Under Design's Semi-Completed Book Scanner

[underdesign]

Heavily inspired by ClemD973's build, I had been collecting parts for months, awaiting the day I'd finish my own book scanner.

Finished Build - or is it?

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The top light is a 500W tungsten work light, slightly modified to be attached to a wood frame that holds up the curtain. I've attached a oversize piece of black foam core, in order to reduce the reflections on the glass platens. The height of the light is importantly high enough to also prevent reflections at the top of the platen. I had to make 2 back support beams when I cut my first support too short.

Top Light Assembly

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I can also remove the entire light assembly using the bolts just under the lights, so this unit could be transported if need be.

Cameras are second-hand Canon A470's, with CHDK and a script (http://diybookscanner.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=839) to assist in shooting. Each camera also has it's own formatted 2GB Eye-Fi cards, so uploading to the book-processing server is painless, albeit (really) slow. In this case, a snaker net transfer would be much quicker, but this does allow the scanner to be farther away from the mastering.

Camera with Video Out, USB Trigger In, Power In

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Part of the CHDK on EyeFi requires cutting the cards to mimic 'write protection'. Check my simple guide for instructions on doing this:
http://underdesign.wordpress.com/2011/0 ... -run-chdk/

I use a Ricoh CA-1 Trigger with a custom USB Splitter made by Frans van de Kamp (fransvandekamp@gmail.com)

I've also made black foamcore faces in order to remove the silvery reflection of the camera in the glass. They're a cutout for the lens, and the range finder. You can see the camera's reflection in the sample page I embedded below.

Camera behind Shield

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I used ClemD973's microphone mounts and tripod heads to allow pretty free placement of each camera. Often, you must move the camera farther away to prevent the rising platen from hitting it.

The display monitor's are a pair of sun-visor monitors from eBay. I opened them, removed most of the extraneous parts, then mounted them into aluminum rails so that they can be mounted on the back of the tall support beam.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/190608195624?ss ... 1497.l2649

When you sit in front of the scanner, you can see both monitors in the back.

Monitors in Back, Curtain pinned up

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My only issue now is the power supply I'm currently using doesn't power both monitors well, and often a backlight will go out mid-session. I have a new power supply on order...

After I finished my inaugural book shoot, I found the 90 degree platen cast a harsh reflection on the opposite page. I'm in the midst of re-cutting all the angled pieces to switch to a 100 degree split, which should hopefully rid the reflection issue. (hence this Semi-Completed state....)

It's mostly an issue with art books, where it has 100% black pages across from 100% white pages, making getting good captures a bit harder than normal.

Bad Reflection

There's custom wiring in my assemble, where I have 2 separately switched outlets on the bottom of my base. One powers the overhead light, the other powers the cameras and monitors, so I can setup the scanner without being blinded by the overhead lights.

Power Outlets on Bottom

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Overhead Light Switch next to Ricoh Camera trigger

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I've run the light for a few hours with the lights and curtains on, and found it safe. The holes around the light let out much of the heat, and none of the curtains nor wood even gets hot to the touch.

The inside of the platen and the book backing is covered with a black fleece Ikea blanket that was spray-mounted to the wood surfaces. It helps cut down on reflections, and offers a diffuse, dark surface.

Platen with Cloth Covering and Backing

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My platen glass is simple plexi from the neighborhood place. Each platen measures 13.5" x 15", with a bit removed with the 1/2" wood sides. This offers me a image size that can capture vinyl jackets (12.5" x 12.5") with ease. I drilled a handful of holes along the sides, and used wood screws to mount them to the wood side supports, after they had been covered in black fleece. The fleece offers a softer cushion to the plexiglass, and it holds up great under normal use.

I used the rest of the blanket to make the curtain. It's pinned into place while being used, but can be removed for cleaning.

My next project is to disassemble the entire platen and remake it with a wider page spread. Hopefully, this doesn't totally kill all of the other design considerations I made, including the height of the light source...

I'm also still working out the post-processing PDF creation system. I think I'm going to create a virtual machine and run Ubuntu running BSW to do the final mastering, but I've had some luck with several assorted (freeware) programs on the Mac, including ResizeMe, Briss, CombinePDF's

[revjoe]

Very nice and thanks for sharing!

Let us know how you decide to go with the virtual machine, I am thinking of using one myself, but still not sure what OS I want to use.


Joe