In the private and business worlds there are many times when the need arises to send samples of work and/or copies of work in progress to someone. Scanners are very handy for fulfilling this requirement, especially when working with non-compatible software.
The question that always comes up is, "What type of scanner is needed?" There are a lot of types of scanners on the market today from which to choose. The most popular type of scanner is the flat bed and approximately 90% of all scanners sold are flatbed. Other types of scanners are handheld, pass through, film, and finger print.
Brands and Types
There are many brands of scanners to choose from and they include: HP, Visioneer, Fujitsu, Cannon, Epson, and several more. Scanner types include:
- Flat Bed: versatile for most home and business applications, text, graphics, film
- Handheld: good for anyone conducting research in archives
- Finger Print: security uses
- Pass Through: paper or film is fed into scanner, portable
- Film: transparences, slides, adapter for standard scanner, special light in lid
Considerations and Features
The major consideration when choosing a scanner is the intended purpose of the scanner; this will help the selection of needed features. Considerations include:
- Text Only: low resolution, 100 dpi, 300 dpi best
- Quality: photos and color graphics
- Optical Resolution: 3x5 and 4x6 photos 300dpi, 8x10 photo 2400 dpi – 7200 dpi
- Connectors: USB, Parallel - slowest, SCSI-3, Cable
- Wireless: firewire, high end models
- Automatic Feeder: large volume of work
- Software: comes with scanner
- Multifunction: printer, copier, scanner all in one, home and small office use
Optical Resolution
If the primary reason for scanning is text only documents, then low resolution scanners will work fine. If scanning images, especially color images, then a higher resolution is needed. Other considerations for optical resolution include:
- Basic Documents: 300 dots per inch (dpi)
- Quality Basic Documents: 1200 dpi
- Transparent materials: 2400 dpi or more
- Color Bits: depth of color, differentiate between color gradients, digital bits per pixel, 24 bit, 32 bit, 48 bit is best for color images
Selecting the One You Want
Once a possible scanner has been selected, visit a local store and check out the specific features for the scanner:
- Controls: ease of use
- Weight: hand held scanners
- Size: foot print - amount of space it takes up on desk or stand, hand held scanners, legal size for large documents and books
- Options: make sure the options meet you demands
- Optical Resolution: higher resolutions provide ability to edit images, text only use, resolution options are 50 dpi to 7200 dpi
- Speed: based on text, size of image, varies 11 to 30 seconds
- Inputs: wireless or hard wired, network capable
- Sound: how noisy is the scanner in operation
- Automatic Feeder: ease of operation
These tips are a recommended guide for purchasing a scanner. Handy for for first time buyers and those that want to upgrade. Personal preference and requirements always guide the actual selection of which scanner to purchase. Happy scanner shopping!
