Monday, December 15, 2008

Take a look at an Epson scanner for your SOHO

By Peter Rosenthal

Computer are a core part of any SOHO office computer equipment because it is increasingly critical that we have the ability to digitize work products, not to mention photographs and other treasures. There are other practical uses as well, a scanner allows you an efficient way to archive news and magazine articles. Today, your don't need a physical fax machine to send a fax any longer, and a scanner allows you to convert documents into a digital format that allows you to send a fax. Scanners are cheap, you can pick up a basic one as low as $50.

To choose a scanner, consider the tasks that you want to complete. Then purchase a scanner that meets those needs. For most home or small office purposes, all scanners today are good enough to handle documents and photographs with excellent clarity.

Setting up a scanner is also easier than ever. Today, most hardware auto installs itself. You simply insert the software CD and the software installs and configures everything. You should always wait to follow the instructions prompted by the software, because you usually need to install the software before plugging in the hardware.

There are three top consumer and small business brands of scanners that you really need to look at. Cannon, HP, and Epson all make top scanners that each provide unique differences worth looking at. Do you want a flatbed scanner? Do you care more about photos? HP makes a create Photosmart line of scanners for around $120. An All-In-ONe multi-function scanner, HP makes a nice unit that includes a scanner, printer, and copier all in one. It is also compatible with both a Mac and a PC. It is a great unit that allows you to work with documents and photos and share them with your friends.

If you want to compare different scanners, one of the easiest ways is to compare them at any online retailer. There you can compare the features and specs of a variety of scanners and choose one that is right for you. If you already have a printer, Cannon makes the CanoScan line of flatbed scanners that has the QARE technology built in that does a pretty good job of automatically correcting common problems such as scratches, dust, fading, photo graininess and bad backlighting. It's pretty affordable at around $50.

For more sophisticated photo needs, you should consider the Espon line of Perfection Photo Flatbed scanners, they are a little more pricey, typically coming in around $179, but they offer the Digital ICE technology which makes it easy to scan slides and negatives converting them into high quality images. No matter what the features are that you want, there is a perfect scanner out there for you. - 15246

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