Flatbed scanner

Flatbed scanner, a desktop device for scanning or inputting flat documents such as paper or book pages. Like small photocopiers, most flatbed scanners can scan color graphics. But those old-fashioned cheap flatbed scanners may only be able to scan grayscale or black and white graphics. Today's general desktop scanners can scan 8.5 x 12.7 or 8.5 x 14-inch format, while higher-end models can scan 11 x 17 or 12 x 18-inch format. Some flatbed scanners can also add some small accessories, depending on the specific manufacturer and model, such as the automatic feeder and "Transparency module" (Transparency head) and so on. Among them, the automatic document feeder can accommodate a large stack of papers and then automatically "feed" one by one to the scanner without operator intervention. Film modules often have a built-in light source (fluorescent or cathode ray tube) that scans transparent materials such as slides and negatives. Previous flatbed scanners were only able to scan documents and some low-resolution, low-quality pictures, but as the technology progressed and prices dropped, the scanners became more and more professional and could scan many medium-quality graphics. . Scanners are often associated with OCR, which means "optical character recognition." When OCR is not available, everything scanned (including text) is stored in a graphical format and cannot be edited for a single text contained within it. However, after adopting OCR, the system can distinguish individual texts in real time and save them in plain text format so that they can be edited like ordinary documents.