How to Scan a Document From Your Printer

Option 1: Scan directly from the printer

1. Place the document face-down on the glass, or face-up in the automatic document feeder (ADF) if your printer has one.
2. On the printer's touchscreen/panel, select Scan, then choose a destination — a connected computer, a USB drive, or email/cloud if your printer supports it.
3. Choose the file format: PDF for documents you'll print or share as-is, JPG for photos.

Option 2: Scan from your computer

1. Open your printer manufacturer's scanning app, or your operating system's built-in scanner app (Windows: "Windows Scan"; Mac: "Image Capture" or Preview's Import from Scanner).
2. Select your printer from the device list, choose resolution (300 DPI is enough for most documents, 600 DPI for anything you'll zoom into), and scan.

Option 3: Scan with your phone instead

If your printer's scanner is being difficult, most phones can scan via their camera app (iPhone Notes app has a built-in document scanner; Android has one in Google Drive). This produces a flattened, corrected PDF without touching the printer at all.

Multi-page documents

If your printer has an automatic document feeder, load pages in order and select "scan to single PDF" rather than scanning page-by-page — most panels have this option under scan settings.