Quote:
Originally Posted by Iain
...I think the most uncertain thing for me is finding a decent ADF scanner. I don't have 2 years to stand in front of a flatbed, however good the results may be!
Thanks
Iain
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More like ten years!
I'm doing the same thing as you. I found the
http://www.amazon.com/Fujitsu-ScanSn...8680389&sr=8-1 to be excellent for the task. It's a compact ADF scanner that includes PDF software (Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard), OCR, and ssome organizational software. There is a deluxe package that includes additional organizational software. It was only $20 more at the time so I went ahead and got it. I haven't broken the seal on the package yet.
I started out cutting the spines off the books with a bandsaw. It worked but if the blade goes through any of the hotmelt glue used to bind the books (trust me, it will), the glue will transfer to the blade, then to the tires, then you get to clean all that up. Also, the cutting process leaves a fine paper dust (more like powder) on the cut surface that is impossible to completely remove before running through the sacanner. The scanner does an excellent job of collecting it and that miserable stuff gets into all the works, especially if one makes the mistake I did and try to blow out the dust. Since it is still under warranty, I'll have to take it in to be internally cleaned.
I bought a guillotine type paper cutter and, while it
will get the job done, it's a piece of junk. I'm going to use it until it breaks and look elsewhere for one. It does give clean cuts with practically no dust.
I scan the covers with a color setting as JPEGs and save them to a temporary folder on my desktop, the scan the inside pages with a black and white setting directly to PDF. I then use Acrobat to insert the covers to the PDF. I've found I also have to scroll through the pages to make sure I fed the pages into the scanner in the correct order (the scanner will hold an average of 50 sheets, depending on paper thickness) and to check for the rare page that may need cropping. Using the black and white setting gives crisp text on a white background, even if the pages are badly yellowed. Any illustrations will probably look lousy unless they are very simple line drawings (most of my books are unillustrated). There are ways to deal with that, though.
The scanner comes with ABBY Fine Reader but when used from within ScanSnap's software, it will just convert the PDF from images to a searchable content. I do not know if this version will work separately to convert the scan to text suitable for e-book readers. Then you would have to edit the results. I don't bother with the OCR; with as many books as I have (roughly 1200), it would take too darned long (a 100 page magazine takes an hour without editing). There are e-book readers that have decent zoom, though, so you could zoom out the margins to make the text large enough to be readable. I'm waiting for the technology to improve and the prices to come down. I have an Astak I got for over 50% off but it's suitable only for the smaller paperbacks (fortunately, the majority of them). At home, I've been reading from my 32" TV (it's patched into my computer) using Adobe Acrobat to read it. I just zoom in until the text is comfortable to read from a distance (roughly ten feet right now) and use a wireless mouse for a "remote" to scroll. I find it's preferable to hanging onto a physical book. I can read in a darkened room, too.
If you decide on the ScanSnap, drop me a PM and I can give you more detailed tips on how to scan the books.