Pen Scanners - The Definitive Pen Scanner Overview

If you are interested in purchasing or using a pen scanner, you will undoubtedly find this article and those that follow very helpful. Pen scanners are great devices that can make your life a lot easier. Before buying one of these handy gadgets, there are some important things that you should learn about prior to doing so.
In this article we'll provide an overview of pen scanners, starting with the basics. Whether you are a student, teacher, or just someone who is tired of typing what they read into a computer, a pen scanner may be perfect for you. As the name suggests, it is a personal electronic device roughly the size of a pen. Although the shapes may vary, the pen-like shape of the scanner allows you to hold it as you would any writing device and "scan" the device over text. As you do this, the scanner will record the text in its memory which can then be transferred to a computer. This allows to the user to quickly transfer text from the source material to the computer and allows the user to skip having to manually type in the data.
Pen scanners can store text as image files or directly transfer the text into a program such as Microsoft Word, Notepad, or virtually any other text application. One of the great aspects of a these devices are the wide variety of features that many of them have. Many of them are compatible with both Macs and PCs and a variety of them can read text in a number of languages. You can even find a some in the marketplace that will TRANSLATE text from one language to another for you; of course this will cost more. Certain models can also read text that is printed in a variety of different colors on a number of different colored backgrounds.
Typically, a hand held pen scanner will range in cost from just under $100 to over $200 dollars, with most falling somewhere in between. How much you want to spend on one depends primarily on your budget and what you will be using it for. We will cover how to buy a hand scanner in depth in future articles so be sure to stay tuned.