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Best Book Scanning Software | #1 for Scanners in 2025

admin — Fri, 08 Nov 2019 10:32:46 +0000

Looking for book-scanning software can feel overwhelming at first. You might assume you need a specific tool compatible with your scanner, or worry about device compatibility. But what if there’s an easier solution? We’ll show you a method that works without worrying about scanner compatibility or installing software on your computer. Simply upload your files and get started.

Do you really need special book scanning software?

Yes, you do. While most scanners come with basic software, they often prioritize functionality over high-quality results. Advanced book scanning software focuses on batch image processing, ensuring better results. Standard scanner software may also lack tailored features like file format optimization or advanced image quality enhancements.

Another crucial feature is OCR (Optical Character Recognition), which converts scanned images into text by detecting characters, numbers, and symbols. This makes your scanned content editable and searchable.

Key features of good book scanning software

Book scanning devices, especially those for cultural heritage digitization, excel in capturing high-quality images. However, to achieve the best results, the software you use must enhance the scans effectively. Here are the features to look for:

Smart cropping, deskew, and edge cleaning – These features adjust image size, straighten misaligned scans, and clean up edges.
Background cleaning and white balance – These improve background consistency, color balance, and sharpen text without compromising image quality.
Color, grayscale, and bitonal conversion – Converting images accurately ensures better quality and OCR performance.
Resolution and page layout adjustments – Optimizing resolution, aligning text, and outputting the correct file format for eBooks or reprints.

Smart cropping

Smart cropping automatically identifies the edges of your document and adjusts the size to match the original. This feature works with various scanner types, including flatbed and overhead scanners. Whether you’re scanning books, magazines, or office documents, smart cropping ensures your scans retain their original proportions.

Deskew and edge cleaning

If your scans are slightly misaligned, deskewing ensures proper alignment by detecting patterns and correcting the angle. This feature also cleans up uneven edges for a polished result. Both improvements enhance readability and boost OCR accuracy.

Color, grayscale, and bitonal conversion

Converting color images to grayscale or bitonal formats can reduce file size and improve clarity, especially for technical drawings or large documents. However, it’s essential to balance levels carefully to avoid losing critical details. Advanced software uses AI to analyze patterns and ensure optimal conversion, particularly for intricate manuscripts or pencil-drawn sketches.

Other special features

One standout feature is page centering. Physical books often have layouts suited for print but not for digital formats. When converted directly, text blocks can shift, making reading uncomfortable. Page centering aligns text properly on each page, making digital versions easier to read and reducing eye strain.

Frequently asked questions

What is scanning software?

Scanning software like the OVS BOOK Scanning Software retrieves images from scanners, enhances their quality, and outputs them in digital formats like PDF. This includes cleaning up scans and ensuring high-quality results.

What is the best scanning software?

The OVS BOOK Scanning Software stands out for its ability to handle bound documents and high-volume scanning projects. Designed for real-world needs, it processes thousands of book pages efficiently while delivering excellent quality.

What is the best software to edit scanned documents?

OVS BOOK Scanning Software handles diverse formats, including standard documents, large-format files, and manuscripts. Its versatility ensures it can meet most scanning and editing demands effectively.

What is the use of OCR?

OCR (Optical Character Recognition) analyzes scanned images and converts them into editable, searchable text. This makes it possible to modify scanned documents or extract text for reuse.

How do I convert a PDF to an ebook?

After scanning, the software analyzes each page layout and centers text blocks for a clean, reader-friendly ebook format. This enhances readability and ensures a professional look for digital books.

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Aperture Card Scanning Services | Efficient and Affordable

admin — Sun, 08 Sep 2019 17:57:24 +0000

Microfilm Aperture Card Scanning Services: Efficient and Affordable Solutions

Our microfilm aperture card scanning services are tailored to help you convert engineering drawings into digital formats at competitive prices. Here’s how we stand out:

Why Choose Our Aperture Card Scanning Services?

Flexibility in Conversion

We offer bitonal or grayscale scanning, with output formats such as PDF, JPEG, TIFF, and even OCR-processed files. The result is high-quality digital images that preserve your valuable data.

Support for All Project Sizes

Whether you have 10 or 1,000 aperture cards, we’ve got you covered. No project is too small or too large for our team.

Affordable Pricing

Our service is cost-effective and often more economical than large-format document scanning. Save on costs by digitizing aperture cards with us!

What Is an Aperture Card?

An aperture card is a punched data card with a small cut-out window that holds a microfilm frame, typically a 35mm frame. These cards often store large-format engineering drawings or industrial sketches.

Common Uses

Aperture cards are primarily used in:

Construction and Design Engineering: Ideal for duplicating, transporting, and storing engineering drawings.
Data Indexing: Some cards feature a Hollerith punch (a hole pattern) for indexing, which certain microfilm scanners can read automatically.

Our Scanning Process

Specialized Equipment

We use advanced microfilm scanners designed specifically for aperture cards. Unlike regular document or book scanners, these devices are equipped with:

Magnifying Lenses: Essential for capturing microfilm details.
Versatility: Capable of handling standard, non-standard, and damaged cards.
High Image Quality: Featuring virtual rescan technology for consistent results.

Focus on Efficiency

Our dual-device setup includes:

Specialized Aperture Card Scanners for standard and intact cards.
Generic Microfilm Scanners for damaged or fragile cards.

