Image Scanner

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Scanner Specifications:

The performance of a scanner is based on four things, bit depth, software, resolution and dynamic range.

- Bit Depth

Bit depth means the amount of data the scanner is going to save or record in each and every pixel of the image. Different kinds of scanner records different bit depths. The simplest scanner records data of black and white only and have a bit depth of 1. The minimum bit depth required to scan a photograph or a document is 24 bits. Higher quality scanners have higher number of bit depth.

- Resolution

Resolution is that how many pixels can a scanner put into an image to make the image sharper. Higher resolution scanners are expensive and they produce better results than others. Scanners have two types of resolutions, interpolated resolution and optical resolution.

Optical resolution is that how many pixels the scanner can read. The most common scanners have a resolution of 300 x 300 dots per inch. Interpolated resolution measures the number of pixels a scanner is able to predict. This technique is less precise however it assists in improving the enlargement, of scanned images.

- Dynamic Range

Dynamic range tells us on what scale can a scanner record. 0.0 to 4.0. With 0.0 being perfectly white and 4.0 being perfectly black.

- Software

Like almost all types of hardware, Scanner also requires a software. The 2 most common softwares that are provided with scanners are the optical character recognition software and an image editing software. The optical character recognition software translates all the data recorded from the scan. The image editing software allows the user to enhance the details of the image produced by the scanner.

Future Developments:

The quality of scanned images has improved a lot from the time it has been introduced and furthermore it is on the channel for more improvements. The softwares of scanner have been improved to give better result on the screen. The sensors, dynamic range and the bit depth have been enhanced over time to produce better quality images. Future advance on the field of scanner technology is predicted and day by day improving. Recently the invention of the digital camera which allows the user to take three dimensional images, much like a regular camera but instead of using the film, the object is scanned much as the flatbed scanner.

Relatively very new technology of sensors has been introduced. The image sensor has said to improve the overall scanner technology. The sensor technology is going to be thinner, lighter and more cheaper to manufacture than the traditional scanner.

Conclusion:

This report has identified the five scanners that are available at the market today. The performances of the different types of scanner have been analyzed. The future of scanner technology has also been discussed. This report has been guided by the assistant to my dad’s firm. All information about in this report has come by him. I have write down and compiled his research findings. Thank you for going through the report.

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