What is a primary advantage of using a 2D scanner over a 1D scanner?

Using a 2D scanner provides a primary advantage in that it can capture more information than a 1D scanner. A 1D scanner, often associated with barcode scanning, reads data in a single linear format, which limits the amount of information it can collect to just one-dimensional data. This means that it can only capture the barcode, usually containing limited information such as a product number or code.

On the other hand, a 2D scanner can capture images in two dimensions, allowing it to read not only barcodes but also text, graphics, and various forms of visual data simultaneously. This capability enables 2D scanners to gather rich data sets that include more intricate information such as colors and patterns, thus offering a more comprehensive representation of the scanned material. Therefore, the ability to provide a richer amount of data is the significant advantage of using a 2D scanner.