5 Best Ways To Scan Your Documents

With the advent of technology, paperless offices are becoming increasingly more popular than ever. Generally, gone are the days to use laborious and time-consuming traditional paper filing approaches that are prone to human errors. Now we have devices to Scan Your Documents.

It’s said that businesses, law firms, hospitals, educational, and government institutions are now automating their record management system to improve efficiency in the workplace. For instance, with the use of scanners and integrated software programs, organizations can now seamlessly process large batches of documents efficiently and effectively.  

Scanning is an easy way to save, store, and effectively share data on different online platforms easily accessed by different collaborators. Aside from that, this digital solution allows you to safeguard your valuable documents like executive reports, or financial documents such as receipts and invoices by safely storing them in the cloud. This way you can track your records, update, and even use them as references in the future.

That said, here are the best ways to scan your documents with any device: 

Scan Into Your Computer Using An All-in-one Printer

An all-in-one printer is a device that doesn’t only print out documents but also comes with document scanning, copying, and other helpful features. Manufacturers introduce programs and tools to work with the hardware capabilities of printers to deliver results and answer to the document management needs of users.

Below are ways to digitize your documents on your desktop or laptop on Windows and Mac with the help of an all-in-one printer:

• On Windows

By connecting your scanner to your computer, you can instantly scan both documents and images and save them to your device. 

Even so, the software that comes with some scanners sometimes may not be sophisticated enough to fully meet your organizational needs. For that reason, you can consider installing a third-party document scanning software with incredible features like automatic indexing and extraction of data. 

With that in mind, here are the universal procedures to follow to scan your files on Windows: 

• Connect the scanner to your computer.
• Safely place your document paper in the scanner with the printed face facing down.
• Select the ‘Start’ button on the lower-left side of your computer.
• Search for ‘Fax and Scan’ by typing it into the ‘Start’ tab, and then click the ‘Windows Fax and Scan’ option.
• Click ‘New Scan’. This opens a new window and shows a list of scanners. Make sure you choose the correct name of your scanner. If the wrong scanner is selected, you can click ‘Change’ in the top right corner of your screen and then select your scanner’s correct name.
• Go to ‘Profile’. Then, in the drop-down box, tap the type of file to scan. It can be a photo or a normal document. 
• Select the best color to use for your document by going to ‘Color Format’. A drop-down box appears showing either ‘Black and White’ or ‘Color’. The ‘Color’ option enhances your document’s visual appeal and adds more vibrancy especially when it comes to documents such as marketing materials, brochures, or reports.
• Choose the file format to save and store your document by clicking ‘File type’ > PDF or JPG. 
• Make other modifications before scanning. For instance, you can change the page resolution.
• Select the ‘Preview’ tab to check what your scanned file will look like. Examine if it’s chopped-off or uneven, then try to make the necessary adjustments. Click the ‘Preview’ button again to see if the readjusted document now looks good.
• Select ‘Scan’ to scan the document into your device.

• On Mac

To start scanning, ensure your scanner is turned on and connected to your device then follow the instructions below:

• Position your paper document in your scanner turned downward.
• Select the ‘Apple Logo’ to open the ‘Apple Menu’.
• Click System Preferences > Printers & Scanners.
• Choose the name of your scanner.
• Go to ‘Open Scanner’, then select the ‘Show Details’ tab at the bottom side of your screen.
• Choose how best to save your document by clicking File Type > Format > PDF or JPEG.
• Select the color for your document by going to Kind > Color.
• To save, tap ‘Save To’ then select the storage location, e.g., Desktop.
• Make other changes to your document before scanning, for instance, you can modify the orientation.
• Click ‘Scan’ to instantly digitize your document.

