In layman’s terms, a scanner is an electronic device that can scan handwritten or printed documents and pictures and transforms them into a digital file format.
In computer terminology, A scanner is an input device capable of scanning the images and texts on paper.
This is then converted by the scanner into a digital file (soft copy) and stored in electronic form on a computer or mobile device.
The scanned document can be viewed, shared, edited, and also take printouts on the computer. The scanner works on the principle of reflection and transmission.
This is the most common and simplest scanner available in the market for home and business applications.
1. Flatbed scanner
It is placed on a flat desk surface and has a lid that can be flipped open to view the glass that scans the document.
The document is placed on the top of the glass and below the glass is the moving light-capturing sensor, generally CCD or CIS display.
During the scanning process, the light source illuminates the glass and the moving sensor captures the image and converts it into the digital format.
If you are specifically looking for scanning images, pictures, old photographs then you must go for the photo scanners as they will give premium results.
2. Photo scanner
Although other scanners can also scan images, the results achieved through photo scanners will be far superior in terms of color depth and also when there is a large number of photographs to scan.
Some scanners come with their image editing software that offers the highest resolution and clearing the old photographs but this scanner is a bit expensive than the other scanners.
As the name suggests, these scanners are used especially for scanning multiple documents in large sizes.
3. Document scanner
This is also called a sheetfed scanner since the documents are placed in the feeder and not on the flatbed glass.It is an ideal option when you have limited space for working.
Portable scanners are handy and often come in a size that can fit in your pocket.
4. Portable Scanner
It can be carried anywhere and doesn’t require much power and works when connected to your handheld devices vide a USB port.
These can scan line by line of a page or scan completely while rolling it upside down.The portable scanners are good at scanning documents but are not good enough with photos.
Other types of scanners include slide scanners, multispecialty scanners that are used in offices, and for specialized requirements.