Which Scanner to Buy in Nepal 2026: Flatbed vs Document Feeder, and Our Picks
Short answer: which scanner to buy comes down to how much you scan. For a few pages, ID cards and photos, a flatbed like the Epson Perfection V39II (Rs 11,400) is enough. Stacks of paper need a duplex document feeder (ADF) like the Epson DS-530 II (Rs 85,500). Front desks scanning IDs and forms suit the Epson DS-1730 (Rs 56,000).
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Flatbed, document feeder or portable: which type of scanner?
Scanners come in three main types. How the paper reaches the sensor decides how fast a scanner works, what it can scan and what it costs. Every model and today’s price is on our scanner price in Nepal page.
| Type | How it works | Best for | Example at Quality Computer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flatbed | You lay each page on the glass and close the lid | Photos, ID cards, books, receipts, fragile pages | Epson Perfection V39II, Rs 11,400 |
| Sheet-fed document scanner (ADF) | Pulls a stack of loose pages through rollers, both sides in one pass | Files, invoices, forms, contracts | Epson DS-530 II, Rs 85,500 |
| Flatbed with ADF | Glass for single items plus a feeder on the lid | Front desks that scan IDs and forms | Epson DS-1730, Rs 56,000 |
| Portable | A small scanner you carry, or a phone app | Scanning away from a desk | We don’t stock one at the moment |
Prices checked on 7 November 2026.
A flatbed is slow for big jobs because you turn every page by hand. A document feeder is quick, but it can’t take a book, a passport or a torn page. That’s the whole decision for most buyers.
What dpi do you need for scanning?
Resolution is the spec people overpay for. Adobe’s Acrobat help says that for most pages, black-and-white scanning at 300 dpi produces the text best suited for conversion, and that OCR accuracy drops slightly at 150 dpi.
- Letters, forms, invoices and certificate copies: 300 dpi. Use black and white if you’ll search the text, and colour or greyscale when stamps and signatures must show.
- Very small print (9 point or less): Adobe suggests rescanning at a higher resolution if many words aren’t recognised.
- Photos you want to reprint or enlarge: this is what big numbers like the V39II’s 4800 dpi are for.
Higher settings just make bigger, slower files. Adobe notes that one letter-size page in 24-bit colour at 300 dpi is about 25 MB before compression, so keep colour for pages that need it. Document scanners top out lower: the DS-530 II scans at 600 dpi optical, which is plenty for paper.
Duplex, speed and daily volume
Duplex means both sides of a page in one pass, and on a document scanner it doubles your output. Epson rates the DS-530 II at 35 pages (70 images) a minute at 300 dpi, and the DS-1730’s feeder at 30 pages (60 images) a minute.
Check the daily duty cycle too. It tells you how hard a scanner is built to work, and it separates a front-desk machine from a back-office workhorse.
| Model | Feeder | Speed (300 dpi) | Daily volume (Epson) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Epson DS-530 II | 50 sheets, one-pass duplex | 35 ppm / 70 ipm | 5,500 pages |
| Epson DS-1730 | 60 sheets, one-pass duplex, plus flatbed | 30 ppm / 60 ipm | Up to 3,000 sheets |
| Epson Perfection V39II | None (flatbed only) | One page at a time | Not rated |
Paper matters as well. Epson lists 27 to 413 g/m² paper and plastic cards for the DS-530 II’s feeder, and 50 to 120 gsm for the DS-1730’s. Thick card stock and ID cards go on the DS-1730’s glass.
USB or Wi-Fi: connecting a scanner
All three scanners we stock connect to one computer by USB: USB 3.0 on the DS-530 II and USB 2.0 on the DS-1730 and the V39II. The V39II also takes its power from the USB port, so there’s no adapter to carry; Epson lists about 2.5 W in use.
None of them has Wi-Fi or a network port. If several people need to scan, put the scanner at a shared desk and send scans to a shared folder or email. Epson says its Document Capture software can send scans to email or online storage, which needs an internet connection.
How do you scan to PDF and make it searchable?
OCR (optical character recognition) turns a scanned page into text you can search and copy. The Epson scanners we sell come with software that does it: Epson ScanSmart and Document Capture Pro with the V39II, and Document Capture Pro with the DS-530 II and DS-1730. All of them can save a searchable PDF as well as a plain PDF or JPEG.
- Scan text pages at 300 dpi, in black and white unless colour matters.
- Choose “Searchable PDF” as the file type before you scan.
- Name each file by date and party as you go. You’ll thank yourself when you need to find it.
- For editable files, the DS-1730’s Document Capture software can also make Word, Excel and PowerPoint files on Windows (Word and Excel on a Mac).
Epson also lists zonal OCR and barcode recognition for the DS-530 II, which offices use to name and sort batches by what’s printed on the page.
