Flatbed Scanner

What to look for when buying a Scanner

So you're looking at buying a scanner. A scanner is an input device which digitalises documents. It will allow you to transform your written papers into digital documents. Some scanners are capable of digitalising any type of document and others are designed for a particular purpose.

Scanners can cost anywhere form $100 to $5000. The average flatbed scanner suitable for scanning documents and photos will cost around $300. Some common scanner brands are HP, Epson, Canon, Xerox and Mustek.

Some factors to consider when purchasing a scanner are scanner type, maximum resolution, maximum gray depth and maximum colour depth. Scanner types include flatbed scanner, film scanner, pass-through scanner and handheld scanner. Maximum resolution can range from 300 dpi to more than 4800 dpi. Common gray depths are 8-Bit (256 Gray Levels), 16-Bit (64K Gray Levels), 12-Bit Gray and 48-bit. Colour depth can be 24-bit (16.7M Colours) or 48-bit Colour.

Other considerations are media loading method, interface and platform. Common interfaces are USB 2.0, USB 1.1, Firewire, USB, cable, network adapter and SCSI. Platforms can be Windows, Linux or Mac. If you're looking for a film scanner then you also need to consider the capability such as 35mm filmstrip, negative film, 35mm slides, positive film, mounted slides and 120 films.