Best X-Ray Baggage Scanners for Luggage & Airport Security

X-ray baggage scanners have been a staple of modern security for at least the last 20 or 30 years, whether they’ve been helping to bust smuggling rings or foil terror plots. As organizations and their operations increase in profile and scale, there is a greater need for better security solutions to protect more people. And even organizations that aren’t big or don’t deal with many people may be involved in sensitive enough activities that having security equipment to scan baggage would be a worthwhile investment.

If your organization is in this latter position, you may be a little lost as to where to start. Who are the leading X-ray baggage scanner manufacturers you’d want to buy from? What style of scanner do you need? What technology or other specifications does it have to have? And how much will it cost? We’ll do our best to answer these questions as we give you some guidance on how to find an X-ray scanner that suits your needs.

What is covered in this article

Types of baggage threats to scan for
Types of baggage X-ray scanners & baggage X-ray machine costs
How to choose the right X-ray baggage scanner for your needs
Top 5 baggage X-ray scanning machine manufacturers
Top 8 airport conveyor X-ray baggage scanners
Top 6 portable X-ray baggage scanners
Other types of baggage security equipment
Great resources to increase your baggage security

Let’s start with a basic question: what is an X-ray baggage scanner going to do for your operations? What sorts of dangerous objects could be hidden in baggage that you’d want one or more scanners as safeguards?

Types of baggage threats to scan for

There are various kinds of threats people could try to conceal inside baggage or luggage. Here’s a short primer on a few of the main groups you may find.

Contraband: drugs, weapons, alcohol, certain foods, or other illegal/controlled items

Explosives: plastics/liquids/crystals/powders that are detonated by timers, remote signals, or manual switches

Chemicals: solids/liquids/vapors/aerosols meant to cause nerve damage, blood poisoning, choking, skin damage, etc. to recipients

Biohazards: dangerous biomaterials used to spread contagious diseases or cause more small-scale, but immediate, harm

Radiation: radioactive materials, often dispersed via explosives, to cause radiation poisoning and other ailments

We have more information on these things, including how to identify and deal with them properly, in our post on types of mailroom threats.

It’s also important to be aware that not every X-ray baggage machine will be able to detect every type of threat. Some come in such low masses or densities that X-ray scanners (or human senses) can’t pick them up. But even those small amounts can be dangerous. That’s why it’s important to have other types of baggage screening equipment available to supplement your X-ray equipment. We’ll talk more about that later in this piece.

Types of baggage X-ray scanners & baggage X-ray machine costs

There are different styles of luggage X-ray machines, and they may also use different kinds of X-ray technology. This section will give an overview of some of the common X-ray screening equipment in use today. It will also discuss how much these machines typically cost.

Baggage X-ray scanner styles

Conveyor: Airport baggage scanners are typically conveyor-style, which means they use a conveyor belt to feed objects through a shielded chamber where the X-ray scans the objects. They are generally better in environments where many items need to be scanned in succession, or larger and bulkier items need to be handled. However, they often take up more space than other types, and are not as precise.

Cabinet: Airport baggage X-ray machines can also be cabinet-style, though these variations are not very common. Cabinet scanners have a chamber where an object is placed, and then the door to the chamber is shut and the item is scanned.
Cabinet scanners are typically smaller, safer, and more accurate than conveyor scanners. However, they can’t scan items in succession as rapidly as conveyor scanners can, and are also usually more limited in terms of the sizes of objects they can scan. This is why they are more often used in mailrooms rather than airports.

Handheld: Some newer airport baggage screening machines can be carried around like a camera or heavy-duty flashlight. Their main advantage is that they can be used in tight or awkwardly-shaped spaces where baggage is too difficult or dangerous to handle. They also take up less space. However, they can lack precision and are often expensive.

Baggage scanning X-ray technology

Standard: A standard X-ray baggage scanner machine uses both a generator and a sensor. It works by having the generator firing X-rays at an object. These X-rays penetrate the object and are then picked up by the sensor. The sensor then uses the positions and degrees to which the X-rays passed through the object (fewer X-rays means a denser material) to determine the shape and density of the object, along with anything inside it.
This is the least expensive X-ray type, and also the fastest for scanning multiple objects quickly. But it is also the least precise technology.

Multi-energy: Multi-energy X-ray baggage inspection equipment generates X-rays at different frequencies. This makes it easier for the machine’s sensor to distinguish high-density objects from low-density ones.
This technology is often used in dual-view X-ray machines, which scan baggage from two different angles to provide a more complete picture of the objects inside. This offers more precision while still maintaining decent throughput speed, but is also more costly.

Backscatter: A newer type of luggage X-ray, a backscatter machine generates low-energy X-rays that reflect off of surfaces instead of passing through them. The machine’s sensor then measures the radiation given off by the reflected X-rays and uses that to determine the shape and density of the target object and its contents.
Backscatter machines are very good at picking up low-density objects, but can have trouble detecting things inside containers made of high-density materials. They also tend to be rather pricey, and their scanning speeds can vary.

