Modern imaging technology maintains high-quality scanned images, but scanners can still develop functional problems from wear and tear that impair image quality.
Common issues that can lead to scanned image quality problems include:
Problems of Scanner Lamp— Scanner lamps gradually lose brightness over sustained usage; they don’t burn out at once. As the lamp becomes dimmer, image quality slowly deteriorates and color reproduction can change. This can cause unwanted color changes and gradually impair the color gradient.
Failure of CCD Element— Failure of the CCD is a common scanning equipment problem. The CCD is the image-sensing element that captures the document image. When a CCD begins to malfunction, small specks or areas of fuzzy print can appear in the document images. These problems may initially be difficult to detect with the human eye but can eventually impair image quality considerably, while also reducing OCR and bar coding accuracy.
Defocused Optics— This problem can occur when continuous scanner vibrations displace the optics, causing them to move out of alignment and reducing image resolution. In addition, grease, dirt, paper dust, carbon, toner vapor, and ink can gradually accumulate on optical components, causing the images to become fuzzy.
Variations in Scanning Speed— Mechanical wear and tear can cause electronic components to drift out of adjustment, resulting in variations in scanning speed and resolution. These variations can cause image fuzziness in one part of the page or across the entire image, depending on the severity of the problem.
Challenges in Scanned Image Quality Assurance
While scanned image quality assurance is promised by providers of scanning equipment, the above-listed problems can develop without warning. Most office copiers and scanning machines are retailed without maintenance contracts. Retailers provide preventive schedules and maintenance procedures that are often impractical to follow. Among larger, more advanced scanning machines, maintenance requirements are not always clearly provided because these machines are sold with the promise of a ‘lifetime of un-serviced performance’.
Scanned Image Quality Assurance Solutions
The only way to ensure that such problems don’t affect an office scanning system is to regularly check scanning quality by analyzing scanned files with dedicated diagnostic software. Such software can monitor image quality and identify underlying problems. The data obtained through these software programs should be saved to develop a long-term log of overall scanner performance. This scanner performance profile can be used to evaluate the durability of a particular scanner brand or plan a rigorous maintenance program for the equipment.