Difference Between Hard Copy and Soft Copy

Hard Copy vs Soft Copy

These days, banks ask account holders whether they want to have a hard copy or a soft copy of their bank statement. Internet Service Provider cajole customers to accept soft copies of their bills rather than pressing for hard copies. So, what is the difference between a hard copy and a soft copy? This article takes a closer look at the two types of document files to remove all confusion from the minds of readers.

The term soft copy came into existence with the advent of computers only. It is an electronic version of a file that has been digitalized and can be seen, read, and sent in this form to others easily. Before mail and computers even, there was only one type of documents, and there was no specific word to refer to them. But with soft copies coming into existence, all physical forms of files and documents were labeled as hard copies. So, if you are getting the statement of your credit card through mail printed on paper, you are availing a hard copy of the bill. If you insist on the statement being sent by the credit card company to your email ID, you desire to have a soft copy that can easily be stored in your computer. However, you can read a soft copy through some special software installed on your computer such as a word processor or a database program. Soft copies of documents are being preferred all over the world as they eliminate the need for paper and ink; the two objects that are being held responsible for environmental pollution. Less paper used is always good for our environment as paper manufacture requires felling of trees. One can manipulate soft copies and carry them along on USB drives such as pen drives. One can even send and receive soft copies wherever he is, to any part of the world, provided he has an internet connection. For offices and even for individuals soft copies are invaluable as they not only save much needed space, they are also managed easily and can be retrieved with the click of a button.