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Scan and save
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A scanner has become a key add-on to the PC, helping you to keep digital copies of photos and printed matter.
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THE DAYS have gone when you could buy a PC and a printer and stop with that. In today's "connected" world, the ability to create electronic copies of photos and printed documents makes all the difference in an increasingly paperless age. So, a scanner has become a necessary accessory to the PC. But which one is the best for you? Here's a guide to the type of scanners currently available in India and what they do best for whom.
Classic one
The classic PC-scanner is the flatbed, and till recently, this was the only type of scanner the home user could consider. It is easy to use — very similar to a photocopier — you connect the scanner to the PC usually through the USB port, and separately power the scanner through the mains. All flatbed scanners come with the required software on a CD, which you need to install on the PC. To scan a print or document, all you need to do is to place it face down on the glass plate, close the lid and switch on the scan function. By default, the scanner software saves a digital copy of the picture or document in the PC at a fixed resolution usually 200 dots per inch. However, if you want better quality, particularly to make photographic colour prints, you can increase the resolution to 300 or 600 DPI or even more. Most scanning software also includes an option to convert text documents in English to a word processing format.
While basic flatbed scanners from manufacturers such as HP, UMAX can be had for around Rs. 3,000; you can usually buy an extra attachment to scan images from a photo negative or a slide. These days, multi-function printers combine the functions of printer, scanner and copier, and with entry-level models now costing less than Rs. 5,000; this may be a good option for those who do not already have a printer. Functionally, the scanner option of the MFP is identical to the stand-alone flatbed scanner.
Libraries and other organisations, which regularly need to scan pages from bound volumes, find that the normal scanner (flatbed or MFP) is not a good solution: When the book is quite fat, ugly shadows always blank out the text, on the portions of the page near the binding. To overcome this, some specialist book scanners are now available which allow the book to be placed flat on the scanner glass and print right up to the edge.
At the recent Bangalore IT.Com exhibition, the Taiwanese company Plustek demonstrated one such solution called the OpticBook.
Students, particularly researchers, know what a hassle it is to sit in the library and jot down extracts from multiple reference sources.
Like a pen
An answer to their prayers is the Quick Link Scan Pen made by the German company, Wizcomtech. This looks like a large highlighter pen and is operated like one. As you pass the pen over lines of printed text on a book or newspaper, it stores the content electronically (up to 1,000 pages). You can then download the contents later to a PC, a laptop or even a handheld computer or mobile phone.
The Quick Link is available in India for around Rs. 9,000, and while that might sound like a lot of money, the sheer convenience of this tiny battery-operated 90 gm device may find some takers.
A. VISHNU
vishnua@hotmail.com
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