Scan Conversion

What is scanning technology?

How does it work? How can it make your work easier?

The scanning of documents to digital format has been around for quite a long time. Scanning is simply the base method for capturing data by optical means and storing it in a format usable by today’s computer programs, from word processors to CAD and/or GIS programs.

How does it work?

Most scanners now use the same basic technology as today’s modern video cameras. A microchip called a CCD (Charge Coupled Device), which is sensitive to light, is used to detect the reflected light shone on a document by the scanner. The CCD then takes the light information and converts the data to a format that can be stored on a computer’s hard drive.

How can it make your work easier?

Scanning can be used to store a large amount of data in a very short time at a very affordable cost. How does it do that? With the advent of Optical Character Recognition, Line Following and Object Recognition software, documents, large and small, can be scanned and converted to virtually all formats used in the workplace. Why use expensive and valuable man hours re-drawing a blueprint or map or re-typing a document if you can get a computer to do almost all of the work for you? Not to mention not having to bother with all that paper!