Pen Scanner- Types and Uses of Pen Scanners

If you are interested in purchasing (or even borrowing) a pen scanner, it is important to understand the different types of pen scanners and their uses. There are a few major manufacturers of pen scanners (IRISPen, Planon, and Wizcom) that each make many different models with varying capabilities. To make things easier for you, we'll break down the types of pen scanners into their different basic categories. By determining what category of pen scanner is right for you, it'll be easier to make the purchase that best suits your needs.


Basic Text Scanning/Note Taking

Scanning text and "dumping" it into some time of word processing document is the most basic function of just about every pen scanner. These pens use OCR (optical character recognition) technology to convert images into text. If you are simply looking to use your pen scanner to take notes while studying for entrance exams, brochure, or other literature, this is the right type of scanner for you. Other optional features for these type of pen scanners include on device screens (including touch screen), ability to read text aloud, image scanning and language translation. Well known models of this type of pen scanner include the IRISPen Express 6, Wizcom InfoScan 2, and the Planon DocuPen R705.



Language Translator

There is an entire class of pen scanners designed specifically for language translation. While some models have a translator feature as an afterthought, these are designed from the ground up for this purpose. A translator pen scanner typically features word-by-word translation and can read back the translated text instantly for verification and comprehension purposes. The IRISPen Translator 6 is one such model of pen scanner and recognizes 128 different languages. Most of the translator models also typically incorporate the features found in the note taking pen scanners. In addition to the IRISPen Translator 6, the Wizcom Quicktionary line is another capable group of translator pen scanners. This type of pen scanner is ideal for foreign language students and teachers as well as people who travel often.


Executive/High End

In addition to the above types of pen scanners, there are also high-end or executive models of pen scanners that tend to incorporate the largest number of features. If you are looking for top of the line units with as much memory and editing capability as possible, this may be the type of pen scanner for you.

In a future post we will discuss how to go about shopping for a pen scanner. In the mean time, we hope that you have found this breakdown of pen scanner types informative. Be sure to check out all of our pen scanner advice and information here at Everything Pen Scanner.