More than any other gadget you attach to your computer, your scanner needs good software to make it perform and take advantage of the images it produces. Here's what you'll need:

An up-to-date driver. All scanners ship with software called drivers. They tell your computer how to make the scanner work. The right driver will also make your scanner available to other programs that support the industrywide TWAIN standard. Before buying a scanner, make sure it has the right driver for your operating system. Even if the scanner ships with the right driver, call the manufacturer to find out if a new or updated driver is available.

Graphics software. Once you scan an image, you'll probably have to touch it up before you can use it in a word processor, in a desktop publishing program or on the World Wide Web. A good graphics program can work wonders. Your scanner will probably ship with a basic graphics editing program, but you may want to invest in a better one. Adobe Photoshop is the standard for the publishing industry, but it's expensive and does a lot of things you probably don't need. If you're on a budget and your requirements are more modest, check out PhotoDeluxe -- Adobe's "lite" version of Photoshop -- or Paint Shop Pro, a capable shareware program from JASC Inc. Paint Shop Pro is available through online services or on various shareware sites on the World Wide Web.To turn photos into collages, albums and other fun projects, check out programs such as Microsoft PictureIt! Or LivePicture's LivePix.

OCR software. If you want to turn paper documents into word-processing or spreadsheet files that you can edit, you'll need good optical character recognition (OCR) software. Most scanners ship with a "lite" version of one of the well-known OCR programs, such as OmniPage, TextBridge or WordScan. These can handle simple documents, but if you want better speed, accuracy and recognition of more file formats, consider upgrading to the heavyweight version of the program. They're generally $150 or less, and they can save you time and money.

Adding hardware: a sheet feeder

Most scanners can handle only one page at a time. If you have to scan a 50-page report, you'll get bored of hand-feeding very quickly. So consider adding a sheet feeder, if your scanner can handle one. Some sheet feeders allow you to load as many as 50 pages and process them automatically. A word of warning, though: A sheet feeder can be almost as expensive as the scanner itself.