Scanner Shopping Tips
Tips for Professional and Corporate Shoppers
Advanced options such as automatic document feeders (ADF) and large scan bed can make all the difference. Automatic document feeders save time when performing high-volume scans, and scan beds large enough for legal-size documents, large illustrations, diagrams, talboid-size pages, diagrams and paintings allow you to digitize almost anything.
Tips for Home and Small Office Shoppers
- Type: For most uses, a flatbed scanner is best. Flatbed scanners are easy to use and versatile enough for most tasks.
- Optical Resolution: Look for at least 1200-dpi optical resolution. Although these models cost a bit more than lower-quality units, they are worth the investment. Scanners with this level of resolution and color depth allow you to make reprints using state-of-the-art photo printers that will be almost indistinguishable from reprints made by photo outlets. Even if you don't need these capabilities now, it's better to anticipate growing needs rather than having to buy another new scanner when you need better resolution.
- Scanner Port: Almost all scanners can connect to a PC through a USB port. Computers that are less than two years old should include one of these useful ports, but older models might not. If you don't have a USB port on your PC, make sure you get a scanner that will hook up to your PC's parallel (or printer) port, which is slower than a USB connection but universally available.
