Today, there are many procedures that we can do through the Internet. However, on several occasions we may find ourselves having to send a document that we only have in paper format or we have to digitize it again after filling it in or signing it. If you are a Windows 10 user, these are the steps to follow to scan documents or photos from our PC.
To do this, in Windows 10 the first thing we have to do is have our scanner connected to the computer and properly configured. Once this is done, the next thing will be to scan the document in question to have it in digital format and later, we can share it with whoever we want through the mail, a web service, etc.
Connect the scanner with our PC
The normal thing in this case is that as soon as we connect the scanner to our PC, Windows 10 automatically detects it and installs the drivers to start using it without major problem. However, we can open the System Device Manager ourselves and check if Windows 10 has detected our scanner.
To do this, simply click the right mouse button on the Start button or press the Win + I key combination and select the Device Manager option. Once there, we display the Printers option if it is a printer with a scanner included or the Imaging devices option if it is simply a scanner. In either option we should find the device if Windows 10 has detected and installed it correctly. If so, we can start using it normally.
If for any reason Windows 10 has not detected our scanner , we can try to install or add it manually:
- Open the Windows 10 settings page
- We navigate to the option Devices> Printers and scanner
- Click on Add a printer or Escane r
- We select the scanner and click on Add device
In this case, the first thing we are going to do is open the Windows 10 Settings page, Win + I or from the Windows Start button, and navigate to the Devices> Printers and scanner option .
Once there, click on the Add a printer or scanner option and the system will automatically try to detect the scanner that we have connected. Next, we select our scanner and click on the Add device option .
It is possible that you will ask us for the PIN to connect our scanner, a piece of information that we will find among the scanner information, although if not, we will have to contact the manufacturer of the same to request it. As soon as we indicate the PIN, the scanner will be configured correctly to be able to start scanning documents in Windows 10. These same steps are the ones that we will have to follow if our scanner is connected to our network, is wireless or connects via Bluetooth.
Scan documents in Windows 10 without apps
By default, Windows 10 has a pre-installed application that allows us to easily scan documents. This application has the name of Windows Fax and Scanner and we can launch it by simply typing its name in the search box on the taskbar.
As soon as the application is opened, we will see how two options appear on the left side, Fax and Scanning . In this case, the one that interests us is the second option, therefore, we click on it and then click on the New digitization option that appears in the menu at the top.
It will automatically detect our scanner and a window will appear showing the document that we are going to scan. First of all, we will be able to configure whether what we are going to digitize is a photo or document, the color scale we want, as well as the type of output file, resolution, brightness and contrast.
With all this configured to our liking, click on Digitize and we will see how the document scanning process begins. At the end we will be shown a view of the result and all we have to do is click on the save option to select the path of our disk where we want to save it.
Scan documents or photos with the Scanner application
Microsoft itself has developed an application to scan documents in Windows 10. Its name is Windows Scanner and it is available for download and installation completely free of charge in the Windows 10 Store.
Therefore, the first thing we have to do in this case is go to the Microsoft Store and install the Scanner application on our computer. Once this is done, we open the application on our desktop and click on the Preview option, which will detect what we have put into our scanner and will show us the document so that we can select the area to be recorded.
Next, the app allows us to configure certain settings just like Windows Fax and Scan. On this occasion, it offers us the possibility of choosing the color mode, being able to select between whether we want the digitization of the documents to be in color, grayscale or black and white. It is also possible to choose the resolution (PPP), being able to select different values depending on what our scanner allows us.
With all this configured according to our needs, the next thing will be to select what we want to scan and click on the Scan button. The process that is responsible for digitizing documents in Windows 10 will automatically begin and once it is finished we can save it in the path of our hard drive that we want. By default, the destination folder is usually My Documents> Pictures , but we can change it just before saving the file.
Although the Scanner application does not offer many options for configuring the scan, the truth is that when saving our document, it does allow us to choose between several formats for the output file. Unlike the Windows 10 Fax and Scanner application, this time it is possible to save the scanned document directly in PDF format , but we can also choose between JPG, PNG, TIFF, Bitmap, XPS or even OpenXPS.
