Scanners are hardware devices that help you digitally create backup copies of your pictures and documents.
They read text or illustrations printed on paper and translate them in to a format that computers can understand.
While some scanners can digitalize any kind of document, others cater to specific formats only.
Here are a few tips to help you make a well-informed choice!
Know about the types of scanners
With the mind-boggling variety of scanners available today, it helps to be aware of all options before you make your pick.
1. Flatbed scanners - Function quite similar to a copy machine and is a very common type.
Flexible flatbed scanners can scan both flat as well as three-dimensional objects like thick books.
The document or book to be scanned should be placed on the glass screen for the image to be captured on your computer.
2. Sheetfed scanners - Compact and have limited usage, owing to their ability to scan loose pages alone.
3. Film & transparency scanners - More like flatbed scanners and assist you in conserving your old slides or negatives on your computer before they perish.
4. Handheld scanners - Being small in size, handheld scanners plug in to your desktop or laptop and work to scan your document in sections.
5. Portable scanners - Compact and can easily fit inside a briefcase. However, they cannot offer the same resolution as the larger scanners.
Choose a scanner with the right sensor
The internal sensor in a scanner works to pick up reflected light off an original image and converts it to the computer friendly digital format.
1. Contact image sensor (CIS) - Scanners with CIS sensor are more durable and compact than CCD scanners.
2. Charge-coupled device (CCD) - Scanners with CCD sensor produce images of better quality than CIS sensor.
Ensure the correct scanner bit depth
Scanners have varied capabilities of collecting bits from each pixel of an image and this identifies the color bit depth of every scanner. More bits a scanner picks up, better is the image
quality it produces.
1. For text scanning, the bit depth should at least be 24.
2. For scanning slides, negatives and transparencies, a minimum bit depth of 30 is required.
3. For photo and graphics scanning, ensure a minimum of 36-bit depth.
Opt for the right optical resolution
Optical resolution is the number of points a scanner sensor can distinguish on a surface per square inch and is measured as dots per inch (dpi) or pixels per inch (ppi).
Image quality enhances as the resolution increases.
1. For text scanning, a resolution of 300 dpi is good enough.
2. For photo scanning, a minimum of 600 dpi should be used to scan photos for use on the Internet.
If you want to print pictures you scan, you need an even higher resolution.
3. For slides and negatives scanning, a resolution of 1200 dpi or more is essential.
Check the interface requirement
Different scanners require connections on different ports. Thus, it is necessary that a particular port that your scanner requires to connect on is present on your computer.
1. Parallel port - This has been the most widely used scanner interface for several years. However, it has a slow connection and works best only with low dpi scans.
2. USB (Universal Serial Bus) - This offers a very fast connection and is compatible to both PC and MAC. Thus, it is always feasible to choose a scanner that makes use of the USB interface for an enhanced CPU performance.
3. SCSI (Small Computer System Interface) - This interface transfers data very quickly and is good for high resolution, high color bit depth scans. SCSI interface being rare in PCs these days, you should choose a SCSI scanner only if your computer makes the interface available.
Otherwise, you will be required to buy and install an SCSI card.
Check the scanning area
Scanners also differ by the dimensions of their scanning area.
If your scanning needs limit to sheets of standard size, you can do with an area of 8.5” x 11”. To scan larger documents, you should have a scanning area of at least 8.5 x 11”. For film and photo scanning, a very small scanning area normally suffices.
Check for the right software
Scanners come with the basic scanner software as well as editing software. Editing software can comprise of two categories:
1. Image editing - Generally, the image editing software that come bundled with scanners limit to minor modifications and do not allow for advanced editing.
2. Optical Character Recognition – OCR reads text images and converts them to editable text while preserving the original format. The text can then be edited with the use of word processors or spreadsheets on your computer.
Choose a suitable size and design
Some scanners are small and have a good appearance while others are huge and bulky to look at and work with. Some also make easy automated functioning possible with the press of a few buttons on the device, thereby rendering convenience.
A careful co-relation of the points above with your scanning needs will help you pick your right scanner from GetPrice!
|