Newspaper Scanning Service |#1 Digitization Provider in 2020

Our newspaper scanning service provides the customer with high quality and efficient digitization of newspapers.

We can offer scanning services for newspapers of different sizes, from tabloid to broadsheet size. Document scanning can be done in color ( for photo scanning ), grayscale or even black and white if you require.

The scans will be converted to the desired file format, whether it’s PDF, Jpeg or Tiff.

We can generate special XML or CSV files if you want to upload your scanned newspapers to content management solutions. Our team can also provide the newspaper scanning services you require for media monitoring.

We will scan your newspapers and crop each article separately. After that, we will OCR each article and deliver it to you via email or in other formats you request. This is a very good solution to efficiently browse through articles and content.

Aspects to consider when scanning newspapers

The main two forms in which newspapers come are either bound like a book or as loose sheets. This is the initial aspect you have to take into consideration. The second step you must consider is the size of the newspapers or the source document you want to scan.

For example, if you want to scan a bound broadsheet newspaper, you will have to do it on a very large book scanner. If the same pages are loose, you will have to use a wide format scanner, similar to those that you use for large drawings or plans.

For sizes that are not standard, you will have to decide which equipment will suit you best. Also, the post-scanning procedures such as image processing you also have to take into account when preparing the newspaper scanning process.

Newspaper and Magazine Scanning Size

Newspapers come in different sizes. Below we will show you the main two sizes that we have seen in use. First one is the tabloid size, which is very popular with most publishers today. The second one is the broadsheet size which has seen a reduction in use due to higher printing costs.

Tabloid size – 11 by 17 inches or 27.9 by 43.2 centimeters – This has been a choice for many European newspapers. The smaller size is perfect to have a cost-effective printing process, especially considering the reduction in volumes.

Scanning a tabloid size newspaper

Broadsheet size – 29.5 by 23.5 inches or 75 by 59 centimeters for a full broadsheet. It is twice the size of a tabloid. We have seen that in other countries, for example, Pacific Commonwealth countries, the usage of A1 newspapers for broadsheet size.

Bound newspapers or loose sheet

As mentioned, we offer solutions for both loose sheet scanning or bound newspaper scanning. Of course, we use different procedures based on each situation or customer requirements.

Loose sheet newspapers

Most newspapers come in loose sheets. Such newspapers we usually scan using a large format scanner. By this, we mean a scanner that can scan up to A0 in size. We offer the possibility to scan and also convert the scans into a logical order. Therefore, at the end, the reader can see the newspaper page by page, which eases the reading process.

Bound newspaper scanning

There are cases in which newspapers are bound together. It is common for archives to take editions from certain periods and bind them together. While this is a good solution for storage, it makes scanning a bit difficult. Nonetheless, we can provide such solutions also. We use special book scanners to convert the newspaper to digital images, without removing the binding.

Please go to our book scanning page and to our large format scanning page. The first service is the method we use to scan bound newspapers. The second one is what we use to scan loose sheet newspapers. Most services we have will apply to the whole range of documents, from scanning books to binders, folders, and last but not least scanning newspapers.

This makes it easy to process such documents. There are archives who will unbind documents, but there are also archives who don’t want that. We are ready to process both cases, based on customer request.

Microfilm Newspaper

Some newspapers can be scanned directly from microfilm. We will provide both microfilm positive and negative scanning, if you require.

Sometimes, the scanning process is way faster and cheaper when scanning newspapers directly from microfilm. When possible, we recommend microfilm scanning instead of paper scanning, as it will deliver faster results for data capture.

Especially for historical documents, microfilm has been the storage media of choice when preserving them for longer periods of time. For example, a historical society or heritage institutions, will have a mix of documents on 16mm or 35mm microfilm, which will include older newspapers.

Scanned newspaper image quality

We can’t stress enough the need for quality post-processing of scanned newspapers. Usually, we have seen the paper of newspapers to be of low quality. When scanning, this influences the output and the clarity of images. Having quality post-processing tools, allows us to create optimal scans and sometimes turn out a better quality than the original newspaper.

This is especially the case with older newspapers or publications made with a poor printing technology. Given that the newspaper printing business is decreasing each year, the scanning process is more and more important. With tools such as image processing we can digitally correct the newspapers we scan.

Features such as background removal, precision cropping or deskew, sometimes improve problems with the original print. It makes the reading of scans much easier and allows for further processing of newspapers. One of the aspects that it improves is the quality of the optical character recognition phase.

Optical character recognition

Scanning is all about increasing productivity and speed. Converting a scanned newspaper image to a PDF text is mandatory. It allows for full-text search and increased speed. When you search for an exact info, this provides lots of help. Having a clean image allows the OCR software to retrieve more characters. It also manages to keep the original page formatting. A bad scan could set you back on the OCR accuracy. We have seen cases when accuracy increased from 50% to almost 99%. It makes a huge difference.

The creation of special Alto, XML or CSV files is sometimes a request we have. Especially in cases where the newspapers are for media monitoring solutions. We also see this with libraries that want to create a digital archive of their newspaper archive.

Why you should choose our service

• We have experience in scanning newspapers and docs all around.
• Our team processes various docs every day, so we are more flexible in this sense.
• We can provide both types of newspaper scanning service, for loose sheets or bound prints.
• Our post-processing software is very good, so we can deliver high-quality scans and images.

Please inquire at the contact us link. Also, watch this video to see how we scan a book or a newspaper.