On scanners

[Nikpalj]

What do the home model scanners work on? Do they have some kind of cartridge that I have to change periodically, like printers have? I plan on buying one and using it extensivelly to scan a bunch of books over a long period of time, so I would like to know if the actual use of the scanner will cost me more then the machine itself in long term... Thx!

[Geezer57]

Almost all home scanners create an image that the user can save as a file on their hard drive - no consumables (like toner, etc.) are normally used in this process, unless you print the images.

Other than the cost of the scanner itself and the time you spend in the scanning process, you should have no significant other expenses. If you do a LOT of scanning, you may fill the available space in your current hard drive, so might have to buy another for additional storage. And if you back up your new files to CD or DVD, then the cost of the blank media and the burner should be considered.