About Scan to Email

Scan to Email is the nearest modern-day equivalent to the old FAX machines. You load loose sheets into the automatic document feeder (ADF) or else lift up the ADF and place a page of a document directly face down on the glass (which you will need to do with a bound document or fragile sheet) but instead of entering a FAX number to send to, you enter the email address that you want to send to.

You would normally enter your own email address as, even if you intend to eventually send the PDF copy of the scanned document to someone else, you will want to forward it from your own email address. 

To use scan-to-email you need a printer/scanner - even if you don't intend to use it to print you still need a printer/scanner rather than just a scanner because generally only printer/scanners have the control panel used to select the destination email address when you scan-to-email. Paradoxically A3 printer/scanners are generally cheaper than A3 scanners anyway, and you can buy a good quality Epson or Brother printer/scanner for about £300.

Buying a printer/scanner

Make sure that the printer/scanner has "easy scan to email" that is to say the facility to scan to email without having to enter email server details. Virtually all A3 Brother printer/scanners have an easy scan-to-email facility. 

If you buy a printer/scanner from a manufacturer other than Brother which states that it has scan-to-email check that it is not just "old style" scan-to-email which is more difficult to set up and use. Using the old style facility you have to enter technical email server details such as "port number". You also have to enter the password of your email account which would mean that every time you changed your email password you would have to go to the printer/scanner and change it there as well. Also many email providers are tightening up their authentication protocols which means that the old style facility may not work at all with some email providers. By contrast an "easy scan to email" facility does not use your email account to send the email (so you do not have to input password and port number etc.) but rather each scan-to-email is automatically sent from the FromBrotherDevice@brother.com email address. All you have to do is enter the destination email address.

Note that many Epson printer/scanners have an easy-scan-to email equivalent (within the "Scan to Cloud" function) which is relatively easy to use once set up but is not very easy to set up because you have to register and set up options on the Epson Connect website. Brother printer/scanners are easier to set up.

When buying a printer/scanner make sure that it can scan A3 as many old land documents have a page size larger than A4. Some printer/scanners advertised as A3 can print A3 but cannot scan larger than A4, so double check that "A3" applies to both printing and scanning before you buy. 

Setting Up and Using

The printer/scanner will come with easy-to-follow instructions to connect to the internet using your broadband WiFi name and password, so that the printer/scanner can communicate with the manufacturer's server. If you do not have broadband you can set up a "mobile hotspot" on your phone instead.

To use a Brother printer/scanner to scan-to-email, tap the Home button next to the control panel, scroll on the control panel and select the Apps button (not the Scan button) and then select Easy Scan to Email as shown in this video. There is a longer video here which shows how to save scan settings as a shortcut to save time in future. 

Disclaimer

This information page is designed to be used only by clients of John Antell who have entered into an agreement for the provision of legal services. The information in it is necessarily of a general nature and will not be applicable to every case: it is intended to be used only in conjunction with more specific advice to the individual client about the individual case. This information page should not be used by, or relied on, by anyone else.

The information on this page about specific computer techniques is provided for information purposes only. Every reasonable effort has been made to ensure that the information is accurate and up to date at the time it was written but no responsibility for its accuracy, or for any consequences of relying on it, is assumed by me. You should satisfy yourself, before using any of the techniques, software or services described, that the techniques are appropriate for your purposes and that the software or service is reliable.

This page was lasted updated in May 2026. Disclaimer