hp scanjet 5100c

Think of a scanner as a photocopier attached to your computer-

You place the picture or document on the glass, replace the cover, and let the scanner read the image. Instead of creating a duplicate image on paper, the image is digitized into your computer's memory. From there, the image can be manipulated with a drawing program, uploaded to your web site, faxed or e-mailed to a friend, or printed out (a roundabout way of getting a photocopy if you don't have access to a photocopier). A scanner can also be used to save from re-typing a printed document. For example, if you had a printed page that you need converted into a word processing document, the OCR (optical character recognition) software that comes with the scanner can 'read' the letters on the page and enter them into a word processing file. Up until a couple years ago, scanners were very expensive, priced at several hundred dollars.