What Is a Hand Scanner?

Hand scanners have thousands of uses, both at home and in business.

Originally designed for industrial use, scanners began as large flatbed devices. Today, it is commonplace to find desk-top, stand-alone and all-in-one printers consisting of printing, copying and scanning capabilities. Scanners optically scan a document, image and even an object, and convert the image into a digital file format. A hand scanner is one that you hold in your hand as you pass it over an object or image.

Specifications

Compact and lightweight, a standard document hand scanner is usually 11 inches wide, so it can easily scan a standard business or legal size document. A hand scanner can also scan an item as small as a business card, bar code or photograph, with some scanners as small as 3 to 5 inches wide. The standard resolution for a hand scanner is 600 dpi, or dots per inch, and can scan in color, grayscale or black and white, depending on the software that works with the scanner.

Connectivity

Standard connectivity for a hand scanner is a USB cable plugged into a PC or laptop. You don’t need batteries or an AC power supply to power on your scanner when using a USB cable. More expensive scanners accommodate FireWire and Bluetooth technologies; however, these scanner require a power source such as batteries or an AC adapter with a Bluetooth connection. Older and commercial scanners utilize an SCSI cable, which is also connected to a PC.

Software

Your scanner should include the software needed to accept your scans and convert the files into a PDF, TIFF or JPEG format. The more sophisticated the software and scanner, the more functionally it provides. Some scanner packages include the ability to manage and organize your files so that you can easily retrieve them when needed. The scanner and software also determines the scan speed in both black and white, as well as color.

Operating System Compatibility

Most scanners can operate with the Windows operating system. Consult your Apple dealer to find a scanner that works with your Apple computer or device. Check the scanner product detail sheet to make sure you have a compatible operating system. Most scanners require a minimum of 250 MB of hard drive space and 256 MB of memory, but this varies from scanner to scanner.

References

• PortableScanner.org: Portable Scanner Reviews