Scanners

Find the best scanner

If you’re searching for the best scanning solution but you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed by all the choices, thinking about the intended application for your new scanner will simplify your search immensely. If you’ll be scanning mostly photographs, then you’ll want to look at photo scanners. If you want both scanning and printing capabilities, then a multifunction printer scanner might serve you better.

Whether you’re shopping for a photograph scanner or a printer scanner, the majority of products on the market will be suitable for casual home users. If you’re looking for very specific performance features such as scanning transparencies, then you’re better off looking for a high-performance model. You might pay more for brands such as HP scanners and Canon scanners, but you can count on them to get the job done. Multifunction printer and scanner combinations are produced by all the major brand-name manufacturers.

Understanding the Basics

There are a few basic things you should understand about scanners before you can find the best one for you. Key scanner specifications include optical resolution, color depth and image sensing.

The optical resolution is measured in dots per inch (dpi), and the more dots the scanner can handle in any one inch, the better. This will increase the quality of the image being scanned. The minimum optical resolution capability you should accept in a scanner is 1200 dpi.

Next is the color depth. The color depth, also known as the bit depth, refers to how much information is captured in each pixel when scanning. The higher the color depth, the better the scanner will be at distinguishing subtle differences in color. The minimum color depth you should aim for is 24 bits, though you may want to go higher if you’ll be scanning transparencies or negatives.

While not as important as optical resolution and color depth, you should understand the kind of sensor the scanner has. Most scanners use a charged couple device (CCD). CCDs are also used in digital cameras and produce images of excellent quality. Some color scanners are using a newer technology: contact image sensors (CIS). They aren’t quite as sensitive as CCDs are, but they are becoming increasingly popular because of their very low power consumption. Scanners with a CIS can also be hooked up to computers through USB ports.

Finally, don’t forget to look at the software that comes with the scanner. Many manufacturers provide the basics under their own brand, but some include third-party software for specific functions such as photo manipulation and optical character recognition, which is a mainstay of document scanners. Optical character recognition allows you to scan text and save the scanned file as a word processing document.