This setup ensures:

Precision in scanning both damaged and non-damaged cards.
Improved productivity with lower operating costs, translating into better prices for our clients.

Factors Affecting Scanning Costs

The cost of scanning aperture cards depends on several factors:

Quantity of Cards

The more cards you scan, the lower the per-card cost. Bulk projects significantly reduce overall expenses.

Card Condition

Damaged cards require more careful handling and may cost more to digitize.

Post-Processing Needs

Services such as image cleaning, OCR, and advanced indexing can increase costs, especially if additional processing is needed for accuracy.

Indexing Challenges

Large-format drawings on aperture cards are difficult to index automatically, which may increase labor costs.

Aperture Card Scanning vs. Other Formats

Microfiche Scanning

While both aperture cards and microfiche are microform-based, there are key differences:

Storage Capacity: Microfiche can hold up to 48 drawings per sheet, making it ideal for compact storage. Aperture cards typically store one drawing per card.
Government Preference: Some government agencies prefer aperture cards, limiting microfiche usage in certain projects.

Document Scanning

Aperture cards offer distinct advantages over traditional document scanning for engineering drawings:

Compact Shipping: Up to 5,000 cards can fit in just two standard boxes, reducing shipping costs.
Hollerith Code Indexing: Punched codes on some cards allow for automated data retrieval during scanning, increasing efficiency.

Why Choose Us?

Our aperture card scanning services stand out because:

We Handle All Conditions: From pristine to damaged cards, our process ensures exceptional results.
Post-Processing Excellence: We offer image enhancement, OCR, and detailed indexing services.
Competitive Pricing: Whether you have a small or large project, we’ll work within your budget.

Let’s Get Started!

Convert your aperture cards into digital formats with a trusted partner. Fill out our request form today to get a personalized quote for your aperture card scanning project!

(4.8 / 5)

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Digital to Microfilm Conversion | #1 Guide in 5 Easy Steps

admin — Tue, 08 Jan 2019 14:17:22 +0000

Digital to microfilm conversion does not have to be hard.

In fact, we think it’s easier today than it ever was. Just to get a better understanding on how this process works here is the 5 simple steps you should follow to convert digital files to microfilm media:

Identify the digital files that need to be converted to microfilm.
Analyze if they respect the file format requirements, they are clearly scanned and are in logical order.
Once you perform step 2, load the archive writer with a microfilm roll ( 16 or 35mm ) and start the exposure process.
As soon as step 3 is over, send the microfilm roll for processing. Using a chemical processing method, you will be able to reveal the exposed information.
When you finish processing, check for any quality issues with the roll and if everything is clear, you have successfully done digital to microfilm conversion.

Before we start going over this list in detail, let’s cover some of the theoretical aspects of this process.

Why convert digital images to microfilm

The simple answer is that you convert digital images to microfilm in order to produce an analog backup of your digital files.

Most digital media on the market is subject to damage from aging, viruses or even partial or total obsolescence. CD’s or DVD’s can be hard to read today, because of the large failure rate of media and media reading devices.

When is conversion from digital to microfilm necessary

We think you should convert your documents to microfilm when they are of critical importance. Microfilm is a great back-up solution compared to digital media, because it will withstand the test of time better.

Microfilm is an insurance policy, when every other storage solution has failed. It can be read with a magnifying glass and the naked eye. Reading technology is easily available and quick to find.

Especially these days when you have digital access to your documents, microfilm can be used as an alternative option to back-up critical data.

Should you switch to microfilm

You should not switch from digital to microfilm, or the other way around. Use these solutions together to optimize your storage and manage risks.

Use digital for daily tasks, where you need quick access to your digital files. Digital media still has the fastest access speed and increased retrieval efficiency.

On the other hand, you should use microfilm to back-up your critical data for long periods of time. As a quick tip, you can use the digital files to create your microfilm copies directly.

Read the following article to find more information on the advantages and disadvantages of microfilm

Hardware required when converting digital files to microfilm

Today we use archive writers to convert digital documents directly to microfilm.

The reasons we use this kind of technology instead of converting paper to microfilm are the following:

We can process digitally created documents, scans and just about any raster type of digital file.
Converting digital files to microfilm is much faster than converting paper documents.
The process is less labor intensive and has significant cost savings compared to traditional paper conversion.
We can audit the process much easily and meet standards for information privacy and data protection.

There are two types of microfilm writers:

Roll Film Microfilm Writer – This kind of equipment writes digital files to 16mm or 35mm roll film media. Some equipment work with standard silver halide microfilm rolls, other equipment need special microfilm, such as Reference Archive 16mm Microfilm.
Microfiche Writers or Com Machines – This kind of writer creates microfiche from the digital files you supply. Microfiche cards are usually 105mm by 148mm and hold a matrix of reduced in size images.

Which microfilm you should choose

As you probably know, microfilm comes in two separate sizes: 16mm and 35mm rollfilm. If you want to learn more about this, read our article on types of microfilm currently in use.

Using one or the other depends on personal preference, costs, equipment and size of image :

We always say that if the images are not larger than A3, our personal preference is to use 16mm microfilm. The writing process is faster, the rollfilm has a smaller size factor and you can fit more images onto a roll.
If you take into account the costs, 16mm microfilm is cheaper than 35mm microfilm. Also, 16mm archive writers are much faster than 35mm equipment, resulting in improved efficiency. This leads to significant savings when it comes to labor costs.
Some companies only have a 16mm archive writer, others have a 35mm microfilming equipment. In this sense, they are limited to using one or the other.
Probably the most important factor is the size of the image. When you have documents that are larger than A3, we recommend you use a 35mm microfilming archive writer. If they are A3 or smaller, then 16mm microfilm will work very well.

