People who require a jpg file do so not because their computers can't do PDF files, but because that's the format they used before PDF files became ubiquitous and the norm, and like he said, it's a case of old habits dying hard.
We may eventually get to the point where you can buy a scanner or whatever, and it'll be able to read your mind and know what you're thinking, but until that time comes, people will simply have to invest the time in reading the Quick Start Guide at the very least, and then take 2 or 3 minutes out of their busy day and familiarize themselves with the settings with regard to the "file save to" options to know what filetypes the native software will save files to.
A scanner is like a copier, and at it's most basic is pretty much brain-dead simple. With a copier, you lay something on the glass, close the lid, and press START, and it scans and prints (copies) whatever you laid on the glass. Additional bells and whistles can make it more complicated, but you don't have to learn them. You do, however, have to learn the basics of how to raise the lid, how to lay the paper on the glass, how to close the lid, and how to press the START button.
A scanner is the same way, except because it's not a copier and doesn't automatically scan and print, there are additional steps that must be taken in order to operate a scanner. You raise the lid, lay something on the glass, close the lid, and press or click on the SCAN button. Once scanned into memory instead of to a printout, you then have several difficult choices to make. One of them is to send the scan to a printer, which is a lot like having a copier. Another one is to save the scanned image onto your hard drive as a file. If you chose to save the file, you must tell the scanning software what kind of file you want it to save, be it a jpg, bmp, tiff or whatever other options the software supports. It will benefit you greatly if you take the time to learn which file formats the software supports. It will take some time to learn this, perhaps as many as 5 or 10 seconds, but it's time well spent as the rewards are many.
Next you must choose a location on your hard drive to save the file to. If you are unsure, let the software save it to the default location, that way you'll always know where they are. Once a suitable location has been chosen, you must then give the file a name. You can be as creative as you want on this step, but I recommend that you use a filename that will let you know what the file contains. For example, if you are scanning paperwork from 8-1-10, I would recommend using your truck number and the date in the filename (23423 8-1-10), rather than naming it "ducks on the pond", but again, it's up to you.
Computer related things are funny, in that people will usually learn what they need to know about them, and no more, in order to get done what they need to get done. But there's no getting around the fact that in order to learn what you need to know to get what you need done, you will have to actually take the time to learn it. And I know expediters are very busy and rarely sit around and have time to RTFM and stuff, but operating a scanner is like obtaining a CDL. If you want to get a CDL, you're gonna have to read the manual and lean how it all works. If you want to use a scanner without looking like a technotard, you're gonna have to read the manual and learn how it all works, or at the very least read the parts of the manual that will tell you how to get what you need to get done, done.
I'm just makin' friends all over the place, I know.
