What is a Flatbed Color Scanner?

A flatbed color scanner is a relatively common item in many households and offices today. Just like personal computers and television sets and digital cameras, it's become a must-have for many computer setups. It can be a convenient tool to have, and sometimes a necessary one. So what is it and how can it be useful?A flatbed color scanner is a computer peripheral device. That essentially means it's a device that is separate from your computer but functions with it. Some scanners can also connect directly to a printer and print scans or make copies. Some scanners connect via a USB cable to your computer. Certain portable scanners not only connect to the computer this way but actually use that as their power source, making them convenient for traveling. Flatbed scanners are just that -- flat. They have a hinged cover that lifts up so you can access the scanner bed, which is made of glass. You place a document or photo face down on the glass surface and close the cover to scan (this also protects the flatbed color scanner lens). To actually scan the item you may either press a button on the scanner itself (many scanners today have one-touch operation) or go onto your computer and click on a button in the scanning software. For any type of flatbed color image scanner, you'll have software to install that includes the right kind of driver for the scanner. This driver will let your computer communicate with the scanner. The actual scanning software may have various scanning settings that you can change depending on what you're scanning. You'll use different settings to scan a document, for instance, than to scan a photograph. You can also change what resolution it scans at and you may have the option to resize the image as it scans. Once you've scanned the image, you may have more options depending on the software your flatbed color scanner came with. Some packages include an image editing program. This can be useful (and fun) if you scan photographs. You'll be able to resize, crop, and even add special effects. If you scanned a document, you may be able to edit the text. You can also email the scanned image or document or turn it into a PDF. If a scanner isn't quite enough, a laser color printer fax scanner covers all the bases. You can scan the image and possibly print it directly instead of saving it to your computer. You may be able to make copies using the scanner. And this type of flatbed color scanner saves space since you only have one unit instead of three.A flatbed color scanner can help you share and preserve old photographs and even slides and negatives. You can scan important documents such as checks and receipts for record keeping or tax purposes. And since standard scanners today are reasonably priced, you can save time and money from having to run to the copy shop when you need a scan. Whatever your motivation for buying one, a flatbed color scanner is a useful addition to the home and office network.