Is it still worth converting digital images microfilm

We think that converting digital images to microfilm is still important.

But it depends on a couple of factors. For example, how important are your documents.

Microfilming is not expensive, but it’s still not worth spending money on the back-up of non important documents. On the other hand, for documents that are important, we suggest you invest in a microfilm backup.

Digital media is improving day by day, but it still hasn’t got the lifespan of microfilm. It is also prone to quick obsolescence, especially for reading devices.

In that sense, microfilm is more flexible, so we suggest you do digital to microfilm conversion for your very important documents.

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Microfiche Scanning Service | Convert to Digital Images

admin — Thu, 15 Nov 2018 16:28:03 +0000

If you want a reliable microfiche scanning service, we are one of the companies to choose.

There has not been an easier way to convert microfiche to digital images, PDF, TIFF, Jpeg or even MS Word.

We offer a low microfiche conversion cost, and use a very good scanning equipment.

Fill in the order form on the right if you want us to send you a quote for your scanning project.

Why use our scanning service

Experience – We have a vast experience with scanning in general. We have seen different microfiche conversion to digital projects over the years. Different requirements and settings make us adapt to just about any request.
Infrastructure – We use high quality microfiche scanning equipment and software. Our scanner for PC is suited for converting microfiche to PDF, TIFF, JPEG and other file formats.
High Quality Staff – Our colleagues have also been involved in different scanning projects over the years. They are ready to adapt to the requests you have and often they can improve the final result.
Prices – The microfiche conversion cost we can offer is very competitive. Based on your requests and the volume of your work, we can adjust our prices accordingly.

What type of microfiche we can scan

As you probably have read, this page is about sheet based microform scanning. Currently we scan the following types of microfiche:

Standard microfiche 105 x 148mm – This type of film usually carries patient records, insurance statements, engineering documents, newpspapers, magazines and sometimes even small books. Generally the reduction should be around 24x, but latelly we have seen service providers creating microfiche at 12x reduction.
Flat Film – Generally this type of film holds engineering documents. Still, this can vary. Most of the times, the reduction is around 20, but we have seen such documents with reductions of 16 which is especially important for documents with tiny details.
Aperture Cards and Jackets – Mostly used for engineering drawings, it holds a 35mm film of a drawing. You need to use 35mm because to minimize the reduction value and improve the visibility of small details.

How to scan microfiche

To scan microfiche to digital you have to go through the following steps:

Prepare the microfiche – Take all the film sheets out. Clean them and remove any dust or even lint visible. Arange them in the logical order for scanning.
Insert them into the microfiche scanner. Go through all the settings based on how you want the microfiche conversion process to go. If you want to deskew and crop, mark these aspects. Make sure you enter the microfiche title so you know which scan goes where.
Quality control starts during scanning. Visual inspection of images is mandatory. When this is over, you have to start post scanning quality control. Make sure the folders are created correctly, and the files are named accordingly. Also, check if the files are in the logical order.
This last step is optional. You can index the digital images you have created or even send them to OCR. This way, each frame from your microfiche will become a readable file, such as PDF or even MS Word.
We can upload the files to the customer server, storage server or even a document management application. If you don’t want this, we can deliver the files on a portable HDD or USB stick.

Digital File formats for microfiche conversion

We can offer different file formats for your digital files.

PDF – This is the basic file that most of our customers request. We can supply it in single page, multi-page, PDF/A or even in OCR formats.
TIFF or JPEG – These are raster files and most of the times they are the first to come out from the microfiche scanning equipment. Some of our customers preffer to post process image file themselves and then convert to OCR formats. In those cases, we usually supply these file formats.
Microsoft WORD, CSV and other text files – Generating a text file from a raster file is done via OCR. There are cases in which we generate CSV based on the metadata of each microfiche frame. This data can be collected manually or automatically depending on the clients material.
Other image files such as BMP or PNG. We don’t often get such requests, but this is possible via our post processing software.

Should you scan microfiche at home

We don’t really recommend doing this unless you have a fair amount of experience. Still, if you want to try, you will need the following:

A scanning equipment. You will still need a decent microfiche scanner for the job. Scanning is the first step in this process, so make sure you buy the appropriate conversion equipment. It doesn’t really matter if it’s fast or slow, the process will take long anyway. At least make sure that the fiche is scanned at a decent quality.
Software to organize the scans. After you scan, you will need to be able to organize the files. It might not seem like it, but when converting microfiche to digital file formats, you are generating a lot of data. This data has to be organized, otherwise you won’t be able to make sense of it. It will be hundreds or even thousands of files and folders, that must be placed correctly.
Post processing software and OCR. If you don’t have an OCR software, then we suggest you get one fast. Scanning without OCR will set you back considerably. The fact that you can now convert microfiche to digital data is great. You will be able to browse, search and even modify the text in each frame.

Try our microfiche scanning service now

If you don’t want to do the scanning yourself, then we suggest you try our microfiche conversion service.

Based on your requests, we will try and deliver the best results accordingly.

Our colleagues are ready to help you with everything and prove to you that we are best microfiche scanning service.

