Tony Hoffman The Best Scanners for Macs Finding the right scanner for your Apple computer can be tricky. Here's what you need to know, along with our top Mac-friendly picks.
There's no secret ingredient in determining the best scanner for your Apple desktop or laptop, as the factors that make a Mac-friendly model great are, by and large, the same as those that set the best Windows scanners apart from the pack. As with any tech product, prospective buyers look for the ideal combination of performance and features based on their needs, and set it against the price. For a document scanner, common criteria include speed, the ability to scan to various formats, the paper capacity of the automatic document feeder (ADF), optical character recognition (OCR) performance, the ability to scan and read business cards, the presence of a flatbed, the ability to scan over a network, and portability. Among the desired traits for photo scanners are speed, high resolution, the ability to scan slides and film, as well as prints, scan quality, and dust and scratch removal. For most of these factors, it makes little difference if your scanner is connected to a PC or a Mac. Best linux distro 2017 desktop.
But there is one area in which Mac users are at a distinct disadvantage, and that is in software. As popular as Apple computers are with certain segments, such as graphic artists, Mac users are underserved when it comes to scanners and some other peripherals. As a Mac owner myself, I'm keenly aware that it's still largely a Windows world out there. In order for a scanner to work at all with a Mac, it has to have an OS X driver. Beyond that, the software that's usually bundled with a scanner may or may not be Mac-compatible. Most recent photo scanners can work with Macs. Photo scanners often just come with drivers and a scan utility, leaving it to the user to provide a photo editing program.
Portable Document Scanner Mac Compatible
Another useful handheld scanner is the Uniden 200 handheld scanner, which features 10 Programmable Search Ranges that enable you to find frequencies in your area including police, ambulance, fire, amateur radio, public utilities, weather, and more. Adesso NuScan 1200U Handheld Linear Image Barcode Scanner - Cable Connectivity - 150 scan /s1D - Imager SCANNER USB FOR MAC & PC Add To Cart There is a problem adding to cart.
Popular choices, including Photoshop Elements and Photoshop CS, are available in both Windows- and Mac-compatible versions. Fewer document scanners are Mac compatible, and some are only partially so. Most document scanners (with the exception of some high-end models) come with a software suite that includes, at the minimum, document management, OCR, and business-card programs. A good bundled software package for a scanner intended for both operating systems should include a full suite of both Windows and Mac programs. However, it's not uncommon that an otherwise Mac-friendly scanner will be missing parts of the suite. You can buy the programs separately if they're even available, but that's an extra expense that you'll have to factor into your costs.