Printer Scanner Setup: Scan on Windows 11, Mac and Phone

Printer scanner setup is usually done for you: when you add an all-in-one printer on Windows 11 or a Mac, the scanner part is added at the same time. What trips people up is finding the scanning tool afterwards, choosing sensible settings, and setting up the printer’s own scan-to-email or scan-to-folder buttons. This guide covers each, plus scanning to a phone.

If you have not added the printer yet, do that first: Windows 11, Mac or Chromebook.

Scanning on Windows 11

Check the scanner is installed

1. Open Settings, Bluetooth & devices, Printers & scanners.
2. Select your all-in-one. If it supports scanning, its page shows an Open scanner option or a separate scanner entry.

If no scanner appears, remove the device and add it again, or install the maker’s full software package, which includes a scan driver.

Scan with the Windows Scan app

1. Select Open scanner on the printer’s page, or install and open Windows Scan from the Microsoft Store.
2. Choose the scanner, then Source: Flatbed or Feeder (document feeder) if available.
3. Choose File type (PDF, JPEG, PNG and others), Colour mode and Resolution.
4. Select Scan. The file is saved to the Scans folder inside Pictures by default; you can change this under Save file to.

Windows Fax and Scan, the older built-in tool, is still available on Windows 11; search for it in Start. It offers a few more options for documents.

Scanning on a Mac

From Printers & Scanners

1. Open System Settings, Printers & Scanners, and click your all-in-one.
2. Click Scan (or Open Scanner). Click Show Details for full options.
3. Choose the source, kind (colour, black and white, text), resolution, format and where to save.
4. Click Scan.

With Image Capture

The Image Capture app (in Applications) lists all connected scanners in its sidebar. It can scan several flatbed pages and, with PDF format and “Combine into single document” ticked, save them as one file. Most current network all-in-ones work here without the maker’s software, using AirScan (eSCL).

Scanning on a Chromebook

Use the built-in Scan app; search for Scan in the launcher. Details are in our Chromebook printer guide.

Choosing scan settings

Purpose	Resolution	Colour	Format
Letters, forms, receipts	200 to 300 dpi	Black and white or greyscale	PDF
Documents to edit (OCR)	300 dpi	Greyscale	PDF or TIFF
Photos for screen or sharing	300 dpi	Colour	JPEG
Photos to reprint or archive	600 dpi or more	Colour	PNG or TIFF

Higher resolution means much larger files and slower scans, so stay at 300 dpi unless you need more.

Setting up scan to email or a network folder

Many network all-in-ones can send scans directly from their control panel. This is configured on the printer, not the computer:

1. Find the printer’s IP address on its network report (other methods are in our guide to finding a printer’s IP address).
2. Type it into a browser on the same network to open its web settings page.
3. Look for Scan to Email or Scan to Network Folder (sometimes under Scan or Address Book).
4. Scan to email needs outgoing mail (SMTP) settings. Many webmail providers now require app passwords or modern sign-in, which older printers cannot do, so a maker’s cloud email service may be simpler if the printer offers one.
5. Scan to network folder needs a shared folder on a computer or storage device (SMB), with a username and password the printer can use.

Test with a single page after saving the settings.

Setting up the scan button on the printer

Many all-in-ones have a Scan or Scan to computer option on their control panel. Pressing it and choosing your PC sends the scan straight to a folder on that computer, which is handy when you scan often. Unlike scanning from the Windows Scan app or Image Capture, this direction (printer to computer) is not handled by the operating system alone. It needs three things:

1. The maker’s full software installed on the computer. The basic driver Windows or macOS adds is not enough. Each maker uses its own helper program; for example, Canon’s IJ Scan Utility and Epson’s Event Manager are typical of what gets installed. Download the full package for your model from the maker’s site.
2. The computer registered with the printer. During installation, the software usually lists your computer on the printer’s panel. If it does not appear, look for a “scan to computer” or similar setting inside the maker’s app and turn it on.
3. The computer switched on, awake and on the same network when you press the button, with the maker’s software allowed through any third-party firewall.

Once it works, set the defaults in the maker’s software: destination folder, file type (PDF for documents, JPEG for photos) and resolution. Then a single press on the printer produces the file you want without opening anything on the computer.

Scanning to a phone

On iPhone or Android, the printer maker’s app (for example HP Smart or Canon PRINT) can start a scan from the printer and save it to the phone as a PDF or photo. Some Android phones also include built-in scanning from network scanners. For printing from the same phone, see print from iPhone and print from Android.

If scanning does not work

• Make sure the computer and printer are on the same network, and that the printer is awake.
• Reinstall the device, or install the maker’s full software package rather than the basic driver.
• Check that any firewall is not blocking the maker’s scan software.
• If scanning worked over USB but not over Wi-Fi, add the printer again using its network connection rather than USB.