Technology Integration
Flatbed Scanner
What tools are available? (hardware, software)
Film scanners
While many scanners are able to convert slides or negatives into digital images, some scanners are used exclusively for these purposes. These scanners often automate the process and scan large batches of slides or film at a time. Many scanners also provide special techniques to reduce dust and scratches on scanned images.
Optical Character Recognition (OCR)
This software converts printed or handwritten text into files that can be edited in word processing programs. Most digital scanners support some form of OCR scanning. Some scanners also have page feeders to automatically load and scan large documents.
Scanner Specifications and Features
Because there are hundreds of flatbed scanners in existence, it is important to know what specifications yours has. Scanners differ on the scanning dimensions (how large an area they can scan), image quality, speed, and color depth. Scanners that use USB 2.0 or firewire connections create faster scans than those that use other connection types. Most scanners also scan at 24 bits of color or above (8 bits for red, green, and blue respectively). Scanners with higher bit rates have better color representations but also file sizes. Of course scanning software may allow users to select the bit rate they desire. Scanners also differ on their optical resolution; the higher the optical (not interpolated) resolution, the better the picture. However, high resolutions also create very large files. Generally resolutions of about 300 dpi are useful for printing and resolutions of 72-96 dpi are useful for displaying images on a computer. For more information about these features, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatbed_scanner
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