Photostats were once a commonly used technique for copying documents and images. Today, with the wide availability of digital scanning and copying technologies, photostats have become a bit of an anachronism. However, the word "photostats" is still useful as a synonym for copies or reproductions of documents or images. Other synonyms for photostats might include photocopies, reproductions, prints, facsimiles, duplicates, or replicas. Each of these words emphasizes slightly different aspects of the reproduction process, with some emphasizing the fidelity of the copy to the original, and others emphasizing the physical form of the copy itself.