Epson ActionScanner PC, ActionScanning System User Setup Information

What You

should Know

About Scanning

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HAT

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HOULD KNOW

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BOUT SCANNING

If you’re thinking about purchasing a scanner,
you may already know some of the ways they
can add visual interest and variety to all of your
projects. You don’t have to be a graphic artist
to inject extra punch in a special presentation,
newsletter, or brochure. You’ve probably also heard
that by using OCR (optical character recognition)
software, the scanner can create an editable text
file from any hard copy, such as a journal article,
fax, or legal document. But do you really know
how simple it is to use a scanner?

This booklet shows you how easy it is. Inside,
you’ll find the basics of how a scanner works and
see samples of scanned images. Useful tips address
common questions, such as how to determine the
right scanning resolution or make fine adjustments.

DON’T MISS

When you purchase your Epson
a copy of your bill of sale in the envelope provided
in this booklet, and we’ll extend the warranty on
your scanner for an additional year, free of charge.
You receive two years of warranty
coverage with benefits like top­notch technical support.

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HIS

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PECIAL OFFER

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scanner, send

!

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CANNER

Several types of scanners are available; the list
below summarizes some popular choices.

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LATBED SCANNER

Best suited for most business applications, this
scanner looks similar to a desktop photocopier.
You place a document on glass and close the
cover, and the scan head moves underneath it
along the “bed” of the scanner. Originally a gray
scale technology, color models are now just as
affordable, offering the widest range of uses in a
desktop system. A flatbed color scanner is ideal for
virtually all uses, from simple line drawings to
complex full-color illustrations and photographs.

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AND HELD SCANNER

You hold this type of scanner in your hand and
run it over the image. The scan head is limited in
size, usually just four inches wide, so you have to
piece together wider images using your software.
While this is the least expensive of scanner
technologies, you’ll need a steady hand to avoid
distortions caused by shaky movement.

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ECHNOLOGIES

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HEETFED SCANNER

Developed specifically for use with OCR
applications, this scanner feeds sheets of paper
into the unit and scans them automatically. You
can get similar results by adding an optional

automatic document feeder (ADF) to your

flatbed scanner.

How

All scanners convert areas of light and dark into
digital data for your computer. One of the most
versatile scanners for general office use is the
flatbed scanner. Scanning an image on a flatbed
scanner is a lot like using a photocopier. Here’s
how it works:

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You place your document (a photo, book, or any

image that you want to scan) face-down on the
glass and close the cover.

Using the scanner software, you select a few
simple settings to adjust the way the image will
be captured; then you scan the document.

Inside the scanner, a light bar moves over the

image and the reflected light falls on a bed of
photosensitive cells. The cells “read” the image,
interpreting it as a series of tiny dots. Each dot
is called a pixel, or picture element. The carriage
scans one line of pixels at a time.

The software converts the values of each pixel into
data that the computer can understand. When the
entire document is scanned, the resulting image
appears on your monitor.

You can print the image as it appears on-screen
or you can manipulate it with image editing or

graphics software to get the results you want.

A

W

ORD ABOUT SOFTWARE

Your scanner hardware works hand in hand with
your software to produce data files. In fact, the
most important aspect of getting great results with
your scanner is understanding a little bit about the
software that creates these files. The rest of this
booklet presents software topics that will help you
to understand the scanning process. You’ll find

that scanning software is used to produce two types

of files: text files, which contain characters and

letters, or image files, which depict some type of
illustration. Text files can be edited with an
ordinary word processing program. Image files
can be manipulated using special software
programs called image editors.

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P

AGE TO FILE

OCR (optical character recognition) programs
decipher hard copy words and covert them into
editable text files, just as if you had typed them
yourself. More powerful programs even recognize
a variety of typestyles and page formats.

-OCRs C

APTURE TEXT

Why waste time reentering information to get it on
disk? For businesses with a steady stream of critical
information or any hard copy data that must be
converted to disk, a scanner and an OCR program
can be real time-savers. You can combine infor­mation from many different sources into com­prehensive reports, convert old documents to data
files for easy storage, capture information from

trade journals or papers-the list goes on and on.
Even if you usually use your computer for simple

word processing or spreadsheets, you’ll appreciate

the convenience of OCR. To prove it, Epson
includes a leading manufacturer’s OCR Try-Pak
with each of its scanners, so that you can try out