Portable scanners have literally changed the way millions of people do business everyday. With the aid of a portable scanner, business travelers can manage receipts, business cards, and any other documents or papers they need to digitize, store and share. Many of today’s mobile scanners include advanced features traditionally found on desktop document scanners, such as duplexing and have an automatic document feeder.

There are scanners with docks, and while they are still primarily desktop document scanners, they can be removed from their docks to function as portable scanners as well. While desk scanners are bulky and take up needed office space, portable scanners, which include features such as business card scanners and business card readers, are more compact and offer users high speed, automatic document feeder capabilities. Some portable scanners are still working out the kinks with some minor software issues, but ultimately, when users want a device that can manage photos, data and documents on the go, portable scanners and laptop scanners are the perfect office accessory.

Finding the most portable scanner isn’t always easy. There are a host of brands on the market today so sifting through each unit’s capabilities and features may take time when customers want to find the one that is best to handle their office scanning, reading and storing needs. While some portable scanners are a bit larger than a true pen scanner, most are easy to use, and let users sweep vertically down a page rather than highlighter style, which saves time and effort.

It’s estimated that the average filing cabinet contains 10,000 to 12,000 papers. So much of what is stored in heavy metal or wood filing cabinets can be scanned and stored digitally, and then recycled. Saving office space with less filing cabinets and cutting down on the usage and dependence on so much paper can be liberating.Today’s portable scanners provide enough features and functionality so that many businesspeople are adopting on them as their sole scanner in lieu of traditional desktop scanners.