ION Book Saver Cancelled - Page 4

graycyn · 09-15-2012, 05:27 PM

Well, I had hopes for this device, but it looks like they are dashed. Dang, I could get better pix with the cameras on my media player or my phone!

Perhaps they will fix it, but I won't hold my breath.

flamaest · 01-29-2013, 04:05 PM

I was able to get my hands on the [very last ?] ION book saver from the Netherlands yesterday. The unit works OK, but one of the cameras is slightly out of focus. Upon reviewing the central-housing's electronics, it appears one can get to the cameras; and dare I say, adjust them for better focus?

I am going to review the hardware and see if this is feasible. If I can get the 2nd camera into good focus, then I believe this unit will serve the purpose of getting me raw page scan information to go from OCR to MOBI, for enabling Kindle text-to-speech.
If these cameras are fixed without any focal adjustment possibilities, I will just return the unit since it would not serve anyone to scan a book like this; for OCR or anything else.

leosmesc · 02-02-2013, 02:01 PM

Please post some pics.
Thx.

flamaest · 02-10-2013, 11:00 PM

I wanted to post a quick update and let everyone know that after careful testing and refocusing of the 2 lenses on my booksaver, I was able to make significant improvements in the quality of the scans of both book page sides.

I believe what occurred is that the equipment was jarred slightly during the shipping process and this caused the lenses to be misaligned by a small amount. The focus knobs are fairly easy to turn so I can see how this might have happened with a bump or two.

I was able to put the lens covers back on and confirm that the quality of the images is significantly better than original focal quality received out of the box.

I will start scanning my books in the coming weeks. I was concerned about quality at first, but am now feeling pretty good about this.

Arbait · 02-12-2013, 09:10 PM

Please post some close pics of the hardware. Also some scans. Thank you.

flamaest · 02-13-2013, 01:20 AM

OK, here goes.. images......

Arbait · 02-15-2013, 02:59 AM

Thank you!
Hmmm, the result is not so bad, imho...
@flamaest, that "tent" is from Ion? Is the first time I see something like this...
So, finally and after adjustments, is a good buy?

flamaest · 02-15-2013, 01:41 PM

Thank you for your notes.

Correct, the tent is something new which was added to diffuse incoming light better from the original model.

As with anything, quality could always be better and sharper. But, I believe this quality will be sufficient to enable my goal of OCR'ing this content for kindle MOBI generation so I can have a few of my books read to me while I complete other tasks around the house. These are some books which I would not care to spend hours reading, yet I like the content enough to listen to.

For the 200 bucks I paid, this is probably worth the money considering what other book scanners cost; Or comparatively, the effort needed to build one which works 'reliably'.

BTW: I noticed the scans I posted showed the rear ink of the page; this is only with this book and not a light source intensity issue. I tried other books where the paper is thicker and those scans are clean without ink bleed from the backside.

This product is worth it now that I was able to complete the lens adjustments. Note: If you are buying this to scan hundreds of books, I don't think the unit will last that stretch. Something will eventually fail given the ample use of plastic and other cheap materials.

Lastly, I am saddened that Amazon makes us play these book-scanner games since they will not cheaply-sell or give me access to a digital versions of the books which bought at full-price from their store legally. The movie industry is doing this with ultraviolet so why can't Amazon?

rkomar · 02-15-2013, 09:05 PM

My Plustech scanner provides a thin sheet of black plastic to put behind the page being scanned if you see bleedthrough from the other side of the page. You can do that yourself pretty easily, too. It effectively makes the whole back of the page black, so ink doesn't stand out. It does slow down the scanning, though.

graycyn · 02-15-2013, 09:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flamaest

BTW: I noticed the scans I posted showed the rear ink of the page; this is only with this book and not a light source intensity issue. I tried other books where the paper is thicker and those scans are clean without ink bleed from the backside.

To get rid of ink bleed with books that have thin paper, try putting a piece of black card stock behind the page or pages you are scanning.

I do this with my wand scanner and also have affixed a piece to my flatbed scanner. Really helps eliminate the bleed effect!

Thanks for the report on this scanner!

theducks · 02-16-2013, 09:40 AM

Now that it has been proven to work (after user adjustment,

)...

flamaest

Where can we BUY one (USA preferred) ?

flamaest: any idea on the real world usage cycle time (Shoot, lift, flip page, set, ready to press- Shoot)?

For what type of book were you numbers (HB, Mass Market paper,Magazine)?

yekim54 · 02-16-2013, 11:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by flamaest

OK, here goes.. images......

I am shocked that the diagram of the Enterprise's Transporter Room has a scale in "feet" rather than "meters".

theducks · 02-16-2013, 09:59 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by yekim54

I am shocked that the diagram of the Enterprise's Transporter Room has a scale in "feet" rather than "meters".

Starfleet Command was in the San Francisco area. SI is not commonly used around here

Arbait · 02-20-2013, 07:18 AM

from http://www.iononline.nl

Book Saver "uitverkocht" (sold out)
Posted on January 15, 2013 by konrad There have been 0 comments

The Book Saver is currently sold out! At the CES in Vegas we had a meeting with the product mangers and the Book Saver is back on the agenda, this is also because of you all, we are receiving emails daily, with positive feedback that we transmit to ION USA, we hope that we can introduce an MK2 model this year.
Vriendelijke groet,
Kind Regards,

Konrad

theducks · 02-20-2013, 11:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Arbait

from http://www.iononline.nl

Book Saver "uitverkocht" (sold out)
Posted on January 15, 2013 by konrad There have been 0 comments

The Book Saver is currently sold out! At the CES in Vegas we had a meeting with the product mangers and the Book Saver is back on the agenda, this is also because of you all, we are receiving emails daily, with positive feedback that we transmit to ION USA, we hope that we can introduce an MK2 model this year.
Vriendelijke groet,
Kind Regards,

