The scanner was invented in the 1950s by a German engineer named Bernhard
Grossfeld. Grossfeld developed the first flatbed scanner, which used a light
source and a moving optical head to produce an electronic signal that could be
processed and displayed as an image.
The first commercial scanners were large and expensive, and they were
primarily used in the graphics and printing industries. However, as technology
improved and costs decreased, scanners became increasingly accessible and were
used in a variety of applications, including document scanning, photography,
and medical imaging.
In the 1980s, the development of digital scanning technology made it
possible to produce high-quality scans with a lower cost and smaller size. The
first desktop scanners were introduced in the late 1980s, and they quickly
became popular for both personal and business use.
Today, scanners are widely used and are available in a variety of forms,
including flatbed scanners, handheld scanners, and sheet-fed scanners. They
have revolutionized the way we capture, store, and share information, and they
continue to play a vital role in many industries and applications.