Which scanner should you buy? Our picks by use
| Use | Our pick | Why | Our price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home, students, the odd document or photo | Epson Perfection V39II | A4 flatbed, 4800 dpi, powered by USB, 1.4 kg | Rs 11,400 |
| Office filing and invoices | Epson WorkForce DS-530 II | 50-sheet duplex feeder, 35 pages a minute, rated for 5,500 pages a day | Rs 85,500 |
| Bank, co-operative or front desk | Epson WorkForce DS-1730 | Flatbed for IDs and booklets, plus a 60-sheet duplex feeder for forms | Rs 56,000 |
| ID cards (citizenship, licence, PAN) | V39II, or the DS-1730’s flatbed | Lay the card on the glass; scan front and back together on one page | From Rs 11,400 |
| Plastic cards in bulk | Epson DS-530 II | Epson lists plastic card feeding in portrait orientation | Rs 85,500 |
Prices checked on 7 November 2026.
Portable scanners: we don’t stock one right now. For the odd page away from the office a phone scanning app does the job, but for anything you file every day a desk scanner is quicker and gives flatter, straighter copies.
Need a printer as well? An all-in-one ink tank printer has a flatbed scanner built in, which covers light scanning at home. The Epson EcoTank L3210 is Rs 26,500 and the Brother DCP-T430W is Rs 27,999. Compare them in our best printers for home and office guide, or by brand: which Epson printer to buy, which Brother printer to buy and Canon printer prices in Nepal.
Looking for a barcode scanner? That’s a different tool. It reads codes into your billing software instead of making images. We stock the Zebra DS9308 hands-free barcode scanner for Rs 25,000.
Quick verdict: buy the V39II if you scan a few pages or photos a week; it’s the cheapest scanner we have in stock and gives clean, sharp copies. Buy the DS-1730 for a front desk that handles both ID cards and forms. Buy the DS-530 II only if you scan stacks every day, because its feeder and 5,500-page daily rating are what you’re paying for. And ignore big dpi numbers: 300 dpi is enough for documents.
Scanners in our store
| Product | What it is | Our price |
|---|---|---|
| Epson Perfection V39II | A4 flatbed scanner, 4800 dpi, USB-powered | Rs 11,400 |
| Epson WorkForce DS-1730 | A4 flatbed plus 60-sheet duplex feeder, 30 ppm | Rs 56,000 |
| Epson WorkForce DS-530 II | Sheet-fed duplex document scanner, 50 sheets, 35 ppm | Rs 85,500 |
| Zebra DS9308 | Hands-free barcode scanner for billing counters | Rs 25,000 |
| Epson EcoTank L3210 | A4 all-in-one ink tank printer: print, scan, copy | Rs 26,500 |
| Brother DCP-T430W | 3-in-1 ink tank printer: print, scan, copy | Rs 27,999 |
Prices checked on 7 November 2026.
In our store
Epson Perfection V39II
Epson WorkForce DS-1730
Epson WorkForce DS-530 II
Zebra DS9308
Frequently asked questions
Which scanner should I buy for home use?
A flatbed such as the Epson Perfection V39II, which was Rs 11,400 at Quality Computer on 7 November 2026. It scans A4 pages, ID cards and photos at up to 4800 dpi and runs off a single USB cable.
What is the difference between a flatbed and an ADF scanner?
A flatbed scans one page at a time on glass, so it handles cards, books and photos. An ADF (automatic document feeder) pulls a stack of loose pages through on its own, often scanning both sides at once, which is far faster for files and forms.
What resolution should I scan documents at?
300 dpi. Adobe says black-and-white scanning at 300 dpi gives the best text for conversion on most pages. Go higher only for very small print or for photos you want to enlarge.
Can a scanner make a searchable PDF?
Yes. The Epson scanners we sell come with Epson software that saves scans as searchable PDF, so you can search and copy the text later.
Can I scan ID cards with a document scanner?
On the Epson DS-530 II, yes: Epson lists plastic card scanning in portrait orientation. On the DS-1730, use the flatbed glass, because its feeder takes pages from 105 x 148 mm upward.
What is the scanner price in Nepal?
At Quality Computer on 7 November 2026, scanners cost Rs 11,400 for the Epson Perfection V39II flatbed, Rs 56,000 for the Epson DS-1730 and Rs 85,500 for the Epson DS-530 II document scanner.
Sources
- WorkForce DS-530II specifications, Epson New Zealand, checked 7 November 2026
- Epson DS-1730 flatbed colour duplex document scanner with auto document feeder, Epson India, checked 7 November 2026
- Perfection V39II specifications, Epson Australia, checked 7 November 2026
- Scan documents to PDF, Adobe Acrobat help, checked 7 November 2026
- QC prices: qualitycomputer.com.np, 7 November 2026.