scott@boake2.UUCP (Scott Boake) (01/03/89)
I'm shopping for a scanner. One which either hooks up to a PC (preferred) or a Mac. There are a fairly broad range of requirements I need for the scanner. A flexible scanner/software is a key concern for me. For example just because the scanner is hooked to a PC does not mean that it will never be used for Mac type applications. I want to be able to produce Mac compatible files on the PC and vice versa. ** Being Flexible Is A Requirement ** From my initial research, it appears that the key is not so much the scanner as it is the software. Most scanners I've looked at are 300 DPI. The primary uses for the scanner include: 1 - OCR 2 - Graphics 3 - Pictures with gray scales in that order of priority. From what I've read on the PC software, the OCR software is so so, the graphics are pretty good. However the Mac software, the OCR is MUCH better and so is the graphics software. When I say MUCH better I mean more fonts on a page and better choice of graphics image output. I've even gone so far as to consider getting a standard 300 DPI scanner and move the bit image graphics pages to a UNIX box with VM (lots of fonts in memory) and write the software in house. But this seems like a LOT of work and well beyond the scope of my project. What are the key factors to consider when shopping for a scanner? Comments / Recommendations / Advice will be warmly accepted. If response warrants, I'll post a follow up article with the info I collect. Thanks in advance. ----Scott Scott Boake Small Systems Consulting scott@boake2 P.O. Box 2142 ..!uunet!pdn!boake2!scott 5030 - 78th Ave North Ste. 10 +1 (813) 544 - 8152 Pinellas Park, FL 34664