you need a digital camera to use, take the computer’s ability to edit photos. Continuous improvement of the scanners are cheaper and easier, photos into digital images that you can improve, let the size distribution, and. And flatbed scanners are no longer limited to printed materials. Our tests show that the best flatbed film scanner now a game for expensive when it comes to scanning slides and negatives. This is no small matter, what to keep on improving the resolution that new scanners and better accessories film strips or slides securely for Sharp, accurate scans.

WHAT available

A number of scanners from companies, including Microtek and Visioneer, come make her name in scanning technology. Other brands include PC makers and experts such as Canon, Epson, Hewlett-Packard and Nikon.

What kind of scanner you should consider – flat sheet, or film – depends largely on how you use them. If you are short on space, consider a multifunction device.

flatbed scanner. About 90 percent of the scanners on the market plateau. They work well for text, graphics, photos and more flat, including final design of a kindergarten teacher. Platforms include optical character recognition (OCR) software that translates words on a printed page into a word processing file to your computer. It also includes basic software for image processing. Some transactions may take a flatbed scanner for free or for a few dollars more if you buy a desktop computer.

An important specification for a scanner’s maximum optical resolution, in dots per inch (dpi). You pay more for a higher resolution.

Price: less than 0 600×1, 200 dpi, 0-0 for models with better resolution

Sheet-fed Models .. Sheet models can automatically scan stacks of loose, but they sometimes damage or that pass through their intestines. And they can not analyze anything much thicker than a sheet of paper (an old photo might be too thick) means. This type of scanner is often the one that goes under a multifunction machine that can print, send and receive faxes. A growing proportion of multi-function devices, but includes a flatbed scanner. Sheet-fed scanners and OCR software.

price. 0-0

film scanner. Photographers can, that a film scanner that only scans directly from an original slide (transparency) or negative. Some can accept small prints as well.

price. 0-0

IMPORTANT

Although the quality of images produced from a scanner depends in part on the software CD, it is to consider a number of hardware features.

start scanning, pre-programmed by the driver software supplied with the scanner or by pressing a button. Models with buttons automate routine tasks for you to use your scanner as you would other office equipment. On some models, the functions of the buttons. Each of these tasks can be performed by the scanning software without keys. A copy / print button launches a scan and sends a command to the results on your printer, effectively making the two devices act as a copier to print. Other functions of the buttons available on some models Scan to File, Scan-to-fax, scan to e-mail, Scan to Web, scan to OCR, cancel the scan, save energy, start the software scanner and on / off .

You can also use the driver software from an application like a word processing program, an industry standard known as TWAIN liable. Scanner driver software, you can preview on the screen and crop it to scan or contrast and brightness. Once you are satisfied with the edited image, you can make a final scan and transmit the image to run a program or save it on your computer. You can make more extensive changes to an image with an image editing program specialists. And read the text of a book or a letter in a word processing file on your computer, run OCR software.

Many documents combine text with graphics such as photos and drawings. A handy software feature found on many scanners, called multi-scan mode, these hybrids into different sections that can break are covered separately in a single scan. You can determine, for example, that parts of a newspaper article that pure text regardless of the OCR software, go to the graphics section. Other scanners would be a separate analysis for each section of the document.

Some models with adapters for flat film for scanning film or slides to come, but if you need to scan film or slides, it is often better to make a film scanner separately.

TO SELECT

Consider how much resolution you need. If you have a scanner only for original prints, especially on models that do offer compare to the 1200 dots per inch (dpi), they are usually the cheapest models. You can still set a scanner to work at less than the maximum resolution. In fact, most scans of photos, graphics and text, only 150 to 300 dpi. (To view images on the screen display, 75 dpi is sufficient.) Analysis of higher resolution will take time to create more and larger files, but generally little to add.

For films and negatives, you want a minimum resolution of 2400 dpi. Such a high threshold is necessary to get enough details to make an image of an original 35 mm can be produced increases capture.

When comparing specifications relating to the native resolution optics. It is more important than the “interpolated” or “enhanced” resolution, which is very convenient when scanning line art.

Consider

-bit color depth for film. If you plan to make enlargements of prints or negatives or slides to scan, look for a specification known as color depth. The higher the bit depth (24-bit is the basic 48-bit at the apex), the better the scanner can differentiate among subtle gradations of light and darkness.

Consider a multifunction device. If you do not want to weigh heavily on a scanner (for example, one can not scan film or slides) and need a printer for general use, especially for a small room can serve a multi-function printer / scanner / copier.

Do not sweat the quality and speed. Most scanners we’ve tested recently were considered very good according to their ability to reproduce a color image to a maximum optical resolution. The rest was as good, meaning that their tests were less clearly less accurate with the colors.

The speed is

, if you expect to scan regularly. In our last test, the fastest was about 10 seconds to scan an 8×10 at 300 dpi, while the slowest takes about 40 seconds.

Do not sweat the software. All of us were recently tested scanners scanning software, image processing and optical character recognition (which allows you to scan text directly into a word processing program). Some had to make software for digital photo albums or other projects. All models include software, often integrated into the material that the image defects can be repaired due to damaged originals.

Scanners