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Best Book Scanning Service | 3 Tips to choose the #1 in 2020

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 17:35:38 +0000

Finding the best book scanning service is not a simple challenge, especially if you have not scanned bound books or documents before.

Still, there are good bound book scanning services around. What are the things that separate them though and which is the perfect service for your physical book?

The best book scanning service

We think that Overnight-Scanning is the best book scanning service for the following reasons:

We use both the destructive scanning or the non-destructive book scanning method. If you have outofprint books, you are welcome to send them.
The scanning services can be provided in color, grayscale and bitonal conversion to digital format.
Our team scans your book, whether it’s A3, A4, A5 and can even scan A2 books if you need.
We can provide scanning of normal books, journals, manuscripts, registries and just about any bound document you can think of. These can be transferred to the gadget of choice, such as a laptop, cloud, smart device, Iphone you name it.
The prices we offer are really low, starting from 0.05£ per page

The Best Book Scanning Service

Isn’t book scanning still scanning? What’s the big fuss?

No! Book scanning is very different compared to scanning a standard document or basic records scanning.

That’s why nowadays, there are certain providers that focus on scanning books only. They are offering a specialized book scanning service. The quality should be identical for all types of books, from small to large, thin to thick books.

First of all, they are using different equipment. While a document scanning provider is using mainly automatic document scanner, book scanning service providers use specialized book scanners.

Second of all, book scanning providers are focused on the quality of the final product and are less interested in the productivity. They are not scanning your average invoices. They could be scanning really old manuscripts or even photo books.

Third of all, the process is very time consuming and labor intensive, The more experienced operators you have, the better the results.

If you have a good image processing software, you can reduce the time required for each phase of the process.

In our quest to finding the best book scanning service, I think we should follow these 3 points we mentioned in this paragraph.

TIP 1: The choice of book scanning equipment

From our experience, any good book scanning service provider should have a combination of equipment:

A planetary book scanner – This is mandatory if you are doing book scanning. It allows you to scan face up, only flipping the pages through the process.

It is a good choice when you have to scan fragile material as only the pages are moving. The book remains still.

An automatic book scanner – Eventually you will get that large batch of books that need scanning quickly. Pay attention that you avoid scanning really fragile material.

An automatic book scanner has a lot of moving parts, so it’s better suited to standard books.

A low-resolution book scanner – This is usually a DSLR based book scanner. It allows you to move quickly through pages of bound documents that don’t require high scanning quality.

It’s built more for speed and less for quality.

An ADF Scanner – You will definitely get books that can have their spine removed. It is much faster to scan them on ADF scanners, than using your standard book scanning equipment.

TIP 2: A good book scanning service must deliver optimal quality

Yes, the best book scanning service has to have a very good quality when it comes to scanning.

The digital images that they output should be straight, have no speckles and no book curvature should be present.

The days when scanning a book on your copier was enough are long gone.

A lot of books have special designs and characters, making it almost impossible to deliver a good quality when scanned on a copier machine.

That is why your expectations must be very high from the book scanning provider.

First of all, he has to produce the best-looking image. This is mandatory, and it is the first step in the digitization process.

Second of all, that image must be enhanced and improved in such a way, that it delivers a very high level of OCR. By this, we mean that for a standard book it should be close to 99% accuracy.

The third aspect of quality is color accuracy. It is critical that all equipment has good color calibration. This must be performed frequently, sometimes even once a month.

And remember, you must be supplied with various file formats, such as PDF files, TIFF, Jpeg, Word, RTF, and even Kindle Nook.

TIP 3: Highly skilled workforce and workflow solutions are mandatory

Always check if the vendor you choose has a good workforce.

The better the human resources involved, the better the final product. For book scanning this is always the case.

If the operator is experienced he knows what he should deliver to the person doing the image processing. Same for the image operator. He knows what the guys in OCR need for very good results. With experience comes knowledge.

At the same time, the workflow is very important. The better it is, the lower the risk of missed pages, crooked scans or even damage happening to the original material.

We always say that the initial scan should be as good as it can be. With the solutions we currently use, we can deliver the perfect page from a good scan.

But we need a good input to be able to extract the most out of that scan.

The combination of experienced operators, good workflow tools and specialized software make for a very good if not the best book scanning service.

What you should remember when choosing a book scanning service next time

Good book scanning equipment will take you a long way.

Don’t accept scans on copiers. You will get both bad scans and also a damaged book.

Quality is mandatory. Remember, this is almost heritage scanning.

Demand nothing short of perfect scans. And it won’t cost you much more.

Ask about what experience the operators have and what workflow solutions the provider uses.

You don’t want to risk missed pages or even a damaged book.

Considering all these aspects, a provider that takes care of all the 3 can be considered the best book scanning service.

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Microfilm Services | Simple Tips to Get the Perfect Service

admin — Fri, 29 Jun 2018 12:19:27 +0000

Have you ever needed microfilm services and thought to yourself where should I go for these?

To get the most out of your microfilm services, you need to have a bit of background into microfilm and the microfilm industry. It will be easier to communicate with the service providers, and in the end, you will get better results.

We will go directly to the subject and show you each tip separately.

What is the exact microfilm service I need?

To put this short, usually there are 3 basic microfilm services that you can purchase from a provider:

Microfilm Production – This is actually the process of creating microfilm from paper or digital documents. It involves the exposure of microfilm and then the processing. You can more information on how to make microfilm and microfilm processing at those links.

