Catalog your collection

People collect everything from calendars to comic books, and it's not unusual for these collections to grow so large they become unweildy. With a scanner and a database, though, it's easy to catalog every item and find anything in a few moments. Scan the covers of your comic books, the labels of your wine bottles, or the stamps in your collection and soon there will be a place for everything, with everything in its place.

Give a special gift

When you have a scanner, there's no reason to settle for store bought cards and wrapping paper. Scan in items that are personally meaningful to you (family photos, objects from a collection, or an illustration you drew by hand) and repeat the pattern over the whole page, then print to create a customized card or gift wrap.

Terrific textures

Using a textured background can add depth and interest to multimedia presentations, web sites, and other graphic communications. With a scanner, you can create your own background textures out of almost anything. Pile whatever you like -- leaves, coins, cloth, tin foil -- on the bed of your scanner, then save the scan for use in later projects. Experiment for best results; this is a great way to make your work unique without spending much money.