scan to eBook

Red Alert · 07-23-2007, 08:36 PM

Hi, I'm considering the project of taking a book or two I own, that are not available in eINK and then scanning them, filtering through OCR software and then making my own PRIVATE eINK readable books.

Has anyone done this? I'd be curious as to the problems encountered and level of effort it took.

I am eventually going to be down sizing to a small travel trailer, and spend my time on the road. Because there won't be much room for books, I wonder if this is possible.

Red

JSWolf · 07-23-2007, 08:57 PM

yes it is possible. The Omnibook scanner is good for that as it allows you to get the book better placed on the scanning plate for getting a better scan at the inner part of the book. And for OCR, I suggest Omnipage. I've used it and it is very good. It will allow you to compare the OCRed page to the scanned page and then you can make any corrections needed. It will take a long time to do it.

sartori · 07-23-2007, 09:47 PM

If you are looking at purchasing a sheet fed scanner I would suggest avoiding this one : HP Scanjet N6010 Document Scanner.

I purchased it for this very purpose and ended up returning it a few days later. Nothing but problems with jams, double feeds and crooked pages.

I'm still looking for a good way of doing this - might try the above mentioned opticbook scanner next

Rob

cartz · 07-23-2007, 11:36 PM

Hi JSWolf, can you please provide a link for the Omnibook scanner - I did a google search and it only seems to come up with a HP laptop. Thanks.

Robert Marquard · 07-24-2007, 12:54 AM

http://www.pgdp.net aka Distributed Proofreaders should know all about scanning OCRing and creating ebooks.

Pode · 07-24-2007, 06:09 AM

On my side, even if Omnipage is good, the tests I have read says that Abbyy FineReader give better results. More, if you have a webcam/camera shot of a text, it does a pretty good job a de-skewing and reading the page !

slayda · 07-24-2007, 11:22 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Alert

Hi, I'm considering the project of taking a book or two I own, that are not available in eINK and then scanning them, filtering through OCR software and then making my own PRIVATE eINK readable books.

Has anyone done this? I'd be curious as to the problems encountered and level of effort it took.

I am eventually going to be down sizing to a small travel trailer, and spend my time on the road. Because there won't be much room for books, I wonder if this is possible.

Red

You might check this thread or this one for my experiences.

MustardJeep · 07-24-2007, 12:02 PM

I'll second what JSWolf said, Omnibook is one of the best out there.

Bought mine a while back for the single purpose of scanning in books so I'd quit looking like I was lugging a small library around with me. The abbyfine software that came with my scanner does a decent job on the OCR. About the only time that it has trouble with text is when something is at a small font size while also in bold and italic at the same time.

Hardbacks with the omnipage are absurdly easy; I really needed a book available once. Managed it in 2.5 hours for around 400 pages. Not including the OCR time as abbyfines batch system boged down when I handed it that many pages at once.

Paperbacks are a different story, it all depends on the binding side margin. Many trade paperbacks still have to be held very flat or the curve of the page going into the binding will still obscure the last character on each line. The larger paperbacks generally however for me have been as easy as most hardbacks.

Long and short of it, your OCR experiance will depend on the quality of your scanner.

Red Alert · 07-25-2007, 09:24 AM

Thanks folks. I'll experiment when I return from Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons.

Ralph

HarryT · 07-29-2007, 03:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Red Alert

Hi, I'm considering the project of taking a book or two I own, that are not available in eINK and then scanning them, filtering through OCR software and then making my own PRIVATE eINK readable books.

Please do check that this is legal in your country. It is not legal in the UK - even for books which you have bought!

07-23-2007, 08:36 PM	#1
Red Alert Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 1020754 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Silverdale, Washington Device: NookColor & Nook Tablet. Sony PRS-505 loaned to brother.	scan to eBook Hi, I'm considering the project of taking a book or two I own, that are not available in eINK and then scanning them, filtering through OCR software and then making my own PRIVATE eINK readable books. Has anyone done this? I'd be curious as to the problems encountered and level of effort it took. I am eventually going to be down sizing to a small travel trailer, and spend my time on the road. Because there won't be much room for books, I wonder if this is possible. Red

07-24-2007, 12:02 PM	#8
MustardJeep Member Posts: 15 Karma: 10 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: houston Device: Palm Tungsten/Sony Reader	I'll second what JSWolf said, Omnibook is one of the best out there. Bought mine a while back for the single purpose of scanning in books so I'd quit looking like I was lugging a small library around with me. The abbyfine software that came with my scanner does a decent job on the OCR. About the only time that it has trouble with text is when something is at a small font size while also in bold and italic at the same time. Hardbacks with the omnipage are absurdly easy; I really needed a book available once. Managed it in 2.5 hours for around 400 pages. Not including the OCR time as abbyfines batch system boged down when I handed it that many pages at once. Paperbacks are a different story, it all depends on the binding side margin. Many trade paperbacks still have to be held very flat or the curve of the page going into the binding will still obscure the last character on each line. The larger paperbacks generally however for me have been as easy as most hardbacks. Long and short of it, your OCR experiance will depend on the quality of your scanner. Last edited by MustardJeep; 07-24-2007 at 12:03 PM. Reason: typo

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07-23-2007, 08:57 PM	#2
JSWolf Resident Curmudgeon Posts: 73,976 Karma: 128903378 Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Roslindale, Massachusetts Device: Kobo Libra 2, Kobo Aura H2O, PRS-650, PRS-T1, nook STR, PW3	yes it is possible. The Omnibook scanner is good for that as it allows you to get the book better placed on the scanning plate for getting a better scan at the inner part of the book. And for OCR, I suggest Omnipage. I've used it and it is very good. It will allow you to compare the OCRed page to the scanned page and then you can make any corrections needed. It will take a long time to do it.

07-23-2007, 09:47 PM	#3
sartori Connoisseur Posts: 54 Karma: 29 Join Date: Oct 2006	If you are looking at purchasing a sheet fed scanner I would suggest avoiding this one : HP Scanjet N6010 Document Scanner. I purchased it for this very purpose and ended up returning it a few days later. Nothing but problems with jams, double feeds and crooked pages. I'm still looking for a good way of doing this - might try the above mentioned opticbook scanner next Rob

07-23-2007, 11:36 PM	#4
cartz Zealot Posts: 115 Karma: 16544 Join Date: Jul 2007 Device: Inkpalm 5 Mini	Hi JSWolf, can you please provide a link for the Omnibook scanner - I did a google search and it only seems to come up with a HP laptop. Thanks.

07-24-2007, 12:54 AM	#5
Robert Marquard Delphi-Guy Posts: 285 Karma: 1151 Join Date: May 2006 Location: Berlin, Germany Device: iLiad, Palm T3	http://www.pgdp.net aka Distributed Proofreaders should know all about scanning OCRing and creating ebooks.

07-24-2007, 06:09 AM	#6
Pode Member Posts: 22 Karma: 10 Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: France Device: Sony Reader	On my side, even if Omnipage is good, the tests I have read says that Abbyy FineReader give better results. More, if you have a webcam/camera shot of a text, it does a pretty good job a de-skewing and reading the page !

07-25-2007, 09:24 AM	#9
Red Alert Zealot Posts: 114 Karma: 1020754 Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Silverdale, Washington Device: NookColor & Nook Tablet. Sony PRS-505 loaned to brother.	Thanks folks. I'll experiment when I return from Yellowstone and The Grand Tetons. Ralph

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