We have 2 articles on this subject, one being how to make microfilm and the other on how the microfilming process actually works.

Microfilm Duplication – This process involves the duplication of existing microfilm or microfiche. The process is fully analog, but we don’t recommend it anymore if you want to duplicate microfilm. The digital solution for duplication is much better.

Microfilm Scanning – The 3rd type of microfilm service you can get from a provider. This implies that existing microfilm or microfiche are converted to digital file formats, such as PDF, TIFF or JPEG.

To find more info on this matter, go to our page on microfilm scanning services.

As you can see above, there are 3 basic types of microfilm services that you can get. There are niche services regarding microfilm, but that is for another article.

Consider a list of technical specifications and make your budget

For every project you do, try and build a list of technical specifications that must be respected by the provider.

This, of course, can be different depending on each individual service and it severely affects the pricing and your budget.

Technical Specifications Microfilm Services

When you are producing microfilm, first you must check on which type of microfilm you should write the documents on. If you have A3 and A4 documents, 16mm microfilm should be enough. If you have larger documents, 35mm microfilm is better.

There are other details which are also important. For example, if you have images you should choose grayscale microfilm. If you only have text documents, bitonal microfilm should be enough.

When it comes to microfilm scanning, the digital output will have to respect certain criteria. Do you need PDF or Jpeg? You may want another file format. Do the documents have images? Well, grayscale scanning should solve that issue.

You can clearly see that there are different things you might need from the microfilm services you purchase. Therefore try and make a list and be clear about what you are trying to do.

What is your timeframe for the microfilm services

The timeframe for projects is another critical aspect.

Just as with everything, microfilm projects are no strangers to timeframes, short deadlines or even rush jobs.

Timeframe Microfilm Services

First of all, you should check, realistically, how quickly you need to get things done. As a bit of warning, any rush job will increase the cost of microfilm services.

So think on your feet, and determine whether you need them now or tomorrow is fine also.

If you do have rush jobs, well you have to treat them accordingly. Remember, when you are on a tight deadline, you must work together with the service provider.

Unless you are willing to sit down and accept small compromises, you are risking the entire project.

Your service provider needs your total support to do a rush job. Try and offer it, otherwise, it will be difficult to meet those deadlines.

And remember, the tight deadline will mean higher costs on your side. Be prepared to accept those costs if you want the job to meet your tight deadlines.

Communication with the service provider

Communication is essential to any human interaction.

The same goes for the relationship you have with your microfilm service provider. Try to be honest and clear about what you expect from him.

Most likely, he will appreciate your honesty and cooperate with you to meet proposed requirements. He will also be more flexible in his approach, so you have everything to gain.

Communication is essential when you are drawing out the technical specifications and when you are setting deadlines.

When talking about technical specifications for microfilm services, try and be clear about what you need. Also, be reasonable.

Try and listen to suggestions from the service provider, as he has way more experience than you do.

If we are talking about deadlines, communication is even more important. First of all the provider has to know that he is working on a tight schedule. Second of all, you need him on your side for him to go that extra mile and finish in time.

Avoid going into every detail of the services

Being very detailed about things is great. But you only have 24 hours a day, and you also need to get other things done.

Look at the bigger picture and avoid getting into every detail. Microfilm services can prove quite complex, but it is usually the job of the service provider to make them simple for you.

Remember, you are working with a service provider because you need the results of the microfilm services. You don’t have to know every step in details. Otherwise, it would have been better to do the job yourself.

A certain level of detailing is good though. But most likely you are the project manager, not the operator. Leave things to the PRO’s, and only interfere when you have to.

Most tasks will be recurring tasks, so once you have set them up, you can focus on the bigger picture and leave them aside.

Summing things up

Drawing out a conclusion from this post is not very difficult.

First of all, you need to prepare a budget and a list of technical specifications. Things run much easier when you are following a clear plan.

Have occasional meetings with your microfilm service provider, in which you can analyze how things are going, where they work great and where they can be improved.

While communication is good, avoid going into every detail, as you risk not to see the bigger picture.

Last but not least, focus on getting the results expected. If you are following our guideliness we are sure your expectations will be meet.

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Manuscript Digitization | The 5 simple rules to do it perfectly

admin — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 17:58:29 +0000

Have you ever wondered why the manuscript digitization you are currently doing is not yielding great results?

We also faced this in the beginning, but not anymore.

See, manuscript digitization is the process in which rare and old manuscripts are converted to digital file formats so they can be shared online by users from all parts of the world.

Rule 1: Always use a specialized book scanner

Yes, you have heard this right. Always use a scanning equipment that is built specifically for bound documents. We call these equipment book scanners.

These are the only equipment that should be used for digital preservation of manuscripts. If you find a case study on the digital preservation of manuscripts that do not involve such equipment, please avoid it. Most likely, those that have created it do not know much about this subject.

These machines are specifically designed to scan rare and fragile material, such as valuable manuscripts. Usually, they scan face up, and the user only has to flip the pages one by one through the process.

Another interesting aspect is that they also use special light that does not affect old paper or ink.

Rule 2: Before scanning do a careful maintenance of the manuscript

This means removing dust, lint or anything else that might affect the scanning process. Such maintenance of the manuscript should be performed occasionally, even if no scanning is involved.

