In today’s fast-paced world, convenience is a top priority; otherwise, time is lost and possibly money. A perfect example of how life has changed with this greater emphasis on speed and convenience is the ubiquitous use of cell phones that serve as mini-computers. No longer do you have to wait to go to the office to read all of your emails or surf the web. You can do that in comfort of your car or even while walking. Another device that is changing how people operate is the portable scanner. Here’s how.
Unlike the bulky scanners that you often find in offices, the portable scanner is lightweight and small enough to carry in your briefcase. At just under 12 ounces and no bigger than a three-hole punch device, this portable scanner is as easy to transport as a small laptop computer. And with no additional power source needed (uses a simple USB cable), there’s no reason not to take advantage of this remarkable device. But these features are just the beginning.
The portable scanner is able to scan a multitude of documents (not just the ordinary 8 x 11 piece of paper). It can scan such things as photos, checks, ID cards, receipts and even business cards. In other words, it can digitalize just about any hard copy document imaginable within a matter of seconds.
Picture the following scenario. You’re someone on the go and time is of the essence. You’re on a business trip where you’ll be meeting a number of potential clients. Not only will you be collecting business cards, but you will also have a slew of receipts that you will need to be reimbursed for. Prior to having a portable scanner, you would need to take the time to collect all of the cards and receipts (making sure not to lose any of them) and then hand them to the business office when returning to home. With a portable scanner in tow, however, you would simply need to insert the business cards and receipts into the scanner and within seconds you would have a digitalized version of those items, which could then be emailed to your business office.
The portable scanner is the wave of the future.
A portable scanner is lightweight enough to move from desk to desk so that only two or three scanners are needed for a medium-sized office environment.
If you are today looking for an OCR tool compatible with any platforms like Windows, Linux and Mac, a site that can do OCR for you online may attract you: Free OCR. This online application allows transforming the content of an image file to text format. Though other output formats like MS Word is not supported yet, the result looks good to me.