The most basic application of a document scanner is for converting a document...whether hand written or printed...into a form that a computer can understand. Every type of document scanner will be able to digitize photos or documents at the every least, although there are certain more specialized units on the market. There are even document scanners that are intended primarily for business cards.
An important factor to take into consideration when shopping for a document scanner is its image resolution, If you plan to use your document scanner mainly for filing text or less sensitive graphic documents, you can make do with a document scanner that has a resolution of 600 dpi or less. For most uses that dont require too much detail, this resolution is generally more than enough. For more demanding applications however, you may want to look into a higher resolution document scanner.
For extensive photo scanning work along with your regular document filing, you may want to consider buying a flatbed scanner. There is a wide array of different models on the market, many with advanced features and attachments. If you want to be able to scan photographs accurately, you will want to go for a document scanner that offers 24 bit sampling capability.
If you need even more detail from your photographs, you may have to spend more for a dedicated photo document scanner. These types of scanners usually come with a comprehensive set of features that make it remarkably easy to get your images into the computer. In fact, many manufacturers routinely bundle a fairly respectable set of image editing software tools with these types of scanners.
Optical Character Recognition or OCR is a good feature to look for in a document scanner. Scanners that offer OCR are able to decipher the text from a printed page and convert it into data that your word processing software can open. This essentially allows you to modify what was originally a scanned image just as you would any other word processor file. OCR technology has come a long way since they were first introduced, and they now have an amazing accuracy rate. You may still run into some garbled or misspelled text here and there however, although there shouldnt be too much editing involved on your part.
Todays new breed of document scanner is quite sporty and stylish, and they dont take up much desk space at all. If you remember the big bulky document scanner of years past, you will greatly appreciate the convenience and the greatly reduced footprint that a modern document scanner comes with. Related Topics Business card reader - Scan receipt - Neatdesk -