Most likely, you will be scanning more manuscripts at the same time. The better you clean all of them, the smoother the entire process will be.

If you don’t do this correctly, you risk stopping the scanning process too often to perform on the fly cleaning of the equipment.

Another thing you might have to do is frequent rescans. These occur when for some reason or another, the scanning process of a certain page did not go according to plan.

In most cases, this happens because of dust, dirt or even lint found on books. So it all comes back to manuscript cleaning and maintenance.

Rule 3: Frequent maintenance of the digitization equipment

To convert to digital manuscripts you require digital scanners. It’s not enough to have them, you also have to maintain them correctly.

So regular cleaning is mandatory, and further checks should be done after that.

Check first of all for dust or lint on the scanning glass and mirrors. On rare occasions, this might also be on the sensors, but it doesn’t happen too often.

Remember, manuscripts are fragile and old, you have limited tries to scan them correctly. The better the maintenance, the less rescans you will need for the proper results.

The second part of the maintenance requires frequent replacement of light modules or other moving parts. The book scanner itself is a “living” thing.

It has small bits and pieces that can affect the quality of the scan. Learn what those are, check their lifespan and then swap accordingly.

Regular quality checks should be done. This aids the scanning process and results in high quality digitized manuscripts.

Rule 4: Experienced digitization operators go a long way

You don’t hear many people talking about the quality of human resources when it comes to digitization. Same goes for the digitization of manuscripts. Not that many project managers are interested.

But in reality, an experienced operator always knows how to approach every single manuscript he has to scan. As we already mentioned, you won’t have many tries to scan the manuscript, otherwise, you risk damaging it.

If your operator has more experience, he will know what to do and how to do it. This way, you won’t have many rescans, which affect productivity but can also harm the manuscript itself.

Less experienced operators will definitely use more tries to do the scanning properly. Whether there will be a focus problem, dust, lint or even dirt affecting the scan, an experienced operator will notice it quickly.

The one with less experience will struggle initially. So take care of your operators and they will take care of you.

Rule 5: Make a digitization plan for your manuscripts

Maybe this should have been rule number 1, but I guess it only works if you have to scan frequently.

There will be projects in which you have to scan hundreds of manuscripts at once. Believe me, that is a lot of work.

If you are not well organized, no matter what you do or what digitization equipment you use, it will be more difficult than it should be.

So think on your feet and start to build a list with the titles you need to digitize. You should have a total count of how many manuscripts need to be digitized. If you can also count the total pages, that would be a bonus.

Second of all, you will have to check the condition of each one of the manuscripts. Mark those that can’t be scanned for whatever reason and also note down the reason. It will help you later.

Scan those that can be easily scanned first so you can clear them out of the way. After that take those with issues and handle them one by one.

In the end, do a recount and compare what you scanned with what is on the list. They should match.

Is this enough to do perfect manuscript digitization?

Yes and no. Yes, because these rules will take you a long way. No, because you still have to practice some of the aspects of these rules.

I can’t consider the digitization process of manuscripts to be something difficult in itself. Having said that, it does require some time and practice to get used to it.

You will notice that as you go along, you get better day by day, and book by book. It might happen that you discover and add new rules to our article and your work routine.

So we look forward to hearing from you about other things we should pay attention to when digitizing manuscripts.

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Microfilm Scanner | 5 Reasons NOT to Buy One

admin — Thu, 28 Jun 2018 08:26:20 +0000

Do you have to convert microform and thinking of buying a microfilm scanner?

A microfilm scanner is a specialized type of scanner that handles microform media. It converts information on microfilm and microfiche to digital image formats that you can read on your computer.

We think that buying a microfilm scanner is only worth it when outsourcing is either too expensive or is not possible logistically.

The reasons mentioned below will give you all the information to reach the right conclusion and clearly determine whether you should buy a machine or just go for services.

Reason 1: Microfilm scanner price

The cost of a microfilm scanner should be the first thing that pops to your mind when thinking of buying one.

The first thing to watch for is pretty straightforward. Do a price compare and find the cheapest equipment that will solve your issue. If the price is still high for you, maybe you should just focus on services.

At least shop around and check if the cost of scanning services is ok for you. If the price of the equipment seems ok for you, now it’s time to check what other costs you will have.

Do you need operators? Do you have to get extra software or hardware for the job? Do you actually have enough time to do it?

These are also cost factors, so always check them before buying a machine. If it still seems pretty straightforward, then you should go and buy a microfilm scanner. Otherwise, stay away and don’t do it.

Reason 2: Microfilm scanner comparison

Once you have decided you do have to buy a microfilm scanner, go ahead and check your options. Think clearly about what you need from the scanning equipment.

You might need one that converts both 16mm and 35mm microfilm.

In this case, you have to limit yourself to equipment that is capable of handling both types.

Do you also have microfiche?

Well, if that’s the case, you will be limited to even fewer machines or options. Talk to microfilm scanner providers and tell them what you expect from the machine. They can test most of your requests, so insist on this aspect.

Once the scanner has passed the test, only then you can consider it as an option. If it fails the test, ask more.

See what was the reason for the failure. Is there something that can be done differently? Can they upgrade the machine so it passes the test? These aspects have to be considered.

Reason 3: How much scanning from microfilm do you have to do

The microfilm volume is one of the main aspects you should worry about. You should not get a machine intended for larger volumes if you only have to convert a couple of microfilms.

