The scanner is a wonderful piece of equipment that allows us to copy documents, photos, images, and other items for use in our computer. It works much like a copy machine, but instead of creating an image on a piece of paper, the scanner creates a digital image that can be displayed on a computer screen, manipulated, e-mailed, and/or printed.

Flatbed or Sheetfed

The two main types of scanners are the flatbed scanner and the sheetfed scanner. The flatbed scanner has a lid that opens to reveal a glass platen where the item to be scanned is placed. Most flatbed scanners can scan paper documents, books, photographs, and other flat objects such as leaves or pieces of fabric. Some flatbed scanners can accommodate photographic slides with the addition of a slide attachment. A sheetfed scanner differs in that it has a slot where a sheet of paper can be fed into the scanner. A sheetfed scanner can accommodate only flat pieces of paper such as paper documents, newspaper and magazine clippings, and photographs. While the scanner itself is a piece of hardware, it is accompanied by software that allows the hardware to communicate with the computer.

Operating Instructions

The most popular scanner today is the flatbed scanner. There are many manufacturers that create flatbed scanners, and there are also many companies that develop scanner software. This means the computer world has to accommodate an ever-increasing number of combinations of scanners and software. Instructions on using scanners are very hardware/software specific due to the many different manufacturers involved. I will try to give you information that explains the concept of scanning so that you can apply it to your own brand of scanner. 

Some scanners operate automatically. Once you have placed the document or article to be scanned on (or in) the scanner, the scanner engages, and the software starts. Other scanners begin the scanning process only when the Start or Scan button is pressed. In other cases, the computer user must initiate the scan through the software. This means clicking on the scanner software icon on the desktop or clicking on Start, then Programs, then clicking on the icon that starts the scanner application.  Once the software is running, the scan can usually be initiated by clicking on a scan icon. In the absence of such an icon, try choosing File from the menu at the top of the screen. Once in the File menu, the most common choice to start the scan is the menu choice Acquire. (In some software, you will choose File, then Scanner or File, then Import). If you don’t see any of these options, check the manual that came with the scanner or try the menu choice that seems most fitting.

Previewing

Once the scan window is showing, most scanners give you the option of previewing the item to be scanned before the actual scan occurs. The preview is a quick scan of the image that will show you the position of the object to be scanned on the glass platen. The area to be scanned will be shown by a dotted line.  Look at the preview and rotate or reposition the object on the glass, if necessary. You can also use your mouse to move the dotted line (click your mouse on the line and drag it) to resize or change the perimeter of the scan. Just click your mouse on the line and drag it to reposition it to scan more or less of the object. Use the dotted line to encompass only the area that you want to scan.

Resolution

Before initiating the scan, you will also want to set the scanning resolution. Resolution is measures in dpi (dots per inch). Try using a dpi between 100 and 200 to start. The higher the resolution or dpi, the more detailed the image. However, the higher the resolution, the larger the file, and the more room it will take up on your hard drive. Images scanned at a very high resolution can be massive; so don’t use a higher resolution than you need.

Think about how you will use the image before you set the scan resolution. You don’t need a high resolution for images that will only be seen on a low-resolution device like a computer screen. 100 dpi might be adequate for viewing on the computer. However, you probably won’t be happy with a 100 dpi resolution when the image is printed on a high-resolution ink jet printer. Try 200 dpi or higher for images that you will print.

Types of Scans

Other decisions to be made when you are scanning regard the type of scan. Some scanners have preset options that are easy to recognize. Other scanners use more obscure choices like: Color (sometimes referred to as Millions of Colors), Gray Scale, Line Art, and/or Halftones. If you are faced with these choices, use Color or Millions of Colors for photographs and color images. Use Gray Scale for black and white photos and charcoal drawings. Use Line Art for non-color printed text. Halftone images often appear in magazines and newspapers, but are not ordinarily used otherwise. They do not work well for images to be shown on a screen.

To scan in black text, use a pre-chosen setting for that, if your scanner has one. If not, use Line Art or Black and White at 300 dpi.

TWAIN & OCR

Here are a few other terms you should know when scanning.

TWAIN is the industry standard used to obtain scan information and transfer that information between scanner and computer. Nearly every scanner made today is TWAIN compatible. If you are curious about what TWAIN stands for, it is known in computer circles as the Technology Without An Interesting Name, but others in the know say it doesn’t stand for anything.

OCR - A scanner simply takes a picture of the text on a page. In order to use a word processing program to work with text that you have scanned, you need to convert the picture of the text into a format that will be understood by a word processing program. An OCR (Optical Character Recognition) program will make the necessary conversion. Most scanners come with at least the lite version of an OCR program. If you will be scanning in a lot of text, you may want to upgrade to the full version.

Don’t be afraid to play with the various scan settings. If you don’t like the results of a scan, discard it and try again. Experiment with the various settings to see the difference, and you’ll be learning about your scanner while having a little fun as well.