The Many Uses of a Scanner

One of the most useful inventions to come along with the computer age is the scanner. Unlike a photocopier which simply makes a copy of an article, a scanner allows you to preserve a digital image of just about anything you can fit on a scanner bed.

Here are a few things you can do with a scanner.

Copying Documents - You can turn a good flatbed scanner into a copying machine by scanning in those receipts and other important documents and then use your printer to have a copy or just keep a digital copy. The best thing about this is that you could use software to improve the documents, if you need to take out a grease smudge.

Other things a scanner can do is copy a quick recipe out of Grandmas old recipe book, or a page from a magazine that shows the instructions for a new at-home project you have been wanting to do. Maybe there are some old documents in the family that you would like to have a copy of for yourself, those can be added to the computer files just as any other document.

Scanning Photos For Printing - Photographs are nice especially if you are a professional photographer, but you could use the photos for websites to display your latest DIY project. The images could be used for desktop wallpaper or sending to friends and family through email. Because they are digitized you can use computer software to edit them, and make interesting images on top of the first.

Here is something else you could do with a scanner and software. Using the edit feature you can enlarge your projects on the computer screen and then print out only that part. This allows you to make a full-sized pattern of anything you wish, turn around and use it to trace the object on plywood. Once you are done, cut out life-sized reindeer, cows, antique cars, you name it.

Faxing Documents - You can Fax a document that is already in your computer, but if that document is on a sheet of paper, you have a problem. A scanner can scan it in, then you can send it out by using the fax driver. When you have long distance relatives, and you find something in a magazine that they need to see, put the magazine in the scanner and then from the computer send them the information.

OCR - Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software is used to convert images to readable text. Once they are converted you can use a word processor to make the changes that are required. OCR software usually comes with the scanner.

There always seems to be a need to try getting a hard copy of some document or picture into the computer files, and a scanner is the only way to achieve that. Having a good scanner could really improve your home or office by allowing you to copy, organize and save important files and photos on your computer.