A color scanner is a computer device that can capture images in color and then convert them into a digital form that can be processed, displayed and stored by a computer. Even though there are a few models of black and white scanners available, the majority of scanners of today are equipped with color scanning capabilities. There are various different kinds of color scanners, including handheld color scanners, color flatbed scanners, sheet-fed color scanners as well as drum color scanners that are widely used in the publishing industry to capture high-elaborated images. The most popular choice of scanner used in homes and offices is the flatbed color scanner.
Color scanners are specifically designed to digitize and transfer color images to your computer. There are many users who only scan grayscale or black and white documents such as text files and don’t make use of their scanner’s color capabilities. However, color printers are essential for those who want to transfer pictures, captured by anything except a digital camera, to their computer.
Some of the terms we commonly hear when dealing with color scanners is the bit/color depth and the resolution. Bit depth, also known as color dept, is a measure of the quantity of colors the scanner is capable of reproducing. Usually, 24 bits are at least needed by each pixel in a picture to attain “true color” and the majority of color scanners provide this as a minimum. The measure of resolution is dots per inch (dpi) and many flatbed scanners feature a minimum resolution of 300 by 300 dpi or even higher than this in most cases.
Imaging software should be provided with every color scanner you purchase. This will serve as a means of communication between the scanned image and your computer. Using the imaging software, you can edit the color, sharpness, brightness as well as the display size of the scanned image; however, it is impossible to edit text without having the optical character recognition software (OCR). Some of the most sophisticated imagining software sets come with OCR application to edit text on a scanned file.
Color scanners come in a variety of designs and prices to suit users with different requirements and budget. You can purchase a very basic scanner from a computer store or online retailer for as low as $100, whereas the more efficient, high quality scanners may cost you as high as over $1000.
Comments on this entry are closed.