A scanner is a great tool that brings the physical and digital world together with the only downside being that they are generally not portable. But the smartphone is coming to the rescue again by simplifying yet another function that is very useful for small businesses, scanning using one of the best scanning apps for Android.

Scanner App Benefits

The global document imaging market is expected to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 13.8% between 2017 and 2025 to $153.05 billion, this according to a report by Transparency Market Research.

As more businesses integrate smartphones and tablets into their workflow, having document scanning apps in these devices is essential.

And with a scan app for Android in place, you can serve the vast majority of mobile customers. The Android mobile operating system represented 85.9% of the global market in the first quarter of 2018, according to Gartner.

Get Organized and Eliminate Manual Processes with a Scan App for Android

With mobile scanning apps, you give your workforce a tool for getting more organized and for eliminating time-consuming manual processes.

A scan app for Android with optical character recognition (OCR) for your smartphone will capture information on everything from a document to a presentation, business cards, receipts and more.

A digitized version of the document you capture with a scanner app allows you to store the data and make it part of an automated system to get more organized. This eliminates manual processes and makes the information accessible day or night from anywhere.

Signing and Scanning Documents with a Scanner App

When it comes to signing documents on the spot, today’s scan app technology lets you finalize deals without having to mail hard copies back and forth.

Microsoft and Adobe have partnered to make eSignatures more available, and so have many other providers in the market. When scanning sensitive documents, it is crucial to ensure that the app you use has robust security features to protect your data.

Features to Look for in a Mobile Scanning App

When selecting a mobile scanning app, there are several features to consider to ensure you find the right one for your needs. Here are some key features to look for:

OCR Technology: Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is essential for converting scanned documents into editable text. This feature allows you to easily extract and edit text from your scanned documents.
Cloud Integration: Look for apps that offer seamless integration with cloud services like Google Drive, Dropbox, and OneDrive. This ensures that your scanned documents are easily accessible and can be shared or stored securely.
Automatic Edge Detection and Image Enhancement: These features help improve the quality of your scans by automatically detecting the edges of your documents and enhancing the image for better readability.
Support for Multiple Page Scanning: If you frequently scan multi-page documents, choose an app that supports batch scanning. This feature allows you to scan multiple pages in one go, saving you time and effort.
User-Friendly Interface: A simple and intuitive interface makes the scanning process quick and easy. Look for apps that offer a straightforward user experience without compromising on functionality.

By considering these features, you can find a mobile scanning app that meets your needs and helps you scan documents efficiently and effectively.

Android Scanning Apps

Having a document-scanning app for Android on your mobile device provides numerous benefits and use cases. They will come in handy when you least expect it.

If you have a relatively decent smartphone with a camera, you can use the following 10 Android apps to scan documents, receipts, business cards, and more. For businesses that want to be paperless, using these apps is a step in the right direction.

CamScanner – Phone PDF Creator

This is a very popular app with more than 100 million installs in 200+ countries around the world.

Considering it is a mobile scanner, the features it has can give a desktop scanner a run for its money.

It lets you scan, store, and sync documents. It lets you scan documents and save them in PDF document format, making it easy to share and store your files. You can then optimize the quality of the scan with smart cropping and auto enhancing to sharpen texts and graphics to make it clearer. Additional features include extracting text from images, sharing PDF/JPEG files, printing, Fax, and securing Important docs with passcodes.

In keeping up with today’s collaborative workforce, CamScanner allows users to invite colleagues to view and comment on scans in a group. You can add up to 40 extra collaborators and 10G of space in the cloud.

Mobile Doc Scanner 3 + OCR

Using OCR, or Optical Character Recognition technology, Mobile Doc Scanner 3 + OCR can scan any type of document and transform it into a PDF. If the document, whiteboard, or product has text, OCR can, in most instances, recognize it.

It also has image correction tools to detect borders, correct distortion, and adjust brightness to make the document legible.