On the other hand, an entry-level microfilm scanner should not be your choice if you have larger volumes. Take into consideration the actual productivity you need from the scanning equipment.

Scanners intended for industrial conversion will have high scanning speed and be able to maintain it in the post-processing phase.

Entry level microfilm scanners usually are intended for light usage. That is why they have less powerful components and lower data transfer speeds.

Remember, besides scanning, you will be transferring a lot of data. You need the fastest USB, but we always recommend a LAN connection.

Reason 4: Do you have enough experience and workforce

Especially in large microfilm scanning projects, experience and workforce can save a lot of costs. If you don’t have them though, it might end up costing you way more.

Be careful in drawing out a plan for your scanning project. Find the right people for the job, and make sure they can stick to it. Microfilm scanning specialists are hard to find these days.

Yes, you might be able to teach a person to do the scanning, but it will take a while. In case of large projects, time is money, so you can’t risk investing your time only in educating operators.

If you can evaluate all the costs before, just try and see how much it would cost you to outsource the project. Compare to your costs and analyze if the price is worth it to opt for scanning services.

Reason 5: You have better things to do and just need the documents from microfilm

This last reason is very interesting. In most cases, you have to understand why you need the documents from microfilm.

If you are planning on using the actual information on those documents, then the end game is different.

Is it actually worth investing your time in the conversion, or is it better to invest it in analyzing the information on those microfilms. For example, our insurance and banking customers, usually need the information to analyze it.

They don’t want to invest in the hassle of getting machines, personnel and all the rest. What they want is for the information to be delivered to their analysts in PDF formats.

This way, they optimize the analysis process and make sure everything is streamlined. Their job is not to convert microfilm to digital formats. They have to sell their own products and services to their customers.

They don’t see scanning microfilm as something they want to do, rather they need the results of this process.

What should my decision be

Given all the reasons and factors above, you should be able to know if you should buy a scanning machine or just go for services.

If you only want the information and none of the conversion hassle, then buying a microfilm scanner does not make sense.

When the volume of microfilms is not very large, the same conclusion can apply. Same goes when you don’t have experience or the right human resources.

With all this, we consider that you should not buy a microfilm scanner unless the services are too expensive, logistically it would be impossible, or you are actually doing a microfilm scanning business.

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Book Scanning Machine | How to use it for bound books

admin — Fri, 16 Mar 2018 14:11:58 +0000

A book scanning machine is an equipment specifically designed for bound book scanning. Usually, this overhead book scanner features a high-quality linear camera and a high-end lighting system.

The book scanning device can be manual or fully automatic. A manual book scanner means the operator manually flips pages and captures each scan. An automatic book scanner flips page automatically and also captures each scan the same way. It means less involvement for the operator.

How the best book scanner should work

When you think about the ideal book scanner, this should have a couple of features.

It should offer non destructive book scanning. That means you use it to scan a book without damaging it. You can capture all the information from the book while maintaining the integrity of the bound documents.
The resolution of the book or textbook scanner needs to be at least 300dpi. This has to be an optical resolution, not interpolated. A resolution of 600dpi is an advantage.
You will need a scanner with a high-end lighting system. This allows for even illumination of each scan for a high-quality output.
The book scanning software has to provide all the features for high-quality digitization of bound books. It should provide book scanning to PDF, TIFF, Jpeg or other image files.

Automatic or manual book scanning device?

We have answered this question more precisely in our automatic book scanner article. But we will sum it up again in this paragraph.

A manual scanner is the best machine for digitizing books that are fragile or are not in a very good condition. Usually, they are used in larger projects where the documents are diverse and heterogeneous.
The automatic book scanning machines are used in libraries or archives where the books are quite homogenous. In this way, the scanner needs less setup and you can take full advantage of the productivity it offers.
You will have to evaluate the project you are working on quite well. Based on this evaluation, you will know if you need a manual or an automatic book scanning machine.

Our article on automatic book scanners will help you get a good idea on how these devices work.

Are you a book scanning service?

If you are in this situation, most likely you are trying to become the best book scanning service. You will want good book scanning service reviews and make your customers happy.

In this case, you will need the best overhead book scanner for the job. Therefore, you will do some research and get the machine that suits you best. Still, you should think about some key aspects.

Offering non-destructive book scanning service is a must. You can’t just cut the books and scan them. More and more customers want their books to remain intact after the scanning process.
Focus on machines that will give you a competitive advantage. Whether it’s scanning older books or even high-quality art books. Even in this field of work niches still, exist. So focus on what others can’t do.
Evaluate the amount of work you will have to do. If it’s a larger project, maybe 5 manual scanners will help you get better productivity than 2 automatic scanners. Always take into account practical aspects and actual productivity of the machines you buy.

Read more about a review of our book scanning services. This will give you a better idea of what is required for book scanning services.

What is a good book scanner price?

The price for professional book scanners can be over 100.000 dollars. This price is usually for automatic book scanning devices. Manual book scanners can cost 4 times less. It all depends on what you use it for and how much scanning you will be doing.

If your project means digitizing 30 or 40 thousand pages of books, it will not make sense to buy an automatic book scanner. In that case, we recommend going for a cheaper option or even go for book scanning services.
When your digitization project means hundreds of thousands of pages or even millions, then you have to take into account productivity and certain characteristics of the project.
If your project means standard books with a good integrity then an automatic book scanner is your best bet.
When the project means scanning various documents in different conditions, then having a mix of manual scanners may be more suited.

