A whole generation of the latest equipment has appeared in the world, which helps to achieve a high goal - to easily share knowledge and preserve the achievements of previous generations in the form of electronic books. In this article, we will analyze the main types of techniques for digitizing books.
A flatbed scanner is one of the cheapest types of book scanner that is used for well-preserved editions. From household scanners, which many of us have at home, they differ in that they have a significantly higher scanning speed and resolution. In addition, some tablet models, such as the Avision scanner, are also equipped with a special “cut” that prevents the appearance of “dimming” that appears on the scan copy of the book. The maximum format of the book is A3.
Planetary scanners are those in which the scanning element is located at the top. With such devices, the digitization of rare and valuable editions occurs in a non-contact manner. Such equipment is equipped with a bracket that allows you to align the desired thickness of the book so as not to damage the spine and gluing. Planetary scanners are considered a good choice for libraries with rich collections of old printed books. To work with such equipment requires only 1 person. The scanning process is simple and similar to reading a book - the operator turns over the pages of the book, and the upper scanning element “copies” the spread. All further operations (cutting the spread, aligning the pages horizontally, color correction) can be performed using the built-in scanner software or another specialist directly at the computer.
There are several main differences between planetary scanners:
- Lighting (built-in LED-lighting or flash. Scanning with cold lighting technology prevents the source from heating, which adversely affects the paper structure. There is no infrared or ultraviolet lighting).
- Type of scanning element (digital camera or scanning head).
- Bracket (horizontal or V-shaped).
- The way of turning pages (manually, automatically).
- The presence of pressure glass (to align the surface of the pages).
Digitization by “classical” planetary scanners for industrial volumes is presented by the Book2net line of the German manufacturer Microbox and the products of Belgian specialists from Zeutchel.
General planetary scanners. When you first see the Zeta model of Zeutchel, the world's largest scanner manufacturer, the first thought that comes up is that the developers were inspired by Apple products. Such a scanner can also become an adornment of any library and an additional attraction. Such models in the world are used in reading rooms of archives, museums, libraries. In addition to the design, they are easy to use - each without any problems can independently scan and save the image to a flash drive. A multi-touch panel allows you to immediately see the result.
Often, it is precisely these “custom” models that have built-in software that automatically processes the images — in particular, it removes fingers (which the user holds the publication because the scanner does not have pressure glass), aligns the image and cuts the spread into two separate pages.
Photo scanners. All models based on digital cameras are equipped with a V-shaped bracket. Thus, two cameras simultaneously take photos of the left and right pages of the spread. True, in order to get a properly lit image, you need to carefully monitor the light to avoid “glare”, that is, actually equip a full-fledged photo studio. By the way, Atiz equipment comes with a special cover to protect against exposure to light.
In addition, the V-shaped bracket is often used to scan books with an incomplete opening angle. Most often this happens with publications that have undergone poor-quality restoration (when books are stitched / glued and when opened 180 degrees, the publication can be damaged).
There is an opinion that such a photo scanner is economically more profitable. True, the cost of such a scanner depends primarily on the model of cameras used, which means that their cost can fluctuate.
On the network you can see many manuals for creating photo scanners at home. Estimated cost of building such a complex will be up to $ 300 (excluding the cost of the camera).
Robot scanners. Robot scanners are “popular,” or rather admirable, but often impractical in industrial scanning. Technically, they resemble a photo scanner, however, turning pages is arranged on the principle of a vacuum (in other words, it is, in fact, like a vacuum cleaner that raises a page with a stream of air). There is another patented page turning technology - Bionic Finger, which resembles a person’s index finger and can turn pages of a book.
It is dangerous to use such scanners for valuable publications - because of the thickness of the paper, because the paper may be damaged, pages may be torn. It also happens that pages are glued together, so you need to be careful about missing pages. Manufacturers of such models note that for the simultaneous operation of several such scanners, only one person is needed who will monitor the process.
True, as scan operators who had the opportunity to work with such equipment say, a lot of time is wasted on missed pages and the "rehabilitation" of damaged publications.
From the realm of fantasy or the future that is approaching
Not so long ago, information appeared in the media about the appearance of a book scanning system, which allows you to get scanned copies of 250 pages per minute.
Japanese developers managed to achieve this maximum speed through the use of algorithms for recovering flat images from video page turning. True, the unresolved issue is the use of such a system for thick books and having complex stitching.
People retain the knowledge of generations to share with their children and carry through the centuries. Information on all art and not only books you will find on site.