If you’ve ever been in the sticky situation of losing an irreplaceable paper document that doesn’t have an electronic back-up, you know the value of a scanner. Scanners provide the ability to keep digital files of your most important documents that can be easily retrieved at a moment’s notice. If you’re in the market for a new scanner, there are a few things to take into consideration before leasing or purchasing a new machine.
Space & Volume
Not only does a scanner come to the rescue by providing an electronic back-up, it also minimizes or eliminates the need for massive physical storage space. Instead of having filing cabinet upon filing cabinet, you’ll have electronic copies of all your paperwork neatly stored on electronic files. When leasing or purchasing a new scanner, you should take the amount of scanning you’ll be doing into consideration. If you’re going to be scanning a large quantity, you may need a scanner with a top feed that can handle high levels of paper input and can collate documents for you. Working with a company that specializes in scanner sales and services Jackson MI can help you figure out what will be right for your needs.
Type & Style
When thinking about the type of scanner you’ll need, take into account what sort of documents you’ll be scanning. Most scanners are able to take care of common letter size sheets, but if you’re scanning extra-large or irregularly sized documents, you’ll need a top feeder or glass plate that can handle these items. Furthermore, if you will be scanning something that needs to be higher quality such as artwork or photographs, finding a scanner with an ability to scan in high resolution without losing quality, color, or sharpness of the image is paramount.
Edit & Search
A feature found on some scanners that is incredibly useful is optical character recognition (OCR). This program means that your scanner will be able to convert the image of your text into digital text. This means that you’ll be able to edit, search, and use the text in a variety of other digital processes. This can be helpful if you will need to sift or search quickly through large amounts of data, edit details within important documents, or display your text online. This OCR technology also provides assistance to vision-impaired users, as text from paper books, magazines, and newspapers can be turned into digital text that can be read aloud by voice-over software.
A scanner is an invaluable tool for an individual or business and finding the right scanner for you will help you or your company grow and thrive.
