Do you have stacks of old photographs you'd like to include in your digital picture library? Or does your business have reams of client data stored in filing cabinets which are taking up too much space? What you need is a scanner, and there is a huge variety of choices available to meet your needs. Basic, consumer-grade scanners are great for scanning your photos, notebooks and children's artwork and are available for reasonable prices, usually well under $100. Business-class scanners are more expensive but also more powerful, and often include sheet feeders for volume scanning of archival documents.
For the home user, there are several different types of scanner available. The standard scanner is called a flat-bed scanner, and, as the name says, it has a flat glass tray on which to place the pictures or documents to be scanned. This type of scanner has the advantage of being able to scan thick materials, such as an open book or notebook. Another common type of scanner is the document scanner, which instead of a flat bed has a slot or a feeder, much like a fax machine. It's usually more compact than a flat bed, but can only be used for single sheets of paper or photos. Finally, there are combo or "all-in-one" units which combine either a flat bed or document scanner with a printer, and often also include fax machine functions.
Commercial scanners are usually similar in function to consumer-grade scanners. However, there are significant differences in the technology in order to make them work harder and last longer, which is why they are considerably more expensive. A higher-quality flat-bed scanner for commercial use will be built with more precise optics for better image clarity and heavier-duty moving parts to last longer, and might have a bigger bed for scanning larger documents. Document feeders are common options on these scanners, and for higher volume there are dedicated document scanners similar to the home models, but with much higher speed and larger feeder capacity.