How to Scan From an All-in-One Printer to Your Computer

How to Scan From an All-in-One Printer to Your Computer

Quick Links

• How to Scan With an All-in-One Printer on Windows

• How to Scan With an All-in-One Printer on macOS

• Most all-in-one printers are plug-and-play devices, but you may need to manually set up the machine if your computer doesn’t detect it.
• On Windows, you can use Windows Scan or Windows Fax and Scan to scan documents with your all-in-one printer.
• On macOS, your all-in-one printer will usually be detected automatically, but if not, you can add it manually. Use Image Capture to scan documents on macOS.

Many all-in-one printers are plug-and-play devices, meaning you won’t need to install additional apps or drivers to use them. But what if you need to digitize a document? Here’s how to scan from almost any all-in-one printer to your computer.

How to Scan With an All-in-One Printer on Windows

If you’re a Windows user, your computer should automatically detect your device once it’s connected via a USB port or over a network. Whether your printer is a wireless or network device, Windows will automatically detect it, provided it’s connected to your network or the computer’s Bluetooth connection.

However, you must manually set up the printer if your computer doesn’t detect it.

Before starting this procedure, check if your printer is turned on and connected to your computer. If you’re using a network or wireless printer, check that it’s connected to the same network your PC is using.

How to Add a Scanner to Your Windows PC

Follow these steps to add your all-in-one printer to your PC manually.

1. Open the Windows Settings app and choose Bluetooth & devices in the sidebar.
2. Click on Printers & scanners and look for your printer there. If you can’t find it, click on Add device.
3. If your computer detects your attached all-in-one printer, click the Add device button across its name.
4. This should connect and install your all-in-one printer to your computer, allowing you to use its scanner. But if you still can’t detect your device, follow our instructions on adding wired and wireless printers to Windows.

How to Scan a Document Using Windows Fax and Scan

Now that your all-in-one printer is installed on your PC, it’s time to start scanning documents. There are two ways to do this: Windows Scan or Windows Fax and Scan. The latter is the legacy app for Windows, while the former is a newer, sleeker app you need to download from the Microsoft Store.

Here’s how to scan on Windows Fax and Scan:

1. Open the Start Menu and search for Fax and Scan.
2. Select Windows Fax and Scan under the Best match results.
3. When the Windows Fax and Scan app opens, click New Scan. If your computer detects multiple all-in-one printers, choose the correct device.
4. In the New Scan window, click on Preview if you want to see your document first. Afterward, click Scan and wait for your printer to finish scanning.
5. The scan results will appear at the top window, with a preview of the scanned file below. Right-click the scanned file and choose Save As… to save the scanned image to your desired folder.

How to Scan a Document Using the Windows Scan App

You can also use the Windows Scan app to scan files. It has a faster and more intuitive interface compared to Windows Fax and Scan, making it ideal for frequent scanning.

1. Ensure you download and install the Windows Scan app from the Microsoft Store if it’s not already on your PC.
2. Once it’s installed, open the Start Menu and search for Scan.
3. Under the results, choose Scan. This app should have a scanner as a logo.
4. When the Scan window opens, select the correct device in the Scanner dropdown menu and your desired file type in the menu below it.
5. Click Preview to see what your scanned file will look like.
6. If you’re happy with the result and don’t need to adjust your document, or if you don’t need to see a preview of your document, click Scan.
7. Once the scan is complete, click View in the notification in the Scan app. This will open the scanned file in an image preview. You can also open the scanned file in your Pictures > Scans folder in File Explorer.

If you’re on Windows, you can pick any of these two steps to scan using your all-in-one printer. They’re both easy to use, so you can quickly scan any document in just a few minutes.

Download: Windows Scan (Free)

How to Scan With an All-in-One Printer on macOS

macOS will usually detect your all-in-one printer automatically. You can check for that by opening your Mac’s settings and selecting Printers & Scanners. But if your Mac doesn’t detect your all-in-one printer, you’ll need to add it manually first.

How to Manually Add a Scanner to Your Mac

Here are the steps for how to add a printer manually to your Mac.

1. Type Printers & Scanners into Spotlight Search (you can read our guide on how to use Spotlight Search) and choose the first result.
2. Click on the Add Printer, Scanner, or Fax… button.
3. In the Add Printer window, choose your device, then click Add.
4. macOS will set up your device; once complete, you should see your all-in-one printer listed under Printers.

Adding a printer to your Mac is easy. But if you run into some problems, you can read our guide on how to add a printer to a Mac for help.

How to Scan a Document on macOS

These are the steps you need to follow to scan on macOS.

1. Use Spotlight Search to type “Image Capture”, select the correct result, and press Return.
2. Select the correct all-in-one printer in the sidebar.
3. Click Show Details to see a preview of your scanned document and choose the area to scan.
4. After you’ve made your selection in the preview window, click Scan.
5. You can also skip the Show Details step if you’re in a hurry and want to scan the entire document—just click Scan directly, and you’ll see the scanned document in Scan Results. You can also access the file directly from your Pictures folder in Finder.

The built-in scanning apps are the easiest ways to scan a document on Windows and macOS. Some all-in-one printers also include proprietary scanning software, but this is not recommended, as they usually come with a lot of bloatware.

But if you really want to use them, go to your printer maker’s support website and search for drivers specific to your printer. Once you’ve downloaded and installed them, you can run the provided app and use your printer’s functions from there.