How to Scan a Document to a Tablet PC

By Anne Hirsh

Scanning to tablet PCs presents a few difficulties because many tablets lack the CD drive necessary for installing your scanner's software. This shouldn't stop you from scanning, since driver software can generally be downloaded from the scanner manufacturer's website. If your tablet and scanner do not have compatible ports, you may need an adaptor or a print server to connect your scanner to your network wirelessly. Once your scanner and tablet are communicating with each other, the scanning process is the same as other types of computers.

Launch your tablet's Internet browser and visit your scanner manufacturer's website. Tap "Support," then browse or search for your scanner's model number. Look for a place on the website that offers "Downloads" or "Drivers" and download the driver appropriate for your model by following the onscreen prompts and instructions.

Restart your tablet once the software is downloaded and installed.

Connect your tablet to the scanner, either through a USB cable or your network if the scanner is networked through an Ethernet or wireless connection.

Launch the scanning software on your tablet by tapping or double-tapping its icon on your desktop or in the programs list.

Load the document you want to scan into the scanner as its manual instructs.

Select the type of scan you want to complete from the scanning software's options. For example, you might want to scan a photo into .jpg format, while a document with words and images should be scanned as a PDF. If you want to scan into editable text format, you will either need a scanner that uses optical character recognition (OCR) software, or you can scan into PDF format and use PDF editor or converter software to make changes to the document.

Select the resolution you want for your scan. Higher resolution will produce a clearer scan, but the file size will be larger. Consider scanning at the highest resolution possible, then resizing the document within your software later if the file is too large.

Select a location to save your file and a file name, then start the scan through the software interface. This will most likely be an option that says "Scan," "Begin scan" or "OK," once your settings are adjusted.

Open your file in the program of your choice once the scan is complete. Most scanning software will show you a preview of the file upon completing the scan, so check this to make sure the scan came out as you wanted it before you close out of the scanning software.

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