[Silverexpress]

Here is what I do.

Step 1. Take book to Fedex Kinkos (Now known as Fed Ex Express), and have them cut
book up. They have a machine that can do it in less than 5 minutes. Cost $2
but it depends on the time it takes.

Step 2. Take cut up pages home and scan with Fujitsu double sided scanner with ADF
(Model S510; newer version available). Scanner converts to PDF + OCR, and is
very fast, and reliable. One advice is to have a tiny vacuum with a soft brush
head - this is needed to vacuum paper dust and particles that tend to accu-
mulate on the light sensors inside the scanner. If you don't, you'll get streaks
on your scanned pages. I also scan in color. The current readers will show shades
of grey, but I do it in anticipation of when color readers start to appear.

Step 3. Open pdf of cut pages with Acrobat 8 (came with Scanner above), and add tags.
This is a very important step. Tags act like markers that signify paragraphs, page
breaks etc. You can find this option under "Advanced" drop down menu.

Step 4. I use MS Word to rebuild the PDF above into a format that is friendly to the
Sony Ereader. I set up margins and a page layout that is equal to the screen
size. Once done I save it as a template that is protected. Also in "Word Options"
I set the "PASTE" settings to "Match Destination Formatting".

Step 5. Install "PURETEXT". Search for it.

Step 6. I open the master PDF of the book I created using the scanner. Copy a page of text.

Step 7. Before I paste it onto my Word Template, I set the font, font size, paragraph layout...etc. I then use Puretext to paste it onto the word template, and save it under a different name; such as the title of the book. Repeat step #6, until done.

Step 8. Once the Word document is complete, I then convert it back to PDF using the internal Word "SAVE AS PDF" function. However, I've invested in PDF Xchange 4 since it has easier settings than MS WORD.

I'm crazy about fly fishing, and I have invested hundereds in books that I reference over and over again. I use to carry maybe 25-50 lbs of books, and my library is still growing. Now I've started to convert everything to pdf that is readable on my PRS-700. I've already got two books over 300 pages each, and I enjoy re-reading them everytime. More on the way.

I've attached the Word Template formatted for a PRS-700 or like sized ereader screen. Font is set for "Times Roman" size 11 - which I find comfortable to my eyes. I've also attached a sample page from a handbook I converted.

So above is the process I use, and am continually finding ways of optimizing. For example, I started by doing the cutting myself, and then found out that Kinko's actually had a commercial machine that did it for a small fee. This sped up the process. Next, the Fujitsu S510 scanner came with ABByy Finereader, so this means that it can scan and output directly to MS Word with tags, reformating...etc, and this may rid the extra step of PDF -> Word -> PDF. However, I have yet to try it. Lastly, the latest version of the S510, the S1500 can scan directly to MS WORD without the use of ABBYY to my understanding.