best scanner for artwork
Scanners

Best Scanners for Artwork

If we are talking about graphic designers, we are talking about artworks. Artworks are one of the essential parts of graphic design.

Before we jump to the list of the best scanners for your artwork, you have to ask yourself the following questions:

Do I Need a Scanner?

Not all graphic designers are totally comfortable with working with a stylus and drawing on a graphics tab for creating a preferred artwork from scratch.

Some prefer to do their most creative process of creating the preferred artwork from scratch in an old-fashioned way. By old-fashioned, I mean using a pencil to draw on paper. They find drawing on a piece of paper easier than on a graphics tab with a stylus.

I have met graphics designers who do not find their creative juices flowing unless they sit down and start sketching or drawing on a piece of paper. They do not feel the digital way of drawing and designing artworks on a graphics tab is practical enough for them.

man with tattoos sketching logo in his sketchbook

In this case, I believe you require a scanner that can scan every detail on your artwork, so you have a softcopy of the artwork you created in an old-fashioned way.

How to Choose the Perfect Scanner?

Now let’s see what are the essential factors when you’re buying your scanner for artworks:

Speed

Always remember the scanner you are trying to buy on how many pages per minute the scanner can handle. Scanners with higher scanning page speed will cost you more than the ones with lower scanning speed.

So, depending on the number of pages you will scan, choose the suitable scanner with the perfect scanning speed for you.

One-Sided or Two-Sided?

By one-sided or two-sided, I mean, is the scanner you are opting to buy can do two-sided scanning? Or do you need to scan each side of the page separately? This feature is one of the critical factors that you should keep in mind before deciding to buy your next scanner.

person scanning documents

Do You Need a Multipurpose Scanner?

Remember that the scanner you want to buy needs to perform other functions such as printing.

The multipurpose scanner is an excellent choice if you don’t have space where you could fit two different devices – a scanner and a printer. In that case, you need a scanner that can print as well.

Paper Size

You need to know the maximum paper size that the scanner you plan to buy can scan. The standard letter size is 8.5” x 11” (215,9 x 279,4 mm). So, check and see if the maximum scanning size of the scanner is a good choice for you.

Resolution

The resolution is an essential part because you will be scanning artworks. So, choose a scanner that can scan with the necessary resolution, which will make the processed file of the artwork look great on your monitor.

Budget

This one is pretty straightforward – the more money you spend on a scanner, the more features it will have.

man counting money

If you have the budget to buy an expensive one, you will get a scanner with all the top-class features available in the market. So, in this article, I will suggest the best scanners available on a budget that is affordable to most.

Now that you have a clearer idea of what you should keep in mind before buying your new scanning machine, let’s find out which are the best ones for smooth digitalization work.

The 5 Best Scanners for Artwork

Here is the list of the 5 best scanners for artwork:

  1. Epson Perfection V370 Color Photo
  2. Canon CanoScan LiDE 220
  3. Epson Perfection V600
  4. Epson Perfection V39
  5. Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII Photo

Closer Look On The 5 Best Scanners for Artwork

1. Epson Perfection V370 Color Photo

The Epson Perfection V370 is one of the best scanners on the market. This scanner from Epson is equipped with all the latest features and can scan various sizes and shapes of your artwork.

It has document capture pro software, which will let you access documents on your phone. It has a scanning resolution of 4800 x 9600 dpi, meaning the scanned artworks will have great detail.

Epson Perfection V370 Color Photo:

It has an operating temperature range of 10 – 35 degrees Celsius. This means this scanner will not be heated up too much when you are working on it for a long time. It supports many operating systems, so it will work flawlessly on Mac and Windows OS.

Pros:

  • You can quickly scan your material into the cloud
  • Has an Easy Photo Fix option that restores color faded photos

Cons:

You can not automatically choose many focus points when scanning artwork or documents.

2. Canon CanoScan LiDE 220

This scanner is one of the most stylish-looking scanners on the market. Not only does it has modern looks, but it can also scan a letter-size document in 10 seconds. It has auto document fixing software, which means it will automatically fix the scanning area and creates outstanding outputs.

Canon CanoScan LiDE 220

It has a lot of operating system compatibility for Windows and Mac OS. So no matter what is your computer OS is running on, it will work effortlessly on both!

Pros

It is one of the most compact scanners on the market today.

Cons

It is small and compact, but it lacks scanning quality and resolution.

3. Epson Perfection V600

If you want a scanner that will scan your artwork in exquisite detail, you should consider buying this scanner from Epson. It has scanning power and elegant looks as well.

Epson Perfection V600

You can print slides, negatives, and medium-format panoramic film. The maximum resolution it will scan up to is 12800 x 12800 dpi. With this scanner, you can remove tears, creases, or any damage to your photos or artworks with the Digital Ice feature.

Pros

Scans high-resolution artworks.

Cons:

Setting up this scanner will take a bit longer than setting up other scanners.

4. Epson Perfection V39

Though this printer from Epson is compact and portable, it scans out pretty decent resolution artworks. It has a very stylish and elegant design. It will not require a lot of space to keep and use this scanner, which is an excellent feature if you have a small office.

Epson Perfection V39

Using the Epson Document Capture Pro software, you can also scan and save artworks on your Google Drive.

Pros

It has a kickstand for vertical placement.

Cons

It lacks build quality.

5. Canon CanoScan 9000F MKII Photo, Film and Negative Scanner

If you’re looking for a new scanner, you’ve probably come across this scanner from Canon. CanoScan 900F is one of the best scanners for scanning artworks in today’s market.

Canon CanoScan 9000F

It has My Image Garden Software, which handles photo and document scanning. It helps with the organization of scanned artworks and documents.

Pros

It has all the features, if not more, to help you scan the best possible digital copy for your artwork.

Cons

It is pretty expensive compared to other scanners on the list.

The 5 Best Scanners For Artwork Compared

PreviewEpson Perfection V370 Color PhotoCanon CanoScan LiDE 220Epson Perfection V600Epson Perfection V39Canon CanoScan 9000F
TitleEpson
Perfection V370
Color
Photo
Canon
CanoScan
LiDE 220
Epson
Perfection V600
Epson
Perfection V39
Canon
CanoScan9000F
MKII
Photo
Optical
Resolution
4800 dpi x 9600 dpi 4800 dpi x 4800 dpi 6400 dpi x 9600 dpi 4800 dpi x 4800 dpi 9600 dpi x 9600 dpi
Scanning Speed11 sec (A4 300dpi)10 sec/scan – color – A421 ms/line – black&white – 6400 dpi

21 ms/line – color – 6400 dpi
10 sec/scan – color – Letter – 300 dpi

30 sec/scan – color – Letter – 600 dpi
8.6 ppm – color – A4 – 300 dpi

3.3 ppm – film – 1200 dpi
Max Document Size8.5 in x 11 in8.5 in x 11.7 in8.5 in x 11.7 in 8.5 in x 11 in8.5 in x 11.7 in

Final Words

I hope the list above will help you find your artwork’s next scanner. If you find a scanner that you are willing to buy outside of this list, check if it matches all the required criteria mentioned in the first section of the article.