Optical scanners are motorized mirror mounts and systems used in optical scanning applications. An optical scanner reads text, illustrations, or photographs on paper and then translates the information into a digitized format for use on a computer. Since an optical scanner represents all information as bitmaps, an optical character recognition (OCR) software package must be used to distinguish text from images. Optical scanners come in a variety of types, from drum scanners for very precise, high resolution scanning, to flatbed or even handheld scanners for home office use.