Konrad

02-13-2013, 01:20 AM	#51
flamaest Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 1016907 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: prs-500	OK, here goes.. images...... Attached Thumbnails

02-16-2013, 09:40 AM	#56
theducks Staff to 4 Cats Posts: 10,712 Karma: 2485850 Join Date: Aug 2009 Location: The (original) Silicon Valley, USA Device: Galaxy Tab 2,Black Astak PEz, K4NT(now Wifes)	Now that it has been proven to work (after user adjustment, )... flamaest Where can we BUY one (USA preferred) ? flamaest: any idea on the real world usage cycle time (Shoot, lift, flip page, set, ready to press- Shoot)? For what type of book were you numbers (HB, Mass Market paper,Magazine)? __________________ Using: Ubuntu(32 bit):Oneric,Precise and XPpro SP3, W7HP(64)- - Libre Office w/Writer2EPUB

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09-15-2012, 05:27 PM	#46
graycyn Guru Posts: 652 Karma: 1381150 Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: NE Oregon Device: Sony 950, 350 & T1, SGP 5.0, Samsung Galaxy Note	Well, I had hopes for this device, but it looks like they are dashed. Dang, I could get better pix with the cameras on my media player or my phone! Perhaps they will fix it, but I won't hold my breath.

01-29-2013, 04:05 PM	#47
flamaest Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 1016907 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: prs-500	I was able to get my hands on the [very last ?] ION book saver from the Netherlands yesterday. The unit works OK, but one of the cameras is slightly out of focus. Upon reviewing the central-housing's electronics, it appears one can get to the cameras; and dare I say, adjust them for better focus? I am going to review the hardware and see if this is feasible. If I can get the 2nd camera into good focus, then I believe this unit will serve the purpose of getting me raw page scan information to go from OCR to MOBI, for enabling Kindle text-to-speech. If these cameras are fixed without any focal adjustment possibilities, I will just return the unit since it would not serve anyone to scan a book like this; for OCR or anything else.

02-02-2013, 02:01 PM	#48
leosmesc Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 470836 Join Date: Sep 2012 Device: Prs-t1	Please post some pics. Thx.

02-10-2013, 11:00 PM	#49
flamaest Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 1016907 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: prs-500	I wanted to post a quick update and let everyone know that after careful testing and refocusing of the 2 lenses on my booksaver, I was able to make significant improvements in the quality of the scans of both book page sides. I believe what occurred is that the equipment was jarred slightly during the shipping process and this caused the lenses to be misaligned by a small amount. The focus knobs are fairly easy to turn so I can see how this might have happened with a bump or two. I was able to put the lens covers back on and confirm that the quality of the images is significantly better than original focal quality received out of the box. I will start scanning my books in the coming weeks. I was concerned about quality at first, but am now feeling pretty good about this.

02-12-2013, 09:10 PM	#50
Arbait Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 650492 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: enTourage pocket eDGe, HTC Hero G2 Touch	Please post some close pics of the hardware. Also some scans. Thank you.

02-15-2013, 02:59 AM	#52
Arbait Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 650492 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: enTourage pocket eDGe, HTC Hero G2 Touch	Thank you! Hmmm, the result is not so bad, imho... @flamaest, that "tent" is from Ion? Is the first time I see something like this... So, finally and after adjustments, is a good buy?

02-15-2013, 01:41 PM	#53
flamaest Zealot Posts: 144 Karma: 1016907 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: prs-500	Thank you for your notes. Correct, the tent is something new which was added to diffuse incoming light better from the original model. As with anything, quality could always be better and sharper. But, I believe this quality will be sufficient to enable my goal of OCR'ing this content for kindle MOBI generation so I can have a few of my books read to me while I complete other tasks around the house. These are some books which I would not care to spend hours reading, yet I like the content enough to listen to. For the 200 bucks I paid, this is probably worth the money considering what other book scanners cost; Or comparatively, the effort needed to build one which works 'reliably'. BTW: I noticed the scans I posted showed the rear ink of the page; this is only with this book and not a light source intensity issue. I tried other books where the paper is thicker and those scans are clean without ink bleed from the backside. This product is worth it now that I was able to complete the lens adjustments. Note: If you are buying this to scan hundreds of books, I don't think the unit will last that stretch. Something will eventually fail given the ample use of plastic and other cheap materials. Lastly, I am saddened that Amazon makes us play these book-scanner games since they will not cheaply-sell or give me access to a digital versions of the books which bought at full-price from their store legally. The movie industry is doing this with ultraviolet so why can't Amazon?

02-15-2013, 09:05 PM	#54
rkomar Wizard Posts: 1,241 Karma: 2818722 Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Vancouver, BC, Canada Device: PRS-505, PB 902, PRS-T1	My Plustech scanner provides a thin sheet of black plastic to put behind the page being scanned if you see bleedthrough from the other side of the page. You can do that yourself pretty easily, too. It effectively makes the whole back of the page black, so ink doesn't stand out. It does slow down the scanning, though.

02-20-2013, 07:18 AM	#59
Arbait Enthusiast Posts: 38 Karma: 650492 Join Date: Jan 2012 Device: enTourage pocket eDGe, HTC Hero G2 Touch	from http://www.iononline.nl Book Saver "uitverkocht" (sold out) Posted on January 15, 2013 by konrad There have been 0 comments The Book Saver is currently sold out! At the CES in Vegas we had a meeting with the product mangers and the Book Saver is back on the agenda, this is also because of you all, we are receiving emails daily, with positive feedback that we transmit to ION USA, we hope that we can introduce an MK2 model this year. Vriendelijke groet, Kind Regards, Konrad


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