A few years ago, scanners were expensive and fussy units used strictly by graphic arts professionals. But today, even an inexperienced computer user can deliver high-quality scans with a minimum of hassle. Scanners are a great way to take printed illustrations such as documents or pictures and convert them into an electronic format to be used for your corporate Web site or contact database. However, there are many kinds of documents and many ways to scan them. Finally, you need to choose a scanner to match your needs.
Flatbed scanners are the most versatile.
Document or sheet feeder scanners are best for jobs that involve multiple but similar-size pages, such as printed reports. Business card scanners are used only for that purpose and come with dedicated card-scanning software. I tested CardScan, from Corex Technologies Corp. in Cambridge, Mass., and it worked well. Portable scanners are useful for doing some scanning on the road away from your desktop and saving documents for later filing or manipulation. Visioneer has a full line of scanners, and the 7600 flatbed is a workhorse of a unit.