Types of scanners

It is difficult to imagine a modern office without the presence of technology that speeds up and facilitates the processes of transferring and copying information. One of the main devices of this type is a scanner, which over the many years of existence has gone through the path of modernization and division into types.

What types of scanners are there?

There are different types of “converters” according to their purpose and method of operation, each with its own characteristics.

Tablet

This type of office equipment got its name due to its external resemblance to a folder for notes – a tablet. They are the most common and convenient for most users, as they provide good quality of the finished image, speed and ease of use.

To scan a document using a flatbed scanner, you need to place it under the cover on the glass, face down. After pressing the button that starts the device, the lamp located under the transparent glass will begin to move. The light reflected from the paper will hit the matrix, which reads the information and transmits it in binary form to application programs that interact with the scanner.

Important! Tablet-type devices are distinguished by their intuitive controls and ability to work with any digitization source. The latter requires only compact dimensions and light weight.Flatbed scanners are purchased for home and office use; their prices are more than affordable.

Manual

Hand-held devices are much less popular than tablet devices, since the user must move the document or photo that needs to be processed manually. However, they cost much less, which is considered their main advantage.

Significant disadvantages include the low resolution and quality of the resulting image. The text or image may be skewed, misaligned, or incomplete. Manual models work very slowly and noisily.

Leafy

In appearance, sheet-fed scanners resemble a printer. They got their name due to the fact that sheets with text or images must be pulled through the outer slot in the scanner manually in order to transfer them to the computer. There are models with an automatic feeder, but they are not so common.

Book

Such scanners were created specifically for scanning books and brochures in order to increase the number of documents stored in archives. They allow you to accurately transfer information from ancient and expensive publications without jamming or damaging the sheets. There are models that can even scan information from a half-opened book, completely reading text and images. The pressure glass included in the design straightens the pages, which allows you to transfer the image in digital form in full, without distortion.

Planetary

Just like book models, planetary models are used to work with books and other media that are particularly fragile. Unlike book models, when working with planetary models there is no contact with the subject of study.These are very expensive devices that are available in archives, large libraries, research institutes, etc.

Drum

Drum-type models are used in large-scale printing where high-quality reproduction is required from finished images. Reading occurs as the drum moves along the media. During one advance, different pixel lines are read.

Slide scanner

These devices are used to transfer information from film slides. Most often they are produced as an addition to conventional scanners, but they can also be purchased separately. Some craftsmen even make slide scanners with their own hands using cardboard boxes and PVC pipes.

Barcode

Miniature devices used to read information contained in product barcodes. They are used in the field of trade and services for accurate and quick identification of goods. Finding them on sale is quite difficult.

Fingerprint

Fingerprint readers built into modern smartphones and other gadgets are used to protect private information. They can receive an image and analyze it to see if it matches the fingerprints stored in the database.

3D scanner

To obtain a three-dimensional model of an object, 3D scanners are used. They are used in medicine, design, engineering analysis and the entertainment industry. In order for the device to recognize an object, special marks are attached to it, the combination of which forms a unique coordinate system in which surfaces are constructed. Anti-reflective compounds are applied to shiny and smooth surfaces that reflect light before the reading process begins.Based on scanning methods, such devices are divided into several types: contactless, active and passive.

When choosing a suitable model, you need to decide on the list of tasks assigned to it. Before purchasing, you need to weigh the pros and cons and take into account the following recommendations:

1. A scanner for office work must meet its specifics. If the volume of documents is large, the machine must have good speed and automatic feeding of clean paper.
2. In printing, a device that can process large-format documents is useful, transmitting an image with an accuracy of one pixel.
3. For home use, you can buy a cheap “tablet” that can easily satisfy the modest needs of a schoolchild or student. Don't worry about the quality, speed and quietness of operation - these are unnecessary options for which you will have to pay 2-3 times more. To scan film or photographs, the scanner must be equipped with additional adapters that can remove red-eye and restore colors.

When making a purchase, you need to check how the scanner works. To do this, you need to ask the seller to connect the device to the network and scan a text document and photo. If a scanner has a manufacturing defect, this will immediately become apparent from the quality of the image transferred to the computer.