Choice of Scanner
The choice of scanner depends on the purpose of the scan. There are several issues.
- Environment - in a production environment the choice is determined primarily by productivity and quality with an emphasis therefore on functionality, while in a design environment the emphasis is on ease of use, support for creative design and standard file formats.
- Technical Specifications - These include scan area, maximum bit-depth, Dmax, sampling resolution optical and interpolated, on-line controls and productivity issues such as speed, buffering, degree of automation and networking.
- Required throughput - Low scanning volumes can’t take advantage of productivity of high end scanners.
- Quality required - Scanner should be matched to targeted output quality.
The advantages of different scanners are listed below.
Drum Scanners
- High sensitivity and Dmax
- High Resolution
- Low Noise
- High productivity
- Large Format Originals
- Directly produce color
Flatbed Scanners
- Ease of use
- Faster for single original
- Solid State electronics
- Compact physical size
- Price/performance
- Rigid originals separations
As flatbed technology improves and scanning software becomes more powerful, many of the distinctions will become less important.