Tips on how to scan your own books?

ficbot · 12-16-2009, 09:26 AM

I have been trying to convert some teacher guides for a program I use at work, and it has been slow going trying to type things in myself. I am going tomorrow to buy a used scanner and hope to scan them over the holiday break. Any tips? Most of them are spiral-bound, so it should be easy to lay them flat for scanning. Most of the pages are plain text, but some of them have call-out boxes or other notes in the margins. Any tips? If all goes well, I may scan some of my shorter personal books too, I am always trying to clear off shelf space and it wpuld be nice to get as many of my books digital as possible.

zelda_pinwheel · 12-16-2009, 10:27 AM

hi ficbot, i'm going to move your thread to the workshop forum where you'll likely get more answers.

NSqirrel · 12-17-2009, 03:19 PM

You may like to have a look at a recent article seen on wired at http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11...0-book-sc.html
From the web page: 'Wired has a great feature on grad student Daniel Reetz $300 homebrew book-scanner (David linked to the Instructable for it in April). The device uses a couple of digital cameras, some acrylic and some wood to scan a 400 page book in 20 minutes, converting the scans to text with free software. '

12-16-2009, 09:26 AM	#1
ficbot Wizard Posts: 2,409 Karma: 4132096 Join Date: Sep 2008 Device: Kindle Paperwhite/iOS Kindle App	Tips on how to scan your own books? I have been trying to convert some teacher guides for a program I use at work, and it has been slow going trying to type things in myself. I am going tomorrow to buy a used scanner and hope to scan them over the holiday break. Any tips? Most of them are spiral-bound, so it should be easy to lay them flat for scanning. Most of the pages are plain text, but some of them have call-out boxes or other notes in the margins. Any tips? If all goes well, I may scan some of my shorter personal books too, I am always trying to clear off shelf space and it wpuld be nice to get as many of my books digital as possible.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Help: Tips & Tutorials on how to debind, seperate pages & scan a hardback book to PDF	thebigalphamale	Workshop	4	04-17-2010 01:41 PM
Best way to scan scifi and fantasy?	neonightrider	Workshop	2	01-25-2010 09:00 PM
Scan your books and search them on Google	Bob Russell	News	35	07-26-2009 11:08 PM
scan to eBook	Red Alert	Sony Reader	9	07-29-2007 03:21 AM

12-16-2009, 10:27 AM	#2
zelda_pinwheel zeldinha zippy zeldissima Posts: 27,827 Karma: 921169 Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Paris, France Device: eb1150 & is that a nook in her pocket, or she just happy to see you?	hi ficbot, i'm going to move your thread to the workshop forum where you'll likely get more answers.

12-17-2009, 03:19 PM	#3
NSqirrel Enthusiast Posts: 43 Karma: 10 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: South Bucks, UK Device: PRS-600	You may like to have a look at a recent article seen on wired at http://www.boingboing.net/2009/12/11...0-book-sc.html From the web page: 'Wired has a great feature on grad student Daniel Reetz $300 homebrew book-scanner (David linked to the Instructable for it in April). The device uses a couple of digital cameras, some acrylic and some wood to scan a 400 page book in 20 minutes, converting the scans to text with free software. '

Advert