Quote:
Originally Posted by HauntedAttic
I'm using a Kodak ScanMate i1120 scanner and I highly recommend it if you're willing to spend some time learning the software. I'm very impressed with the Kodak software, and the more I learn the settings the better the results. The scanner comes with OmniPage 15. My initial results with OmniPage were dissatisfying, so I switched to Abbyy FineReader 6 Sprint. Abbyy works well with almost any grayscale or color images, but this early version, at least, lacks any customization and has some annoying attributes that kept me toying with OmniPage.
With some experimentation, I learned OmniPage works best with a clean B&W TIFF, something the ScanMate i1120 excels at producing once you figure out the settings. The beauty of this is that it produces an archival-quality file that's only 16 MB for a 300 page book (compared to over 2 GB for a grayscale TIFF).
I'm now getting better results from OmniPage than from Abbyy Sprint. OmniPage also offers automation and customization galore. The combination of the Kodak software and OmniPage make the ScanMate i1120 an impressive tool for home book scanning.
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As stated earlier, for now I am finding the ABBYY Sprint 6 version, which I paid nothing for, to be working quite well. It seems to have sufficient basic customization for my needs, but more importantly (for me) I can apply the "block" application recommended by Elfwreck above, which works perfectly. Even though Elfwreck has a later FineReader version than the Sprint, the Sprint also has this "block" capability.
The newest version of OmniPage (I believe it's 17) has a dollar price almost exactly the same as the new FineReader 10. However, the OmniPage version 15, which HauntedAttic recommends, is apparently still available, new, for about $39. If my Sprint ultimately proves deficient for my book scanning needs, I may investigate the OmniPage version 15. I will have to download its manual to see its additional features over the Sprint.