Canon CanoScan LiDE 200

With a footprint barely larger than an A4 sheet of paper, the Canon CanoScan LiDE 200 was the most compact model we tested. It manages to squeeze on some one-touch shortcut buttons and is powered from the USB socket, so you don't have to worry about finding a wall-socket.

It offers a range of ways to get started, and you can either configure the buttons to launch the software you require or go through the image editor of your choice and use the supplied scanner driver. This latter option lets you scan automatically or use a wide range of manual settings.

Sophisticated, compact and producing excellent scans, it only loses out a little for being the most expensive device in our test.