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Let's get something straight from the beginning. This Gadget Gal is not a scanner person. Of course, I use them when I have to, but I'd much rather load my photos into my computer from a digital camera. Loading pictures from my camera is lots quicker, but it's not always possible to get everything you want into your computer via your digital camera. Think of print photographs and text documents. If you want to digitize them so that you can work with them in your computer, you've got to use a scanner.

Let's suppose, for example, you have some old photographs that you want to put on holiday cards, send to Grandmom or Grandpop through email, make into slide shows and put on CDs, or add as stills to videos. Using a scanner, you have the capability of putting all your treasured photos on your computer so that you can use them as you want. Once they are in your computer, you can also give the photos a new look (add color, take out creases, brighten, darken, remove problem spots, crop, add other images to them, etc.) using photo editing software such as Photoshop. Then you can pop them into your email, make beautiful cards, or...

If your scanner has an option called OCR (Optical Character Reader), it can copy text so that you can use it and edit it in your word processor. Without OCR, a document will copy as a photo, but you won't be able to work with it. The OCR option can save you lots of time–the time it would take to retype the text into your computer. Some scanners even come with a paper feeder option that allows you to insert multiple pages for scanning. You should check for this option if you anticipate having to scan long documents.

What type of scanner do you need?

It really depends upon what you want the scanner to do for you. If you are, for example, doing photos for the Web or for email, your digital pictures won't need to be of a high quality/resolution. I suggest, however, that you choose a scanner that will give your photos good resolution, and if you want your photos to look great in larger sizes, like 8"X10," for example, look for a scanner that does 1200 or 2400 DPI or dots per inch. I always scan in the highest resolution, for then I can change the photo to a lower level if I want. However, if I scan to 72 DPI, which is fine for the web, I wouldn't be very happy if I decided to print my photos. You'll want to print in 300 DPI, which may make you wonder why I suggested a scanner with at least 1200 — 2400 DPI. It sounds like a bit of overkill, but it all has to do with the DPI you want for your printouts and the size of what you print. Just trust me, you won't be happy with a scanner that's not in the 1200 and higher DPI range. Most newer scanners are 2400 DPI anyway.

What is called a flatbed scanner usually works best, although you can get sheet-feed scanners, photo scanners, multi-function scanners, and miniature (pen-like) scanners. The flatbeds, which seem to copy better than the other models, sit on your desk, table or even the floor, where mine happens to be, and they do take up a bit of space (about 5" high by 11" wide and 18"-20 " long). That's because they need room for you to add not only your photos, but also 8.5"X11" paper and sometimes legal-sized paper. Many flatbed scanners also include special components for film or transparencies, which usually translates to all those old slides you have tucked away in some closet.

You'll only need an automatic document feed (ADF) or sheet-feed scanner if you often have documents with multiple pages to copy. ADFs may add several hundred dollars to the cost of your scanner. Those who are only interested in copying photographs might want to look into photo scanners, but flatbeds are probably a more versatile choice. Speculation is that new flatbed scanners will be coming out with special photo scanner options that are very easy and quick to use. Small handheld scanners, some the size of a fountain pen, are best put to use for copying short sections of text and are excellent for students to use when taking notes in the library. Multifunction scanners can, as their name implies, do a variety of scanning tasks, but again, the flatbed is probably a better choice.

To be sure, a scanner won't work unless it can talk to your computer. You'll also want to check your computer ports to find out how you are going to attach it to your computer system. While scanners that connect to FireWire ports seem to work faster, a USB connection should work almost as well. If your computer doesn't have either of these ports, some scanners come with special adapters so that you can scan using the equipment you already have. Once you've decided about the ports, the next thing you need to consider is the computer's operating system. Most scanners work with both PC and Mac, but you'll need to check as to whether they are set up for your operating system. If you're having a problem with scanning, check the site of company that made your scanner and the Apple or Microsoft sites to see if they have downloads that will make your scanner work as it should.

Scanners, like digital cameras, come in a confusing number of models and prices. You can get some for less than $100 and others for over $400. The Microtek ScanMaker 6800, for example, at $340 is a very good scanner packed with lots of options, nice speed, and fine quality 4800 — 2400 scans. I have a Microtek 5700 ($282) with 1200 DPI; its scans are also quite good. It, like later Microtek models have what are called "Smart Buttons" for one-press photo and OCR scanning. I'm told the buttons are really convenient, but I've always found clicking preview or scan on the computer so easy that I've never tried the buttons–probably because my scanner is on the floor under my desk. Not very convenient, but that's a problem with the world of technology and space, isn't it? At least my waist gets lots of exercise as I lean over to insert what I want to scan.

A look at a few scanners

Microtek 6800
$340.99 from Amazon
Works with Mac OS 9.0 or higher; Windows 98/2000/Me/XP

SP Quicklink Pen Shaped OCR
$128.77 from PC Connection
Works with Windows 95-98, 2000, Millennium, NT 4.0

Epson Perfection 2400 Scanner
$179.87 from Amazon
Works with Windows 98/2000/Me, XP