Which Scanners Use TWAIN?

• TWAIN is a combination application programming interface and software protocol that expedites the communication between your scanner or digital camera and your scanner software program. Before you can use the TWAIN system, you need to ensure that your scanner is compatible with this program -- many are not compatible. To use this technology, you need to do some research before buying a digital imaging device.

CanoScan 600

• The Canon CanoScan 600 is a flatbed scanner, which means that it lies flat on a surface, and it has a lid and a glass where you place the item that you want scanned. It has an optical resolution up to 600-by-1200 dots per inch and an enhanced resolution of 2400 dpi. This scanner connects to your computer by a USB cable, and it can scan documents up to 8.5 inches wide by 11.7 inches long. As of 2010, this scanner costs $79.

BearPaw

• The Mustek BearPaw 1200CU is a flatbed scanner that connects to your computer via USB cable. The scanner also has a foldout stand and an area where you can store your USB cable, and it includes the Ulead Photo Express 3.0 Standard Edition software program. It has an optical scan up to 600-by-1200 dpi and an enhanced resolution of 1200-by-2400 dpi, and it can scan documents up to 11.1 inches wide by 16 inches long by 1.46 inches high. As of 2010, this scanner costs $100.

Panasonic KV-S4065C

• The Panasonic KV-S4065C is a duplex scanner, which means that it has a document feeder in the back and an output tray in the front. The scanner has an automatic document feeder that can hold up to 300 pages, and it has an optical resolution of 600 dpi. It can scan up to 30,000 documents per day, and it connects to your computer via USB cord. The scanner can scan two sides of the same document at the same time, and it can detect whether a document has stapled pages. As of 2010, this product costs approximately $9,095.

Astra 2100U

• The Astra 2100U is a flatbed scanner that has an optical resolution of 600-by-1200 dpi and an enhanced resolution of 9600-by-9600 dpi. It can scan documents up to 8.5 inches wide by 11.7 inches long, and it can scan documents in gray scale and color. It connects to your computer via USB port, and it is compatible with Windows 98, 98 Standard Edition, Millennium, 2000 and XP, and Mac OS 8.0 and 9.1. As of 2010, this product costs between $30 and $50.