How to Turn a Printer Into a Copy Machine (6 Steps)

Purchase or install a scanner. These can be either a flat-bed scanner or one with a document handler. This will serve as the means to convert paper documents to a digital format. Once in a digital format, the file can be sent to the printer.
Connect the scanner to the USB port on your printer. Several printers have direct USB ports that are integrated to the printing engine. If this is the case with your printer, once you have connected the scanner to the printer, your printer will now be able to print out the scanned images, as if it were a copier. If you can connect directly to the printer, simply scan a document through the scanner and it will automatically send the image to the printer. If all works well, you are finished. If not, progress to Step 3.
Connect the scanner to a computer or network that cannot be connected directly to the printer. Many printers do not have the necessary ports to directly connect a scanner. If this is true in your situation, you will need to connect the scanner to either a computer or to your computer network.
Install scanning software. For a computer or network to receive digital scans from a scanner, software is needed. There are hundreds of options from which to choose when it comes to scanning software. The basic requirements are that the software is able to receive the scans as a pdf, TIFF, jpeg, or mtiff file format. You need to consider the capabilities of the printer while deciding on software. Some printers are not capable of printing TIFF or mtiff files while most can print pdf and jpeg. Check you printer's owner's manual for details and specifications.
Retrieve the scanned file. If you have connected the scanner correctly and have installed the proper software, you should be able to scan files to your computer or network, retrieve and view them.
Print out the scanned file to the printer. In effect, you have taken a paper document, converted it to a digital format and 'copied' it to your printer.