Any ever use a book scanning service like 1dollarscan.com?

apastuszak · 06-06-2014, 10:15 AM

I've got a bunch of books I found in my garage that I want to convert to eBooks.

1dollarscan.com seems to be the cheapest service to use.

I was wondering if anyone had used any of these services and what they thought of them.

For the curious, they scan your book and turn it into an OCRed PDF file. The process does destroy the original book, since they cut the binding off.

The books I found are old rulebooks for Dungeons and Dragons and various other games. At $1.00 per 100 pages, it's cheaper to have these books scanned than re-buy them as legal PDFs.

eschwartz · 06-06-2014, 01:40 PM

I'm pretty sure I've heard it recommended a lot here on MR. Never used any such service, though.

pidgeon92 · 06-06-2014, 02:57 PM

Here's an old thread on the topic:

https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=200172

cromag · 06-07-2014, 01:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by apastuszak

... At $1.00 per 100 pages, it's cheaper to have these books scanned than re-buy them as legal PDFs.

This may vary by jurisdiction, but if you own the paper books, the PDFs you make from them should be "legal PDFs."

Tarana · 06-15-2014, 05:58 PM

Yes, I use the service and the results have been very nice, even at 300 dpi. My reason for having these books OCR'd is because I can no longer read them; the letters are too close together. OCR'ing them did not fix this problem. An online friend with Abbyy Finereader converted those files for me to epub. Proofreading is necessary, but fun since I wanted to read the books anyway.

I'm very happy with the service. I'm currently paying the monthly amount which includes 10 sets (typically 3-4 books) for OCR scanned books shipped directly from Ebay or Amazon (normally, there is an extra charge for shipping books this way). Once I have those few out-of-prints mailed to them, I will ship the rest of my out-of-print books from home and be done.

Please note that the pdf files are very readable. I could read most of the books perfectly fine on my Nook HD+ (but none on my ereaders). I still couldn't read those ones where the typeset was too close together. Could you get an epub version from that company? Yes, but it costs $30 PER book. Cheaper to just buy Abbyy Finereader. Calibre will not convert them. You will not get your book back unless you arrange in advance (I think that is also $30 per book).

My neighbor is enjoying the service to get pdf files of some of her 1960s recipe books sold as Church fundraisers. She can either cook directly from the pdf or print the pages she needs.

In my opinion, such a service will likely be very restricted in a couple of years unless they get protected by Fair Use act. After all, you OWN the book. You should be able to duplicate it for your own use.

Kai Winters · 06-18-2014, 11:24 PM

I've come close to using "Word" to create an electronic version of a book that is not available. Save as RTF and convert to whatever format I want. Just haven't gotten to that point yet.

Tarana · 06-22-2014, 10:38 AM

Quote:

I've come close to using "Word" to create an electronic version of a book that is not available.

Certainly, you could type it yourself. Very time consuming unless you are a fast typist. I typed several books for Project Guttenberg back in the mid-90s. I highly recommend that you have a volunteer to proof your stuff because, take it from me, you will miss so much more than someone who didn't read it before.

06-06-2014, 10:15 AM	#1
apastuszak Fanatic Posts: 509 Karma: 125599 Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Bensalem, PA Device: Kindle Scribe, Nook Glowlight 4, Apple iPad Pro 12.9"	Any ever use a book scanning service like 1dollarscan.com? I've got a bunch of books I found in my garage that I want to convert to eBooks. 1dollarscan.com seems to be the cheapest service to use. I was wondering if anyone had used any of these services and what they thought of them. For the curious, they scan your book and turn it into an OCRed PDF file. The process does destroy the original book, since they cut the binding off. The books I found are old rulebooks for Dungeons and Dragons and various other games. At $1.00 per 100 pages, it's cheaper to have these books scanned than re-buy them as legal PDFs.

06-15-2014, 05:58 PM	#5
Tarana Wizard Posts: 4,035 Karma: 38840460 Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: Minneapolis Device: PWSE, Voyage, K3, HDX, KBasic 7 & 8, Nook Glo3, Echos, Nanos	Yes, I use the service and the results have been very nice, even at 300 dpi. My reason for having these books OCR'd is because I can no longer read them; the letters are too close together. OCR'ing them did not fix this problem. An online friend with Abbyy Finereader converted those files for me to epub. Proofreading is necessary, but fun since I wanted to read the books anyway. I'm very happy with the service. I'm currently paying the monthly amount which includes 10 sets (typically 3-4 books) for OCR scanned books shipped directly from Ebay or Amazon (normally, there is an extra charge for shipping books this way). Once I have those few out-of-prints mailed to them, I will ship the rest of my out-of-print books from home and be done. Please note that the pdf files are very readable. I could read most of the books perfectly fine on my Nook HD+ (but none on my ereaders). I still couldn't read those ones where the typeset was too close together. Could you get an epub version from that company? Yes, but it costs $30 PER book. Cheaper to just buy Abbyy Finereader. Calibre will not convert them. You will not get your book back unless you arrange in advance (I think that is also $30 per book). My neighbor is enjoying the service to get pdf files of some of her 1960s recipe books sold as Church fundraisers. She can either cook directly from the pdf or print the pages she needs. In my opinion, such a service will likely be very restricted in a couple of years unless they get protected by Fair Use act. After all, you OWN the book. You should be able to duplicate it for your own use. Last edited by Tarana; 06-15-2014 at 06:02 PM.

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Affordable book scanning service?	Prospect	Workshop	16	09-08-2013 06:01 AM

06-06-2014, 01:40 PM	#2
eschwartz Ex-Helpdesk Junkie Posts: 19,421 Karma: 85400180 Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: The Beaten Path, USA, Roundworld, This Side of Infinity Device: Kindle Touch fw5.3.7 (Wifi only)	I'm pretty sure I've heard it recommended a lot here on MR. Never used any such service, though.

06-06-2014, 02:57 PM	#3
pidgeon92 Wizard Posts: 3,144 Karma: 8426142 Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Chicago, IL Device: Kindle PW2, Kindle Voyage, Kindle DXG, Boox M90, Kobo Aura HD	Here's an old thread on the topic: https://www.mobileread.com/forums/sho...d.php?t=200172

06-18-2014, 11:24 PM	#6
Kai Winters Lover of Books Posts: 218 Karma: 1073074 Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: Northern NY Device: iPhone 7+	I've come close to using "Word" to create an electronic version of a book that is not available. Save as RTF and convert to whatever format I want. Just haven't gotten to that point yet.

Advert

Advert