MobileRead Forums - View Single Post

slayda · 02-20-2007, 02:40 PM

Well, I bought the Snapscan S500 based on comments in this Forum & this weekend (since my Reader was forgotten last Friday & spent the weekend at the office) I created my first ebook.

I made several wrong moves beginning with using the default settings - Normal (Automatic color detection & lowest resolution - 150 DPI for color & 300 DPI for B&W). Since the book was old & yellowed, color was detected so the images were 150 DPI with a lot of OCR errors. After a day & a half of proofing/correcting, I managed to create an RTF which went into BookDesigner to create an LRF. Then I decided to read the Snapscan manual - so next time should be smoother.

Step 1 - It was fairly easy to de-page the paper back book. I simply pulled the cover off (it was already partly off). Then I removed the pages, one at a time by gently pulling them off. Every 6 - 10 pages I needed to trim the excess glue off so the pages were easier to remove. Total time - about 20 minutes.

Step 2 - (Should have been to read the Snapscan manual.) Scan the pages. This was the easiest part of the procedure. Total time - about 20 minutes.

Step 3 - Using the included ABBYY to OCR the book & create a "searchable PDF". Total time - about 10 minutes.

Step 4 - Discovered that the included ABBYY OCR wasn't as good as my regular ABBYY OCR version 6.0 so re-OCRed the book with it. Total time - about 10 minutes.

Step 5 - Checking spelling, making corrections, removing page numbers etc. Total time - about 10 hours. (Remember I didn't have my reader so I needed some entertainment.)

Step 5a - Used the Adobe Acrobat (included with Snapscan) to create a RTF file. Some of step 5 was prior to 5a and some post 5a. Total time - about 1 minute.

Step 6 - Used Book designer to create an LRF. Total time - about 3 minutes.

Post-op steps

(Step 7) - Ordered the ABBYY version 8.0 upgrade which is more accurate & should reduce the step 5 time.

(Step 8) - Read the Snapscan manual & found out I should have selected B&W, either Better mode - 400 DPI or Best mode - 600 DPI.

Notes of interest;

The book was "Soul Rider - Book One, Spirits of Flux & Anchor" by Jack Chalker
This is the first in a series of five paper back books that are old and in poor condition. They are also one of my favorite series of books.
I plan to do better on the next volume & will provide status if anyone is interested.

02-20-2007, 02:40 PM	#1
slayda Retired & reading more! Posts: 2,764 Karma: 1884247 Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: North Alabama, USA Device: Kindle 1, iPad Air 2, iPhone 6S+, Kobo Aura One	Created first ebook Well, I bought the Snapscan S500 based on comments in this Forum & this weekend (since my Reader was forgotten last Friday & spent the weekend at the office) I created my first ebook. I made several wrong moves beginning with using the default settings - Normal (Automatic color detection & lowest resolution - 150 DPI for color & 300 DPI for B&W). Since the book was old & yellowed, color was detected so the images were 150 DPI with a lot of OCR errors. After a day & a half of proofing/correcting, I managed to create an RTF which went into BookDesigner to create an LRF. Then I decided to read the Snapscan manual - so next time should be smoother. Step 1 - It was fairly easy to de-page the paper back book. I simply pulled the cover off (it was already partly off). Then I removed the pages, one at a time by gently pulling them off. Every 6 - 10 pages I needed to trim the excess glue off so the pages were easier to remove. Total time - about 20 minutes. Step 2 - (Should have been to read the Snapscan manual.) Scan the pages. This was the easiest part of the procedure. Total time - about 20 minutes. Step 3 - Using the included ABBYY to OCR the book & create a "searchable PDF". Total time - about 10 minutes. Step 4 - Discovered that the included ABBYY OCR wasn't as good as my regular ABBYY OCR version 6.0 so re-OCRed the book with it. Total time - about 10 minutes. Step 5 - Checking spelling, making corrections, removing page numbers etc. Total time - about 10 hours. (Remember I didn't have my reader so I needed some entertainment.) Step 5a - Used the Adobe Acrobat (included with Snapscan) to create a RTF file. Some of step 5 was prior to 5a and some post 5a. Total time - about 1 minute. Step 6 - Used Book designer to create an LRF. Total time - about 3 minutes. Post-op steps (Step 7) - Ordered the ABBYY version 8.0 upgrade which is more accurate & should reduce the step 5 time. (Step 8) - Read the Snapscan manual & found out I should have selected B&W, either Better mode - 400 DPI or Best mode - 600 DPI. Notes of interest; The book was "Soul Rider - Book One, Spirits of Flux & Anchor" by Jack Chalker This is the first in a series of five paper back books that are old and in poor condition. They are also one of my favorite series of books. I plan to do better on the next volume & will provide status if anyone is interested.