Difference Between Hard Copy And Soft Copy

Difference between hard copy and soft copy: Information and data play an important role in today’s world. Ideas, knowledge, or viewpoints are exchanged through various modes before arriving at the final stop. Basically, they are transferred in two forms i. Hard Copy and Soft Copy.

What is a Hard Copy?

• A hard copy means a printed version of a digital file on paper or any other material. In the hard copy, the output/text/content is printed on paper and is also sometimes known as the permanent copy.
• It implies the user can easily touch a hard copy. Some of the common examples of hard copies are images, drawings, photographs, text, or any printable documents.
• Furthermore, hard copies play a pivotal role in the digital world for numerous reasons. If anyone loses or destroys their digital files, then they use hard copies as backups. Moreover, it is easy to manage and distribute hard copies.

What is a Soft Copy?

• A soft copy is the electronic version of a file that is saved online on a computer/drive. It is a digital form of any document which is not printed on paper or any other material.
• This means the user can easily view and edit the soft copy of the document with the help of the software programs. Some examples of software programs are presentation software, database programs, processing programs, etc depending on the type of document.
• The output of a soft copy file is saved in computers, USB drives, etc, and is popularly known as the temporary copy or virtual copy of a document/file. Furthermore, no one can touch the soft copy as it is virtual in nature.
• Moreover, users can quickly share soft copies via online modes like email, social media, etc. It is a less expensive and easy mode of communication in comparison to hard copies.
• Some of the common examples of Soft copy include Ebooks, scanned notes, PDF files, e-newspapers, etc. With this, the soft copies are durable for a longer period than hard copies.
• Any user can easily fold, tear, lose, burn, or destroy hard copies. However, they cannot destroy soft copies. In fact, the user can create numerous backups for the same and keep it in a reliable hardware structure.

Difference Between Hard Copy and Soft Copy