Scan Documents Into Your Phone

If you can’t access a desktop scanner, then you shouldn’t worry because you can produce high-quality scans using the built-in camera in your smartphone or tablet. Here are simple ways to do it:

• Use Notes On Your iPhone 

Along with scanning documents, you can also add signatures using the Notes app. Below is the typical process you ought to follow:

• Select the ‘Notes’ tab on your Apps page. Notes normally comes as a default app on iPhone devices so you don’t need to download it. But if you’ve deleted it, you can freely install it again from the App Store.
• Select the ‘New Note’ icon on the bottom-right side of your screen.
• Click on the ‘Camera’ tab to open the camera menu then select ‘Scan Documents.’
• Take a picture of the file. To do this, steadily hold your iPhone above the document and it automatically captures the page. For clearer images, have a dark background for white papers and a light surface for dark papers.
• If it’s troublesome to capture the document automatically, you can switch to manual by tapping the ‘Auto’ tab in the top-right corner of your screen.
• Thereafter, tap on the camera button to take the picture. Note that you can modify the white outline by dragging the four bordered circles.  
• Click ‘Keep Scan’ to save your page.
• Follow the same procedure for your next pages.
• Select ‘Preview Image’ on the bottom left-hand side to open the thumbnail image of all your scans. 
• To edit a page, click on the page and then the relevant command to:
• Retake another image.
• Rotate the page to your desired angle.
• Remove the page.
• Choose a filter.
• Crop the image.
• Click the ‘Share’ on the top-right side then Markup > Add > Signature to sign your document.
• To save, go to ‘Save to Files’, choose the location which can be ‘On my iPhone’ or ‘iCloud Drive’ then select the ‘Save’ command.

• Scan With Google Drive

Document management is essential for corporate entities. Here are the steps on how to scan documents using Google Drive: 

• Select the ‘Google Drive’ icon on your phone’s App menu.
• Tap the folder you’d want to upload your scan. 
• Click the ‘Add’ tab on the lower-right side of your screen. A drop-down list appears, so, select ‘Scan.’
• Position your phone’s camera above the document to take a picture. It’s advisable that you use direct lighting since shadows may cause other regions of the document to be blurred.
• Click the ‘Capture’ tab at the lower part. This scans your document. 
• Tap the ‘Tick’ icon on the bottom-right side to save your scan.
• You can also make edits like adjusting the scan area or rescanning the current page.
• Click ‘Done’ when you’re done editing.
• Select ‘Download’ to save your scanned document to your phone.

• Download A Separate Scanner App For Android

While scanning using Google Drive is simple for most Android users, you may have your own reasons not to use the app. Maybe you don’t want to use a Google Account or you simply want to save your documents as local files. Luckily, there are many mobile scanner apps you can use to instantly digitize your documents. 

Below are the basic steps in each:

• Download and install a scanner app of your choice from the Google Play Store.
• Open the app by clicking the relevant icon in your Apps menu.
• Read the brief intro then tap ‘Allow’ to give the app access to your photos and camera.
• Take a picture of the file you want to scan. You can do this by holding your mobile device at the right angle above the document, then clicking the circular button at the lower part to ‘Capture.’ Most apps provide modes for digitizing different files like documents, business cards, or photos. Hence, be sure to select the right scanning mode.
• If the image doesn’t look good, you can adjust the borders or retake the picture. 
• Make any other modifications before saving. To do this, click on the page you want to edit then you can select: 

• ‘Add’ to add more images to your document.
• ‘Filters’ to modify the look by adding color.
• ‘Crop’ to resize the image.
• ‘Rotate’ to change the page or image orientation.
• ‘Reorder’ to rearrange items on the page.

• To save your document, adjust the title at the top then select the appropriate destination. You can ‘Save To’ Gallery as an image, Word as an OCR document, or to a PDF in your OneDrive. Note that the PDF file format is the most ideal choice for documents because it can protect the original formats.

General Tips When It Comes To Scanning

To make the most out of this digital solution, here are some general tips for your consideration:

• Safely save your documents to the cloud. For any non-cloud options, be sure to set up a backup system to ensure your data is protected. You can also scan to a USB or flash drive, or email. 
• Take advantage of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) for text mining from your scanned images.
• Choose the scanner that meets your basic needs. For instance, wide-format scanners are better for digitizing blueprints, maps, and other oversized files.
• Have a digital filing system with the correct names of files. 

Conclusion

With document scanning software, working with files is now beyond easy. You no longer have to follow the repetitive and cumbersome procedure of typing several pages in conventional word processors. Instead, you can quickly scan your pages or images into your computer device using a desktop scanner or to your phone with scanner apps. In that case, select a reliable tool, master the ropes of operating it, and swiftly digitize your paperwork with no hitches.