If you’re looking for a no-fuss, economical flatbed scanner which would take care of your basic image, and document scanning needs, CanoScan LiDE 20 would be a perfect candidate.

Listen, one good reason you would want to choose this scanner is because there’s no need for an AC power supply to operate it. All you have to do is plug the scanner into your computer USB port and you’re in business. Very few scanners offer this kind of convenience. This does not mean you can plug it into any USB port. A non-powered USB hub is not recommended. It may destabilize scanner operation. If you’re running out of USB ports in your computer, you could do well to use a powered USB hub.

LiDE 20 can scan up to a resolution of 600 x 1200 dpi in 48-bit internal colour and 24-bit external colour. In grayscale you get 16-bit internal and 8-bit external. The scanner’s other attractive feature is you could use it in a vertical or horizontal position. LiDE 20 comes with a stand for that purpose. Of course you will not use it for scanning in the vertical position, but the stand will come useful when you’re not scanning and want to save desk space. It is also light and slim which makes it easy for you to transport it around, especially if you have scanning needs during your travel.

The scanner comes with three quick-launch buttons on its front edge – Scan, Copy and Email. Anyway, if you want scanning flexibility, you would want to use the software that comes along with it, which offers you image editing options.

What about book scanning? Can LiDE 20 accommodate this well? You would be surprised. The lid comes with a special hinge that let’s you scan an open book comfortably. Since we are on the subject of book scanning, you would be pleased to note that the scanner comes with OCR (Optical Character Recognition) software that produces reliable results.

If you are the type who doesn’t fancy meddling with image editing, a feature that can come in handy is the Unsharp Mask – it sharpens your images on the fly as you scan. You can opt for it in the scanner settings.

Issues

If you’re looking for negative film scanning facility, this scanner doesn’t offer one. Anyway, looking at its attractive price tag, you won’t be disappointed at the absence of such a feature. Also, don’t expect to start scanning straight away when you power on the scanner; it would take several seconds to warm up and a message to that effect will appear. But then you would not have to wait that long when it’s previewing images or scanning them. The scanner gets down to work at once.

CanoScan LiDE 20 is an ideal scanner for home and small office use and delivers what it promises.