About Scanners

Using a scanner is similar to using a photocopier - 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) and press the button, but, instead of a copy being printed on paper, a PDF copy is created.

It is possible to buy specialised A3 devices which only scan but, paradoxically, combined printer/scanners which can handle A3 size are no more expensive, and may actually cheaper, and you can buy a good quality Brother printer/scanner for around £300.

When buying a printer/scanner make sure that it can scan A3 size 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 the "A3" applies to both scanning and printing before you buy. 

Whilst setting up a printer/scanner so that you can print from your computer, tablet or phone should be easy, setting it up so that you can scan direct to your devices - particularly setting it up so that you can scan each document by tapping a button on the printer/scanner, rather than having to initiate each scan from the computer/tablet/phone - may not always be straightforward. However if you choose a printer/scanner which has an easy scan-to-email button you can use that, with one tap, to scan and send the resulting PDF to your email address so that you don't have to do any special setting up to scan directly to your device. Virtually all Brother printer/scanners have an easy-scan-to-email button. Brother printer/scanners also have a facility whereby you can print by sending an email to a @print.brother.com email address, attaching the file to be printed, if there is any difficulty setting up ditect printing from your computer, tablet or phone. 

Setting up the printer/scanner

The printer/scanner will come with easy-to-follow instructions to set it up. The setup process typically starts with entering your broadband WiFi name and password. If you only have a phone/tablet and do not have broadband, you can create a "mobile hotspot" on your phone or tablet before starting the setup process.

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