In this article, we will cover the definition and the difference between duplex and simplex scanners. We’ll go over the best use cases for these scanners, as well as some additional scanner types of options that are available.
What is a Scanner?
A scanner is an input device that translates analog information from paper documents to digital data, which can then be stored or processed by a computer system. Duplex scanner and simplex scanner are two types of scanners available on the market today. The difference between duplex and simplex scanner is in how they scan pages – duplex scans both pages at once while the other scans only one side at a time.
Besides the distinction between duplex (double sided) and simplex (single sided), scanners all have different mechanisms and designs, including sheet-fed scanners, flatbed scanners, and the less common roll-to-roll scanners.
Duplex Scanners – How they Work and When to Use Them
Duplex scanners are scanners that can scan both sides of a document at the same time. Duplex scanning saves you time by letting you get done with your scanning, sorting, and filing all at once.
Duplex scanners that are sheetfed are often the best option when the source material is not fragile or valuable, such as with printed documents that are easily reproducible.
For more fragile documents or materials that don’t take on the shape of a normal office document (such as bound books or magazine), different types of scanners might be appropriate (such as overhead or book scanners, wand scanners, etc).
Simplex Scanners – How they Work and When to Use Them
Simplex scanner is any scanner that can only scan one side of a document at a time. While most simplex scanners take the form of flatbed scanners, there are examples of duplex flatbed scanners and simplex sheetfed scanners.
The majority of simplex scanners are sheetfed, which means a document is fed into the scanner. This is best for use with only traditional sized documents (i.e. “printer paper”) and possibly small photo prints.
For archival purposes (i.e. very old, fragile documents), or for non-traditional sizes or bound materials (i.e. books, magazines, posters or large artwork), sheet fed scanners will not be appropriate.