Images can be sent as an email from your device or you can upload it to Dropbox, Google Docs, or Box and share it on Facebook and Twitter. Additionally, you can upload your scanned documents to Adobe Document Cloud for easy sharing and management.

Office Lens

Office Lens is a scanning app created by Microsoft and designed to integrate seamlessly with some of its applications. After you scan a document, you can convert the images to Word, PowerPoint, and PDF files and share them.

If you happen to be in a meeting a whiteboard mode in the app automatically adjusts the lighting, glare, and shadows to capture the board clearly. A neat business card mode feature captures the information on the card in English, Spanish and German, with more languages coming in the near future.

Office Lens also trims and colors images, which can be saved to OneNote, OneDrive, or on your device.

Genius Scan+ – PDF Scanner

Another popular app with millions of users is Genius Scan. This app lets you scan documents quickly and export them as JPEG and PDF to Box, Dropbox, Evernote or any other cloud service app.

The app has smart page detection, perspective correction, and image post-processing to ensure the scan is aligned with good lighting so you can see every word. And if you have a lot of documents, the batch mode can scan several pages in a row. 

Google Drive

You might be aware of Google Drive and the many applications it provides, well you can add mobile scanning to that list.  You can scan your document with your phone and store it in the cloud, but Google lets you search for any document using its built-in optical character recognition (OCR) using specific words or phrases.

Google also has a great sharing feature with access levels for who can view, comment, or edit documents. Another plus for using Google is you will have a global company storing your scans so you can access them from anywhere and they will always be there.

Adobe Fill & Sign

Adobe is known for image manipulation technology, and Adobe Fill & Sign has a feature that creates forms you can fill, sign, and send electronically. Adobe also offers Adobe Scan, a versatile app for scanning documents into PDF format with advanced image correction features.

Instantly, this app turns digital files or paper documents you scan with your camera or a file from an email into forms. Once you create the form, you can send it to customers or employees so they can fill it out and sign it. Using reusable text from autofill collection you can quickly fill out forms.

This is a great tool to have in your smartphone or tablet for all small businesses.

Docufy Scanner

Docufy Scanner has a user interface that simplifies many of the app’s functions. It calls itself the ultimate Android scanner, and it delivers.

You can easily scan, fax, and add annotations to document so they can be synced and filed to be access from virtually anywhere and anytime. The app has auto image resize according to the screen resolution, with full control of brightness, contrast and details.

The document management and app permission provide a multi-level filing system and security measures to ensure that only approved users gain access.

Tiny Scanner – PDF Scanner

Tiny Scanner is designed for your smartphone and tablet. Saved scans can be stored into folders or shared using email, Dropbox, Evernote, Google Drive, OneDrive, or Box.

You can also send it to your computer directly over WiFi and fax it from your phone with the Tiny Fax app.

Some noteworthy features of this app include automatic edge detection, sorting scans by date and title with thumbnail and list view, and five levels of contrast for clear monochrome texts.

Handy Scanner Pro: PDF Creator

Handy Scanner, according to the developers, is designed for ease of use and speed, without sacrificing functionality.

You can scan multipage documents, whiteboards, business cards, and more with PDF and JPEG outputs and instantly upload them to Dropbox.

The image correction fixes perspectives while straightening the document so it can be read easily with enhanced color and contrast.

Scanbot – PDF Document Scanner

Scanbot has an automatic document detection technology that crops the document at 200 dpi and higher for high quality images.  The app uploads to the most popular cloud drives with JPEG and PDF formats.

In addition to text recognition technology to accurately extract text from scans, smart file renaming, document signing, and Quick Actions, Scanbot also doubles as a QR code scanner and can detect barcodes from any product.

Swift Scan

Swift Scan is a popular mobile scanning app that offers a range of features designed to make document scanning a breeze. With automatic edge detection and image enhancement, Swift Scan ensures that your scanned documents are clear and professional-looking. The app also supports cloud sync, allowing you to store and access your scanned documents from services like Google Drive and Dropbox.

