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Basic elements any potential scanner buyer should be looking for include the following:
Straightforward, easy-to-use functions
Speed of operations
Durability
Compatibility
The software included (if any)
Resolution capacity
The physical size (for smaller offices)
Price, if you are on a budget
Common features to be aware of will also depend on the needs of your business. The sort of things to look out for include – good optical resolution; scan times; clarity of the scan on various sources (for example – resolution in lines, colour, skin tones in photographs); and automatic functions (if you prefer the one click process).
Quality of resolution is also an important consideration. However, higher resolution does not guarantee a high quality scan. Quality can also depend on the lens and the spectrum of the light source. Once again the functions that you want your scanner to do will determine what you want from your scanner and what resolution you require.
Some of the acronyms that you may come across include:
TIF (Tagged Image File Format);
JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group);
SCSI (small computer system interface); and
USB (Universal Serial Bus).
Both TIFs and JPEGs are common formats that compress graphic images into a file. TIF is mainly used for screen grabs whereas JPEG is often the better option as it compresses the same image into a smaller file. Photographs often come in the form of JPEGs.
SCSI and USB, as well as parallel ports are ports to which a scanner is connected to a PC. SCSI is a very fast, external method of connecting a device to a PC but needs an additional card that requires installation.
SCSI is mainly used for large volume work and doesn't come as standard with the majority of PCs. Scanners that come with a parallel port have been the norm for many years as all PCs have this included.
However, USB is the more popular choice for most users and is automatically detected by Windows when first plugged in. The only drawback is that it must be used with Windows 98.
Software
This will also vary greatly according to your business needs. Many scanner manufacturers include their own packages. These include Agfa who have Scanwise, Canon's Canonscan and Hewlett Packard's Jetsuite Pro to name a few. Each one has it's own speciality but most, if not all, are Windows compatible. Apart from own brand software, typical applications may include Photoshop or Paintshop Pro, which are known as image manipulation packages.
There are two other acronyms that you are also likely to come across – OCR and TWAIN.
Optical Character Recognition or OCR is a technology that converts printed documents into electronic documents by using the scanner to take a picture of the document in question and turn them into a readable format.
TWAIN is another favourite. Opinions differ as to what this actually stands for. There is a theory that it is an acronym for technology without an interesting name – although the TWAIN organisation denies that it is an acronym at all.
TWAIN is the de facto interface standard for scanners. Nearly all scanners come with a TWAIN driver which makes them compatible with any TWAIN-supporting software and allows applications to use scanners directly without having to save to disk before it can be used. Unfortunately, not all scanner software is TWAIN-compatible. OCR is usually TWAIN compliant.
As before any business equipment purchase, look before you leap and tailor your requirements to that of the appropriate scanner and software and whatever you do. We will be giving our opinion of what is available on the market in June so keep an eye out for our reviews.
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