Network based scanner

[mrochester]

Lets say I have a multifunction printer/scanner/copyer with ethernet and wifi capability. I obviously know that a network printer can be added to my PC. But can a network scanner be added, or does the scanner part have to be connected via USB to work?

If the device is connected via the network, does that reduce the scanning capability of the device to just being able to copy and print documents only rather than scanning to file on the PC?

Thanks