What have we learned?

Book scanning machines have different characteristics. Some are more important than others, but you should always see what is important to you and your project.
There are two types of book scanners, manual or automatic. Each one has advantages and disadvantages. It all depends on the characteristics of the books and the productivity you require.
When you are a book scanning service, you will need to deliver for your customers. Understand their needs and choose your equipment based on these requirements.
Prices for such an equipment can vary quite a bit. It all depends on the budget you have and the project you are working on. Usually, you will find the best compromise between quality and performance if you carefully analyze market possibilities.

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Automatic Book Scanner | Fast scanning of bound books

admin — Sat, 10 Mar 2018 13:46:02 +0000

I can imagine you are thinking about an automatic book scanner every time you have to copy 2-3 pages from a book on a copying machine.

Yes, we all know that awful process in which you flip the page, turn the book and hit the copy button. It just goes on and on and on. You are sure this will never end.

What is good?

Well, the good part is that there are automatic book scanning machines. They provide faster scanning and also work with special book scanning software that is suited for this process.

What’s next?

What is coming in this article is a detailed presentation of the characteristics of such book scanners. How they work, when should they be used and especially what are their positive aspects and the negative ones?

Who uses an automatic book scanner and for what

Automatic book scanning devices are usually found in a book scanning or book copying service. This means labor-intensive environments.
Another environment is printing services for books. Usually, this means the publishing process of out of print books.
We have also seen these equipment used in libraries or colleges. If you’ve ever wondered how to scan a textbook to pdf this might be a solution. Some universities use these book scanners for a quick turnaround.
Another purpose is copying book pages. Some environments require quick retrieval of different book pages. Therefore these are scanned and then copied for delivery.
Last but not least, general mass digitization is the most logical use of automated book scanners.

We recommend you check our book scanning service page. We also use an automatic scanner for books.

Features of an automated book scanning equipment

The best high-speed book scanners should feature different characteristics and have a number of advantages. We will try to show both the advantages and the disadvantages of using an automatic book scanner

Automatic turning of the pages without operator intervention. This is probably what you would expect from such a machine.
Resolution for scanning. The linear book scanners with automatic scanning offer a resolution of 300 or 400dpi, sometimes even 600dpi. This is enough for most projects.
Page size can vary, from 2 A4 scanning, up to A0 books. While most projects are for bound documents up to A4, there are some in which the size you need is larger.
High scanning speed. Yes, this is to be expected, considering it is working automatically. Based on the design and the condition of the book, the speed is adjustable.
Sensors to warn you when there are potential issues. Automatic book scanners have sensors to constantly monitor the process and stop it if needed. Same sensors will increase speed automatically if everything is working well.

Benefits and drawbacks of automated scanning machines

Just like with any product out there, this kind of equipment has good points and negative points. We will try and take you through them step by step, like a short guide.

Advantages of automatic book scanners

The biggest advantage of such a book scanning device is that it can process significant parts of the digitization process automatically. Whether it needs an operator or not, certain phases are fully automatic.
The second one is that while an overhead book scanner needs constant human intervention, a high-speed book scanner with automatic features does a lot of things by itself. Therefore, a major increase in productivity is possible.
Less human intervention means less human error. It might not seem this way, but the digitization process of books is filled with human errors and only minor parts are the error of machines.

Disadvantages of automatic high-speed book scanners

The price of automatic book scanners is the biggest drawback. They might end up costing 3-4 times more than probably the best overhead book scanner.
While it is the best choice for a book scanner service, for others it might not be. Book scanner services usually have a mix of manual and automated book scanner devices. This might be just too expensive for other entities.
While the book scanner price is one drawback, the fact that the machine may not be suited to your project is the other. Automatic book scanners like homogenous books or bound documents. This is not the case with most scanning projects.

Specifications of the market available automated book scanners

Initially, these bound document scanners were only available for documents a bit larger than A4. Handling pages larger than that tends to give some headaches.
Lately, we have seen one German manufacturer of bound document scanners, offer automated scanning even for A0 documents.
The scanning speed varies from a couple of hundred pages per hour to three thousand pages per hour. This is rated speed. Productivity is always smaller than the rated speed.
Generally, such scanners will only scan documents with a good level of physical integrity. Books with ripped pages will be almost impossible to scan.

DIY automatic book scanners

The DIY book scanner kit has caught traction in the last 5 years. There is a good online community focused on this issue. This community started with a couple of enthusiasts copying book pages quite frequently. Whether at work or in other environments, they were mostly fed up with using copiers for this activity. So they all developed their approach for such a machine, and it’s how the DIY book scanner community started.

Developing a DIY automated bound document scanner is a totally different thing. If you look at the archivist book scanner kit, the machine works quite nice. Turning it into a fully automatic scanner is a totally different thing. The main problem is that you will have to build a machine that delivers both good quality scans and turning the page automatically.

Most scanner kits are focused on good quality scanning and are identical to overhead scanners in the way they function. Turning the page automatically will take more effort. We haven’t seen promising designs yet, but with the evolution of technology, you never know when that might change.

The bottom line

These types of equipment are great to have when you have large book scanning projects. They offer great productivity and might reduce your labor costs significantly.

Still, an automatic book scanner will not scan all bound documents out there, so you have to pick your project well. If you do so, they will be excellent machines to use.

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