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Originally Posted by simplyparticular
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The scanner in the first video appears to be the older ScanSnap 500 or 510. They have been replaced with the ScanSnap s1500. Once difference from the earlier machines is the s1500 software allows directly saving with OCR for searchable PDFs or Word docs (the scanner comes with both Adobe Acrobat and a special, ScanSnap compatible version of ABBY FineReader). OCR for either Word doc or PDF is still slow as frozen snot; overnight sounds about right for a book of the size shown. Because of the sheer number of books I have to scan, I'm only using OCR to scan tech magazines to searchable PDFs. Books I'm leaving as image only PDFs. The entire scanning process is now simpler and faster (due to the easier to use interface) with the s1500.
I'm sure you all are sick of me saying this but cutting the spine off a book with a saw is not a good idea. Safety concerns aside, no matter how fine the blade, the cut will have an edge that will be crumbly and will shed paper dust inside the scanner and will eventually ruin the scanner (been there, done that). I tried repeatedly (brushing, blowing with compressed air, vacuuming, etc. to clean up the cut edge but it just kept crumbling. The only edge fine enough to make an edge that will keep dust shedding down to an acceptable level is a knife blade of some kind.
I liked the idea for clamping the book using the WorkMate. Danged clever. I'll have to keep that tucked away in my memory banks.
One other note, never clean paper dust from a scanner with compressed or canned air (it can void the warranty; fortunately, I had read the directions first so I got mine fixed under warranty). Use a vacuum instead.
The second video shows an inexpensive alternative to using a guillotine. Although time intensive, it will do a far better job that won't eventually ruin a scanner. Removing the cover from most paperbacks will be much easier if one first heats the spine with an iron. That will loosen the hot melt glue used on most paperbacks enough the cover should be easy to pull off.
The guy in the third video had me cringing most the way through it. The guillotine he was using is exactly the same one I'm using and he is having the same problem. It is a knockoff of one made by Stack according to the current product description on Amazon who sold me the one I have (I'm waiting on a claim I just recently filed with them). The blade on the guillotine is exposed and extremely sharp (I wound up in the hospital after snagging my thumb on the blade while setting up a book for cutting). The fastest and safest way to set up a book for cutting is to use the floating fence to push the book against the lowered blade and clamp the fence down. Then raise and lock the blade and, from the side where the fence is, push the book through enough to insert a shim between the book and the fence and the book then pull the book back against the fence. The idea is to keep one's hands away far away from the raised blade. Lightly tighten the clamp and use a long handled tool of some kind to tap the spine to push the book snugly against the fence (again, keeping the hands far away from the blade). Finish tightening the clamp (it has to be very tight), then pull down the blade to cut off the spine. Leave the blade down! Release the clamp and the fence and remove the book from the fence side. The blade should always stay DOWN until just before making a cut. When moving the guillotine, tie the blade to the clamp lever to ensure the blade stays against the cutting strip.
The problem the guy was having with the guillotine (other than begging for serious injury) was the clamp is secured, among other places, to a tiny tab of metal with a threaded hole in it. The tab is too small for the stresses on it. On mine (and probably his), the screw hole blew out and the clamp now warps toward the blade mechanism, putting it in a bind. That is why it took the guy in the video all his strength to pull the handle down. I have to use same effort. It's not caused by a dull blade. I went from an easy pull to almost impossible in a span of two small books.