The 10 Best Check Scanners
Editor's Notes
January 27, 2021:
There's been essentially zero new developments to checking technology recently, which is understandable, because except in certain professional scenarios, not a ton of people use checks anymore. For that reason, the Panini Vision X remains our top choice, while the versatility of the Epson TM-S2000 has elevated it to our top spot. For pure, high-volume check reading all day long, the Canon ImageFormula CR-120N is a highly viable solution, and for just scant check payments, the CheXpress CX30 and especially the MagTek MICRSafe offer plenty of functionality, at reasonable prices.
November 15, 2019:
Smaller companies may not need to go all-out in a check scanner; if you're not going through hundreds per day, the Panini Vision X is worth a look, as it's very popular and there are a number of upgrades and attachments available for it. Similarly low-priced is the CheXpress CX30, while modern small-business owners may also be intrigued by the multifunctional MagTek MICRSafe. And if desk space is at an absolute premium, the SmartSource Micro Elite may be all you need, although like some other inexpensive models it does not have a built-in printer. On the other hand, if you deal with a lot of paperwork besides checks, you might consider (also or in addition) a traditional document scanner or even one designed with a sheet-fed loading mechanism.
The Canon CR-190i II and Epson TM-S9000 are both heavily geared toward large organizations, and they're able to fulfill a number of tasks including ID verification that less-complex models cannot. Plus, they operate at significantly higher resolutions than most; they are, however, extremely expensive.
In the middle of the pack are the Canon ImageFormula CR-120N, Epson TM-S2000, TellerScan TS240 and SmartSource Pro Elite. These can often do many of the things that the corporate-focused machines can, they just can't do them nearly as many times per day. The Canon is an especially nice model thanks to its 600-DPI resolution, while the Epson allows for 15 printing lines which is far more than most of the rest.