanner, thus it won’t consume much energy. It can scan up to 10,000 sheets every day.
However, our only complaint is that the price is a bit expensive for a scanner. But keep in mind that this is currently one of the best scanners.
Overall, the Visioneer Patriot H60 is the best OCR scanner today. You should choose this scanner, undoubtedly.
Pros
- A huge scan area of 9.5 x 236″.
- Scans in three separate modes including Color, Grayscale, and Monochrome.
- A high optical resolution of 600 DPI.
- High color bit rate ( 48 bit internally and 24 bit externally).
- Supports duplex scanning and ADF.
- Energy-star certified scanner.
Cons
- Very Expensive.
Brother ADS-2700W
If you need an OCR scanner for your office but don’t want a costly one, the Brother ADS-2700W is the perfect OCR scanner for offices. Plus, it comes at a reasonable price.
After reading the specs of the Brother ADS-2700W, you’ll find it to be a lot similar to the Visioneer H60. The Brother ADS-200W has an active area of 8.5” x 196″. You can scan in Color and Grayscale modes. However, the monochrome mode is missing. You’ll also find a 2.8″ Color Touchscreen LCD for navigation.
The Brother ADS-2700W performs nearly the same as the Visioneer H60. It has the same resolution as the Visioneer with 600 dpi (Optical) and 1200 dpi (Interpolated) resolution. The color bit rate at 48-Bit (Internal) and 24-Bit (External) is the same too. However, the printing speeds are a bit slow yet still decent at 70 IPM.
The Brother ADS-2700W has a decent amount of features to its name. It’s compatible with duplex scanning and features an ADF that can hold up to 50 sheets. It has a Daily Duty Cycle of 3000 scans/sheets and is Energy-star certified.
However, the touch screen is a bit cramped. On top of that, there’s no driver disc in the box
Overall, the Brother ADS-2700W is a cheaper alternative to the Visioneer H60 with a lot of similar features. If you’re running short but want a good OCR scanner, then this is the one to go for.
Pros
- A large active area of 8.5” x 196″.
- The 2.8″ Color Touchscreen LCD is customizable.
- Super high 600 dpi Optical resolution.
- High color bit rate (48 bit internally and 24 bit externally).
- Decent scanning speed of 70 IPM.
- Compatible with duplex scanning and features ADF.
- Daily Duty Cycle of 3000 scans/sheets
Cons
- The touch screen is a bit cramped.
- No driver disc in the box.
Canon CanoScan Lide 400
Don’t worry! We haven’t forgotten about the budget option for OCR scanners. The Canon Canoscan Lide 400 is our budget pick for this list.
The Canoscan comes with a good amount of features despite being a budget option. We loved how it featured a Contact Image Sensor (CIS) technology despite being a budget scanner. It can scan up to 11.7″ sized sheets with ease.
The Performance section of the Canon CanoScan Lide 400 is quite decent. The 4800 DPI resolution ensures that all the details and textures are perfect. The Color bit rate at 48 bits is decent too.
The print speed on this printer is good enough at 8 IPM. Though it isn’t much, it’s enough to get the job done. You can connect to this scanner via a USB 2.0 interface. It also doesn’t cost much electricity to run as it’s an Energy-star certified scanner.
However, the lack of mobile and wireless support is disappointing.
If you’re on a budget, there isn’t a better OCR scanner than the Canon Cano Scan Lide 400.
Pros
- It’s based on the Contact Image Sensor (CIS) technology
- Astounding optical resolution of 4800 DPI.
- High 48-bit color depth.
- The 8.5 x L: 11.7″ active area is decent enough.
- Decent scanning speed of 8PPM.
- The USB 2.0 interface is quite fast.
- Energy-star certified scanner.
Cons
- Lacks mobile and wireless support.
HP Scanjet Pro 2500 f1
Are you looking for a decent mid-range OCR scanner? You won’t find a better one than the HP Scanjet Pro 2500 f1. It’s a flatbed OCR scanner that does its job simply and reliably.
As we’ve mentioned already, the HP ScanJet Pro 2500 f1 is a flatbed scanner. It’s based on the CMOS CIS (Contact Image Sensor) technology. You can get an active area of up to 8.5 x 122.0″. The file formats it can scan are pretty diverse too as you can scan PDF, JPEG, PNG, BMP, TIFF, TXT, RTF, and Searchable PDF.
You’ll be more than satisfied with the performance of the HP ScanJet 2500 f1. It features a staggering 1200 dpi optical resolution. The color depth rate of 24-bit is decent too. It can scan at a speed of up to 40 IPM.
The HP ScanJet Pro f1 comes with quite a few handy features too. It supports duplex scanning and has an ADF. There’s a high-speed USB 2.0 interface for connection. On top of that, this scanner is also Energy-star certified.
However, it gets a bit slow while scanning searchable PDFs. Other than that, everything is fine.
Overall, the HP ScanJet Pro 2500 f1c is a decent mid-range OCR scanner. Though it isn’t the best OCR scanner in the world, it’s still a pretty good one.
Pros
- Based on the CMOS CIS (Contact Image Sensor) technology.
- A large active area of 8.5 x 122.0″.
- A staggering 1200 dpi optical resolution.
- Decent Color depth rate of 24-bit.
- Supports duplex scanning and ADF.
- It can scan everything from JPG to a Searchable PDF.
Cons
- It gets a bit slow while scanning searchable PDFs.
Brother DS-940DW
The Brother DS-940DW is the best portable OCR scanner currently. It boasts of decent features and performance despite being a light and portable OCR scanner.
The Brother DS-940DW comes with an active area of 8.5 x 72″. It can scan in two different color modes, they are Color and Monochrome. It’s based on the Contact Image Sensor (CIS) technology. If you’re wondering about the weight, it weighs about 3 pounds.
Now on to the performance section. The Brother DS-940DW has a standard optical resolution of 600 DPI. It scans quite fast too. With a scan speed of 16PPM, you won’t have to spend the whole day to scan your documents.
One thing that’s different in the Brother DS-940DW is that it features a USB 3.0 interface instead of a USB 2.0 one. This allows users to transfer files even faster. On top of that, it also features duplex scanning and automatic image corrections.
However, during our research, we didn’t find a color depth rate for this scanner. On top of that, there isn’t an ADF.
Overall, the brother DS-940DW is the best portable OCR scanner. If portability is your main concern then you should go for it.
Pros
- A decent active area of 8.5 x 72″.
- As it weighs about 3 pounds, it’s very portable.
- Features a standard optical resolution of 600 DPI.
- High scanning speed of 16 PPM.
- It features a super-fast USB 3.0 interface.
- Duplex scanning and automatic image correction feature are very helpful.
Cons
- No color depth rate available.
- Lacks ADF.
Wrapping Up
There you have it, these are the best OCR scanners. We’ve provided you with 5 different OCR scanners that are suitable for different purposes.
The best overall option would be to go for the brother ADS 2700W. But feel free to pick another one that matches your needs the most.