What to Know Before Selecting a Pandigital Handheld Scanner
When you want to digitize important documents and preserve copies of things you don't want to lose, a pandigital handheld scanner is an easy-to-use solution. Taking up less space than the flatbed versions, these devices let you quickly and easily scan items for work, school, or your home. Available with a variety of features, these units can help you save what matters to function in an electronic age.
What portable scanners are available?There are a number of bar or wand scanners available from Pandigital. The units are available in different resolutions. You can also choose a connectivity option to meet your needs, like Bluetooth, USB 1.0/1.1, USB 2.0, and wireless technology.
How do handheld scanners work?- Basics: The devices are bar-shaped, often called wands, and run on batteries. The displays and scan modes vary across different products, but the basic function is the same. They are used to scan documents and digitally store them, and then you can send them to your computer or elsewhere electronically.
- Detectors and rollers: The detector array is the star of this device. It's a line of small sensors that runs along the length of the wand, illuminating the document or item being scanned while the sensors capture the image or text as points of light in a set. The length is measured by the unit's rollers when the scanner passes over, so the scale can be made correct.
- Electronics: The electronic circuitry of this device is pretty much the same as its flatbed counterpart, converting light points captured by the sensors into a grayscale or color signals. It then changes the electronic signals into a digital image. A numerical value is given to each level of grayscale or an RGB color combination by the circuits and stores the data in the unit's memory system, SD Card, or microSD Card.
- Software: The software is integrated into the device that coordinates the internal functions, like sorting the memory, capturing image data, and converting the image into the designated file formats. The quality is inspected by the software and if you need to rescan, there will be a notification. Software installed on the computer allows basic editing functions like cropping, color correction, contrast, and more.
- Ease of use: These are easy for scanning an item in seconds with a clear, crisp image. With larger memory stores, they can save several hundred items.
- Portable: These ultra-portable devices are small and can often be easily carried in a bag from one place to another.
- Saves space: These smaller units take up only a fraction of the space the larger flatbed models use.
- Variety: These scanners come in varying sizes from one that will fit into the hand to one that resembles a magic wand. Their other features vary from product to product.
- Versatility: Not just limited to producing copies, these devices are used to scan for business for POS systems and more.