To begin, consider the different types of dual-sided scanners available, how you’ll be using the 2-sided scanner, exactly what you’ll be scanning, and with what frequency:

• Home or Small Office: For homes or small offices, consider whether a desktop scanner, compact desktop scanner, or mobile scanner is most suitable. For many users, desktop or compact desktop scanners provide all the features and functions they need. However, mobile scanners, including portable scanners and handheld scanners, are a great solution for people who aren’t always at their desks and need to scan on-the-go. In all cases, these 2-sided scanners will enable you to easily scan everything from school projects and forms to receipts, invoices, legal documents, and more.

• Small to Midsize Workgroups: Brother offers a variety of duplex scanners that provide convenient document capture while helping to maximize productivity, organize team documentation, and simplify scanning. For small and mid-sized teams, Brother offers desktop scanners and high-volume desktop scanners that are compact and can also help to save on work space.

• Large Organizations: For high-volume and batch scanning applications, Brother Business Solutions(Opens in a new tab) offer robust, reliable, high-speed dual-sided scanners that can easily integrate into your work environment.

• Another option to consider is a multifunction printer with duplex scanner (MFP with duplex scanning). Also known as an all-in-one printer with duplex scanner, these devices combine numerous features and functions— scan, print, copy and fax—into one machine and can help you save on both space and time. However, MFPs are not always suitable for high-volume or high-resolution scanning.

Once you’ve determined what type of multipage scanner you need, you should also consider the additional features that are most important to you:

• Scanning Speed: Fast, high-volume duplex scanners can scan up to 80 pages per minute or 160 images per minute. Be sure to think about scanning speed to make sure you’re getting the right model.¹

• Daily Duty Cycle: A duplex scanner’s daily duty cycle refers to the number of pages it can scan each day, and this can range considerably—from 100 to up to 6,000 pages per day, depending on the model.

• Connectivity Options: Make sure your two-sided scanner has the right connectivity options. While USB is the most common, select models are WiFi and Ethernet networking and mobile device scanning.

• Color Capability: Most multipage scanners can support full color, but some may only be able to scan in black and white or grayscale. Be sure to look at the product specs carefully to make sure you’re getting the color capability you need

• Resolution: Resolution refers to the amount of detail an image holds, generally measured as DPI (dots per inch). A scanner’s DPI will determine how much detail you can extract from an image, how many pixels the image will have (image size), and how large the file size will be. If you need to scan detailed photographs, for example, you should consider a high-resolution scanner.

• Paper Size and Media Handling: Will your duplex scanner easily scan everything you need capture? Be sure to look at both the minimum and maximum paper sizes to make sure you can capture everything from small items like business cards to larger, oversize documents.

• Automatic Document Feeder (ADF) Capacity: This refers to the number of pages you can scan in a single batch with a sheetfed scanner. For high-volume scanning, for example, you’ll want a high-capacity ADF so you can load the scanner up, start scanning, and return when the job is done for maximum efficiency.

• Flatbed Scanning Features: Unlike a sheetfed scanner, a multifunction model with  flatbed scanner functions by placing a document onto a scanning panel. While flatbeds offer high-quality scanning, they generally scan at lower speeds than their sheetfed counterparts.

• Scan to Destinations: Brother duplex scanners support a wide variety of scan-to destinations including email, files and networks. Select models support scanning to popular cloud applications.²

• Touchscreen Display: Select Brother duplex scanners offer a touchscreen display, allowing easy device navigation and shortcuts to help simplify workflows.

• Security: Brother offers high volume duplex scanners that can deliver advanced security features, to help safeguard sensitive documents and securely connect users to the device and their network.

• Support: Finally, all of Brother’s high-quality 2-sided scanners our come with At Your Side support—free online, phone, or live chat support for the life of your product.