I still remember the first scanner I bought, almost 14 years ago. It was a black-and-white flatbed model, a heavy beast that took up quite a bit of desk space and scanned v-e-r-y s-l-o-w-l-y. Four years later I got my next scanner — this one in color — and what a dream it was. I still couldn't scan in nanoseconds, but the machine produced higher-quality images. I used that gizmo to copy family photos for retouching and sharing with relatives, to save my research documents on CD-ROM for toting on road trips, and to convert typed pages into word processing documents with OCR software (more on that later).

In fact, there's no limit to what you can scan (even clothing!) and add to your electronic family history. But deciding which scanner to buy can leave you scratching your head in bewilderment. Flatbed or photo? Eight-bit or 24? And what's a skuzzy? Our answers to those questions — and more — will help you sort it all out.