The right Scanner for your needs
Just as there are different types of printers to suit a variety of needs, the main manufacturers have developed several different models of scanners with specialised functions, with features to manage particular type of projects. Choosing the right scanner will depend on the type and volume of work you do, so it pays to have an understanding of what each style has to offer in terms of quality and performance. In this article, we examine three of the most common types of scanner and what type of work they are best suited to.
Flatbed Scanners
Flatbed scanners start with the basic home design that is for a single purpose for everday scanning. These models like the Canon Canon LIDE300 is a flatbed scanner specifically designed for the home.
Designs like these and the Epson Perfection V600 work in much the same way that a photocopier does with a glass plate that you place the document face down and is scanned with an LED light. Single use flatbed scanners offer great value for money and can be used to scan a wide range of document formats and even bulkier items like book covers. Flatbed designs are also some of the easiest to use and are a good option for office environments where not everyone has the same level of technical knowledge. If you want high quality document scans and ease of use, then this is the design for you.
Document Scanners
A relatively newcomer to the office market these type of scanners are specifically designed for high speed multiple document scanning. Most of these style of scanners will scan documents on both sides of the paper in one action and an example of this model is the Brother ADS-2800w. The age of digitising all our work has arrived, document scanners are setting a trend of lessening the impact of the office with physical paper storage and more reliance on stored digitised files.
Document scanners produce searchable .pdf files that can be accessed by a simple search and are able to very quickly scan bulk pages of information that would otherwise be placed in storage facilities.
Portable Scanners
As their name suggests, the biggest advantage of portable scanners like the Brother DS-640 Portable Scanner is that you can take them almost anywhere and can be used to scan documents of virtually any size. This type of scanner is ideal for capturing critical information on the go and is popular amongst students, researchers, and travelling business professionals alike.
Photo scanners
Flatbed scanners are designed primarily for the scanning of documents and although most all purpose scanners are capable of scanning photographs, you tend to lose out in terms of resolution and colour depth. If you are looking to primarily scan slides, negatives of photographs, then it’s worth investing in a photo scanner that have specialised software to preserve or even improve the quality of an image when it’s transposed into a digital format. Photo scanners like the Epson Perfection V600 offer high resolution, depth of scan and colour accuracy as well as software to remove imperfections like scratches and dust from older images and improve composition elements like red eye and definition.
Tonerink are industry experts when it comes to printers, scanners and ink cartridges so if you are still unsure about which product best suits your needs, give us a call on 1300 738 194, our friendly team will be more than happy to help.