We’ve all seen and used scanners. For some of us, they are part of our daily lives.

But how much do you actually know about them?

These useful devices sure deserve a bit of an introduction.

Basically, they analyze the surface of an object and convert it into a 2D digital image. The object is usually a picture or text.

There are many types of scanners, which serve different purposes. The flatbed ones are the most popular, while the drum scanners are not only the first ones around, but also the priciest scanners on the market.

Flatbed scanners

They work by reading the area through capacitors and are known as good digital scanners for photos. Their price can drastically vary from one unit to another.

If you go for a low end one, you can get it under $100. But if you want a high-tech one, expect to see even 5-figure prices.

Some new features are not fit for old-fashioned interests. For example, a fresh technology consists in contact image sensors which provide white light through LEDs based on the primary colors. Their disadvantage is that their focus isn’t top-notch and you’ll have a tough time scanning good old books.

Film scanners

If you are interested in 16mm film scanning services, conversion film and how to convert video film and how to print pictures at cvs, these scanners will probably appeal more to you. They can scan negative and positive film without any intermediate.

Many can transfer 35mm film and make the otherwise 35mm film conversion easier. They can even help you forget about Walmart film transfer.

Compared to the famous flatbed scanners, film ones bring along a higher resolutions. The prices for pro ones usually don’t go over $2,000.

These kind of scanners will be helpful if you want to know how to convert slides to digital images or how to turn slides into photos. You don’t even have to be very tech-savvy to transfer film slides to digital. Still, if you need some help, you can always go straight to a service that handles converting slides to digital.

If you need a scanner for business cards or bar codes for your company, there are specialized ones that do their job quickly and nicely. Their software scans and recognizes objects in a snap.

Important detail:

Keep in mind that some scanners won’t work with new operating systems. If yours was created for Windows XP, it won’t work for Windows Vista, let alone for Windows 7, 8 or Windows 10.

You can always go for cheap scanning services to digitize photos. Expert will get you film to digital or photo to digital in no time.