A scanner is a device that converts physical documents into digital images. It shines light on the page, captures the reflection, and translates it into pixels. Flatbed scanners have a glass surface. Sheet-fed scanners pull pages through. Portable scanners are handheld. Phone cameras now scan documents too.

Scanners are used in offices, libraries, hospitals, and homes. They digitize contracts, books, photos, and medical records. Optical character recognition, or OCR, converts scanned text into editable and searchable text. Without OCR, a scanned page is just a picture. With OCR, it becomes data.

Types of scanners

• Flatbed: glass surface, versatile
• Sheet-fed: automatic document feeder
• Portable: handheld, battery-powered
• Drum: high-end, used in publishing
• 3D: captures physical objects

Scanners preserve information. Old photos fade. Paper decays. A digital scan can last forever if backed up. But scanning is slow. It requires manual effort. The paperless office is still a dream. The scanner is the bridge between paper and digital.