Multiple parallel ports are best, but now we're back to installing another board. SCSI has much to be said for it. Scanning photographs for printing, for web pages, for Windows wallpaper, for emailing images to friends and relatives, images for newsletters or genealogical notebooks, for PowerPoint slides shown at meetings, etc, etc. And since these photos are now digitized, you can use editing software to combine images, create special effects, etc. This is an endless artistic field.
Flatbed scanners are very versatile for about all purposes except one.
If wanting a huge 2400x1600 image for printing full page high resolution prints on a photo quality printer, then a film scanner is much better. This is a limitation of the color print itself rather than the scanner, but scanning the original negative or slide is the answer. Use the flatbed scanner with a laser or inkjet printer as a way to have a good copy machine at home. And unlike a real copy machine, you can use the scanner controls to edit and improve these documents too. A flatbed scanner is particularly versatile, and will allow scanning books and magazines without removing the pages.