Hard copy and Soft copy

A hard copy is nothing but the printed information or data from a computer. It’s called a hard copy because it’s in physical form which can be touched. A hard copy is also called or referred to as a printout. Whereas a soft copy means the electronic data or an electronic copy that can be assessed from a computer or also can be transmitted as an email attachment. The data which we find in a computer is called soft copy and the physical form of the same data is known as a hard copy. Usually, hard copy depends upon the ink and paper and soft copy depends on a computer. Hard copies usually take a lot of space to store because of their physical nature whereas soft copy is easy to store as it doesn’t need any physical space and also the hard copies carry some weight whereas soft copy doesn’t carry any weight. Let’s discuss the difference between a hard copy and a soft copy in detail.

Difference between hard copy and soft copy

Physical presence

A hard copy means the physical form of data or information from which it’s clear that a hard copy has a physical presence. on the other hand, a soft copy is an electronic form of information that can be assessed through a computer which clearly states that a soft copy doesn’t have a physical presence.

Usage

A hard copy is usually used for any official purpose as it is in physical form and if someone needs to sign a document soft copies won’t work. So at that time, a hard copy is the one that is required at that time.  whereas a soft copy is in electronic form so is mostly used for unofficial or private purposes.

Cost

A hard copy is also known as a printout which is physical so it’s very expensive to make. It needs some expenses to be spent on the ink and paper to get the hard copy of any information.

A soft copy is very cheap to make as it’s not in physical form and it just needs a computer to review the information.

Form

A hard copy is usually printed on paper with the help of ink which is printed with the help of a printer. On the other hand, a soft copy is typed by humans and is being stored in the hard drive(memory) of the computer. The typed information can be assessed at any point in time with the help of a computer.

Conversion

A hard copy is a physical form of information that cannot be converted into a soft copy until and unless someone enters the data into the computer system manually. Whereas, a soft copy is electronic information that can be converted into a hard copy with the help of a printer.

Method of transmission

A hard copy can be transmitted through mail post, hand to hand whereas a soft copy can be transmitted through electronic, digital, and internet.

Requirement

There’s not much requirement for reading a hard copy as with bare eyes it can be read, without any need of any device.

To read a soft copy there is some requirement such as an electronic device like a computer, software on a cell phone, also the internet is important to assess the document, and the internet connection must be stable.

Storage

A hard copy is hard to store as it is in physical form which needs physical storage to store which makes it difficult to store them. On the other hand, soft copy doesn’t need any physical storage to store them as it’s in electronic form and it’s easy to store.

Weight

A hard copy has a lot of weight as it is usually in physical form which adds weight whereas, a soft copy will not weigh as it is in electronic form.

Tangible/intangible

The first thing is to understand the meaning of tangible and intangible. tangible means things that can be felt, seen, and touched or the items which are in physical form whereas intangible means things that can be seen but cannot be felt or touched. It’s obvious by seeing the meaning that a hard copy is tangible and a soft copy is intangible.

Conclusion

Apart from the fact that hard and soft copies are both information transmitters, they have many dissimilarities. Even though they may be converted in forms, they still have their distinct worth and features. A hard copy is a much-used and older method of information transfer, whereas a soft copy is a newer method. However, in the twenty-first century, a soft copy is becoming increasingly common. When it comes to written material, though, tangible copies have their value.