Are all scanners suitable for Document Imaging?
No. Scanners have developed to perform two different functions, scanning of photographs or other graphic images, and scanning of documents. Photographic scanners or “flatbed scanners” have been engineered primarily to scan and save a single image at a time, usually in color and at high resolutions. Document scanners or “sheet feed scanners,” on the other hand, are engineered for the scanning of documents. Sheet feed scanners are designed with integrated automatic document feeders, operate at lower resolutions and often scan only in black and white. Generally, consumer quality flatbed scanners are less expensive than document scanners that are designed for business use. Recently, flatbed scanner manufacturers have added small automatic document feeders to flatbed scanners and are marketing the machines as small document scanners. However, most of these scanners are not suited to even small Document Imaging applications.