One of the standout features of Swift Scan is its support for electronic signatures, making it easy to sign and send documents directly from the app. Additionally, the app allows you to fax documents and supports multiple page scanning, making it a versatile tool for both personal and professional use. With OCR technology, Swift Scan can convert your scanned documents into editable text, further enhancing its functionality.

Swift Scan is a great option for those who need to scan documents on the go and want a user-friendly interface. Whether you’re scanning receipts, business cards, or multi-page documents, Swift Scan has you covered.

Simple Scanner

Simple Scanner lives up to its name by offering a straightforward and easy-to-use mobile scanning app. Despite its simplicity, the app is packed with features that make document scanning efficient and effective. With OCR technology, Simple Scanner can convert your scanned documents into editable text, making it easy to extract and edit information.

The app supports multiple-page scanning, allowing you to scan several pages in one go. It also integrates seamlessly with cloud services like Google Drive and Dropbox, ensuring that your scanned documents are easily accessible and can be shared or stored securely. Automatic edge detection and image enhancement features help improve the quality of your scans, making them clear and readable.

Simple Scanner’s intuitive interface makes it a great option for those who want a straightforward and easy-to-use scanning app. Whether you’re scanning documents for personal or professional use, Simple Scanner provides the tools you need to get the job done.

AI Scanner

AI Scanner is a mobile scanning app that leverages artificial intelligence to enhance the scanning experience. One of its key features is its effective OCR capability, which retains the original document’s formatting during text conversion. This ensures that your scanned documents look professional and are easy to edit.

The app supports scan to PDF functionality, allowing you to save your scanned documents in a widely-used format. AI Scanner also offers multilingual OCR, making it a versatile tool for users who work with documents in different languages. A unique feature of AI Scanner is its ‘Count similar objects’ functionality, which allows users to count the number of items in an image, making it useful for inventory management and other applications.

AI Scanner offers a 3-day trial, after which users can subscribe for $9.99 per month. This subscription model provides access to the app’s advanced features and AI-powered technology, making it a great option for those who need a powerful and versatile scanning app.

Tiny Scanner

Tiny Scanner is a mobile scanning app that offers a range of features designed to make document scanning simple and affordable. The app provides a straightforward scanning experience with an easy-to-use interface, making it accessible to users of all skill levels. After a 3-day trial, users can subscribe to Tiny Scanner for an affordable $19.99 yearly subscription.

The app’s filtering and editing features are effective and sufficient for most users, allowing you to enhance the quality of your scans. Tiny Scanner’s OCR function is reliable, and the ability to export OCR results to various formats is a useful feature for those who need to edit and share their scanned documents.

Tiny Scanner is a great option for those who want a simple and affordable scanning app with reliable OCR technology. Whether you’re scanning documents for personal or professional use, Tiny Scanner provides the tools you need to get the job done efficiently.

When choosing a mobile scanning app, consider the features that are most important to you, such as OCR technology, cloud integration, and user interface. By selecting an app that meets your needs, you can ensure that you can scan documents efficiently and effectively on the go.

Use Cases for Android Scanner Apps

As a small business owner, you are not always in the office where you have your scanner. When you are on location, your smartphone and a scanner app are all you need to archive the documents you might run into.

You can use a scan app for Android to scan in contracts when you are out in the field for safekeeping because you can store it in the cloud right away. Collect paperwork as you go from client to client, archive handwritten notes, take a picture of a presentation, scan receipts and much more – a scan app for Android makes it all easy.

You will find many scanner apps on Google Play. Before you opt to pay for a scan app, try several of the free versions of other scanning apps to find the one that best suits your needs. Only when you find the right scan app for Android, with all the tools you need for your business, should you spend your hard-earned money on the paid version.

Phone Scanner Photo via Shutterstock

This article, “Scanning Apps You Need for Your Android Phone” was first published on Small Business Trends