How to Choose a Document Scanner
Document scanners range in price from $50 to thousands of dollars. They can produce black and white or color images. They can include other features such as printing, copying and faxing. You may also need to choose between scanners made for high-volume jobs versus low-volume jobs. If you follow a few simple steps, you will choose the scanner that meets all of you requirements.
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Instructions
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Instructions
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1
Decide what type of scanner you require. Scanners come in two different types: "flatbed" and "document handler." Flatbed scanners have plate glass and a lid. Users place a photo or document on the glass and close the lid. The scanner scans a photo or document and saves it to a file on the user's computer. A document-handler scanner works primarily for multi-page documents. The user places several pages in the document handler, and a belt automatically feeds the pages onto the plate glass where the scanner scans each one. Document-handler scanners work best for large-volume scanning jobs. Flatbed scanners accommodate smaller jobs.
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Decide which resolution you require. Each scanner scans at a certain number of dots per inch (dpi). The dpi indicates how many "dots" or "pieces of visual information" the scanner photographs from the document. For archiving black-and-white text documents, a 300 dpi resolution will suffice. For scanning text or images used for printing purposes, a 600 dpi resolution works. For scanning color photos, you might want high-quality images, so shop for scanners capable of producing images of at least 1200 dpi.
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Compare scan times. Each scanner takes a "picture" of the document of photo. Each picture takes from a few seconds to up to a minute to be produced. Select a scanner that can adequately handle a job in an acceptable amount of time.
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Compare features. Many scanners save an image file to a computer hard drive. Some scanners, however, also email image files to email addresses you can store in the scanner's memory. Some scanners fax images, and some use optical recognition software to translate the image of the text into editable text. Once the optical recognition software does its job, the scanner saves the file as a Word document or text file that you can open and edit in your favorite word-processing program.
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Look for network compatibility or wireless features. A scanner with network compatibility makes it available through many different computers. Hook the scanner to a router and run Ethernet cables to different computers. Wireless network capability accomplishes the same thing but saves you from having to stretch wires to other computers.
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Make sure the scanner fits your budget. Basic table-top scanners range from $49 to $150. Mid-level document-handler scanners and flatbeds range from $100 to $500. High-quality or high-volume production scanners range from $500 to $3,000.
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Compare warranties. Most scanners cover the equipment for 90 days to one year. Some retailers, however, only offer 14-day money-back guarantees and require you to purchase additional coverage.
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