Business card reader

Similar to other computer scanners, a business card reader allows a user to scan business cards into their computer for digital storage. Computer scanners are capable of scanning and converting text documents to typed text by use of OCR (optical character recognition ) software. Business card readers work on a similar principle, reading the text on the business card and converting to typed text on the computer.

Some business card readers offer the functionality of scanning a business card directly into a Microsoft Outlook contact record. Other readers can scan to a web format, directly to a new computer file, to a database or even to a CRM system, like SalesForce.com or Microsoft CRM. Some business card readers are capable of connecting to PDA devices, smartphones, and tablet computers.

Today, many people are replacing business card readers with smartphones with apps capable of scanning and storing business card information.

Scanner

A scanner may refer to any of the following:

1. When referring to hardware, a scanner or optical scanner is a hardware input device that optically "reads" and image and converts it into a digital signal. For example, a scanner may be used to convert a printed picture, drawing, or document (hard copy) into a digital file which can be edited on a computer. The picture shows an example of a flatbed scanner, the Epson V300.

• How is a scanner connected?
• Other types of computer scanners.
• When was the first scanner created?
• Why is a scanner an input device?
• Related scanner pages.

·         Computer scanner help and support.

How is a scanner connected?

A scanner can be connected to a computer using many different interfaces although today is most commonly connected to a computer using a USB cable.

·         Firewire

·         Parallel

·         SCSI

·         USB

Other types of computer scanners

There are also other types of scanners that can be used with a computer.

·         Sheetfed scanner - scans paper by feeding it into the scanner

·         Handheld scanner - scans text and images by dragging the device over the page you want to scan

·         Card scanner - designed to scan business cards

When was the first scanner created?

The earliest forms of scanners appeared in the 1860s. However, the scanner as we know it today was created in 1957 by a man named Russell Kirsch at the United States National Bureau of Standards. The first image scanned by this device was a picture of Kirsch's son. This black and white image measured only 5x5 cm and had a resolution of 176 pixels on each side.

Why is a scanner an input device?

A computer scanner is a digitizer, which is a type of input device. It takes information from the real world (e.g., a document or picture) and converts it into digital information for a computer to store or manipulate. A scanner is only able to send information to the computer and cannot receive information from the computer like a printer (which is an output device).

2. When referring to software, a scanner may refer to any program that scans computer files for errors or other problems. An example is an antivirus program, which scans the files on the computer for viruses or other malware.