Problems with document scanning
It is possible that at the time of scanning a document or photo in Windows 10 we will run into a problem. This can be caused by our printer or scanner driver being outdated or obsolete or by any other error in the connection with our device.
Therefore, the first thing we can do to try to solve it is to check that we have the latest version of the printer driver. Otherwise, it is best to go to the manufacturer’s website and download the latest driver available to install it later on our computer.
If this does not solve the problem, we can also use the Windows 10 troubleshooter. To do this, we open the system configuration page, go to Update and security , and then we choose the option from the Troubleshoot menu . Now, we search for the printer troubleshooter and click on this option to run it.
We can also execute this option if we enter the Control Panel> Devices and Printers and then select the scanner or printer that we are using to scan documents in Windows 10 and click on it with the right mouse button. Finally, on the menu that appears, we click on the option Troubleshoot.
One way or another, the Windows 10 troubleshooter will automatically run, which will try to find and fix any problems with our printer or scanner.
Free apps to scan in Windows 10
In addition to the pre-installed application that Windows 10 has or Microsoft’s own, we can find other tools that allow us documents easily. Currently, we can find many of them for payment, but the truth is that there are certain trial versions of some of them that we can use totally free and even some open source applications that allow us to get the most out of our scanner without having to go through checkout.
NAPS2
NAPS2 is an open source software that we can download and install on our Windows 10 PC for free with which we can easily scan documents. It allows you to configure multiple profiles for different devices and configurations and allows us to save the scanned file or document in PDF, TIFF, JPEG, PNG, among others.
It is WIA and TWAIN compliant, so we can choose the driver that works best with our scanner, as well as the dpi settings, page size, etc. In addition, it is possible to arrange the pages of the scanned document as we want, interleave double-sided pages, rotate them or perform numerous editing tasks, as well as brightness or contrast adjustments.
Another notable feature of NAPS2 is that it is capable of identifying text in an image thanks to OCR technology or character recognition in more than 100 different languages. And all this totally free.
PaperScan
It is an application for scanning all types of documents or images for Windows 10 compatible with the vast majority of scanners and scanning devices. Although PaperScan offers a Pro and Home version that require you to buy a license to use them, it also has a Free Edition version that we can try completely for free.
In this way, some of its functions may only be available for use with the paid versions, however, the free version of PaperScan will help us to scan documents in Windows 10 if the only thing we are looking for is the digitization of documents. You can download the Free Edition version of PaperScan from this link on its official website.
CaptureOneTouch
CaptureOneTouch is a designed by Canon for document scanning compatible with Windows 10 and that we can get totally free. A software that offers us a professional image processing with a really simple operation based on icons.
In addition, this tool has really interesting functions such as document scanning in separate files or folders with a blank page, counter, OCR, patch code or barcode, etc. As if that were not enough, this Canon tool also offers the ability to send scanned documents directly to many of the most widely used cloud storage services such as Evernote, SharePoint, Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, among others. Download CaptureOneTouch from this link on the Canon website.
Scan2PDF
Scan2PDF is another very useful tool when we talk about scanning documents, since it makes the work of all those who need to digitize paper documents every day much easier. With Scan2PDF it is very easy and comfortable to convert any document in paper format to digital in just a couple of clicks.
In addition, it is very easy to use software and anyone, regardless of their experience with this type of tool, can use it without any problem. The documents scanned with this application can be saved in PDF format, although from the options offered by the application, we can also send them directly by email. Download the free version of Scan2PDF from here.
ScanRn
ScanRn is another free application that makes this task much easier for us. It is a software that has a very simple and easy to use interface. However, it is a very useful tool when we want to digitize documents that we have in paper format.
ScanRn is a program that scans any document that we have in our scanner and that also allows us to control it remotely. And it is that the tool itself includes an installer for a small server so that the client can connect through the local network and allow us to use a scanner connected to another PC without complications.
Once our document is scanned we will be able to rotate it, save it, send it to the clipboard or send it to print directly. You can download ScanRn from this same link.