Computed Tomography (CT): Though more commonly seen in medical-related fields, computed tomography (CT) technology can also be used for X-ray machine baggage scanners. It uses multiple X-ray generators to scan an object from different angles, then uses a computer to process the scans into a 3D cross-section of the target object and its contents.
This offers great precision, including the ability to see around high-density objects. However, these types of machines typically scan relatively slowly and are extremely expensive.

Baggage scanner price list

So how much is a typical baggage X-ray machine’s price? That largely depends on the technology it uses, and maybe also its size or portability. One thing’s for sure, though: it won’t come cheap. Here are some benchmarks for what different types of baggage X-ray machines cost, to give you an idea of what you should expect to pay for different types of scanners:

Scanner Type	Average Cost Range ($US)
Conveyor – standard, single-view	$7000-$11,000
Conveyor – multi-energy, single-view	$10,000-$16,000
Conveyor – dual-view	$17,000-$30,000
Conveyor – backscatter	$40,000
Handheld/Portable – standard	$12,000-$30,000
Handheld/Portable – backscatter	$43,000
Conveyor – computed tomography (CT)	$300,000-$500,000

How to choose the right X-ray baggage scanner for your needs

Whether you’re looking to X-ray baggage at an airport, train station, seaport, or event venue, it’s a good idea to ask yourself a few questions first to narrow down the kind of machine you’ll need. Here are some considerations to get you thinking about what kind of scanner is right for your use case(s).

What types of threats are you most vulnerable to?

The types of baggage-borne threats that your use case(s) will be most susceptible to can inform what level of tech your scanners need. For example, if you don’t expect to deal with much outside of common drugs or weapons, you may not need more than a standard or single-view multi-energy baggage X-ray machine. But if you’re dealing with more sensitive situations where even small quantities of dangerous substances could cause a lot of damage, then it may be worth it to invest in dual-view, backscatter, and/or even CT technology.

What are the common sizes of luggage you typically scan?

The style of X-ray scanner you’ll want can depend on the average sizes of the objects you expect to be scanning. Airport luggage X-ray machines tend to be conveyor-types, for instance, as they’re generally larger and thus able to accommodate many different shapes and sizes of baggage. In contrast, if you’re in a setting where people typically have smaller bags or backpacks, then a cabinet-style or handheld-style scanner may be more suitable.

How much room do you have?

It’s not just what you expect to scan that can affect the baggage scanner size that’s right for you. You also have to take into account how much space the machine itself will take up. Larger venues will usually be able to afford room for conveyor-type scanners, as they tend to take up more space. If space is at a premium in your facility, though, you may want to go with a more compact cabinet-style or handheld-style scanner.

How much luggage do you process on average?

Throughput is another factor to consider when choosing an X-ray machine for baggage. In general, conveyor-type scanners have higher throughput than other types. This makes them better for places that tend to get a steady flow of luggage to check, such as airports. They’re also frequently used in arenas or other venues that host large-scale events, which often require high volumes of baggage to be checked in a short time frame.

Conversely, cabinet-style or CT X-ray scanners tend to have lower throughput but higher accuracy. So if you typically have low volumes of luggage to check, you’ll probably be okay in making this tradeoff.

Single-view, dual-view, or 3D?

An X-ray machine with only one generator can only scan objects from one direction, so it’s known as a single-view scanner. On the other hand, one with two generators can scan objects from two different angles; this is known as a dual-view X-ray baggage scanner. CT scanners have even more X-ray generators to scan objects from multiple angles at once, which can give them the ability to render true 3D images. The choice here mainly comes down to three factors: speed, precision, and price.

Single-view scanners are typically the fastest and least expensive. However, they’re also the least precise, because scanning from only one angle can leave large blind spots in images. Objects can be re-scanned to get images from other angles, but this defeats the supposed speed advantage of single-view scanners.

Dual-view scanners are more precise, though the addition of an extra X-ray generator can make them almost twice as expensive. While they may not always be as fast as single-view scanners, that’s made up for by the fact that they don’t have to re-scan objects to view them from different angles. This balance makes them standard, or even mandatory, in some security scenarios.

CT scanners are the most precise of all, combining multi-angle X-rays with computerized 3D image rendering. This process takes time, so they are relatively slow to X-ray baggage compared to other types of scanners. CT scanners are also much more expensive than either single-view or dual-view scanners because of their specialized hardware and software, including multiple X-ray generators. So they are usually only used in high-security environments where precision is much more important than having rapid throughput.

Top 5 baggage X-ray scanning machine manufacturers

So who actually makes airport baggage scanner machines? Quite a number of companies, as you’ll see when we list some of the top machines. For now, here are a few of the more notable baggage X-ray scanning machine manufacturers.

1. VOTI Detection

Founded in Canada in 2008, VOTI Detection is an innovator in creating cost-effective X-ray baggage inspection systems. Their easy-to-use scanners are powered by their unique 3D Perspective technology, which scans and processes objects at a 22.5-degree angle. This produces a six-sided image that avoids the blind spots created by many standard X-ray scanners. This allows VOTI’s machines to deliver capabilities rivaling those of a true 3D X-ray baggage scanner but with faster scan times, smaller unit footprints, and much lower ownership costs.