Plustek-Bookscanner

Built a scanner? Started to build a scanner? Record your progress here. Doesn't need to be a whole scanner - triggers and other parts are fine. Commercial scanners are fine too.

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europanorama
Posts: 5
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by europanorama »

how about plusteks bookscanner?
james415
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Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by james415 »

While that is a cheap option, it is much slower to use and a bit pricy. That being said, if you can get a cheap one and don't mind the flipping go for it. This site is much more about getting the job done, than a specific product or solution. There are some expensive commercial products that are way more refined than anything we will make in our homes.

Plus, making your own is fun, right?

Cheers,
James
europanorama
Posts: 5
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by europanorama »

http://www.plustek.com/product/center.asp?center_id=1
yes, of course.
in switzerland one company or was it university ?developped a automatic device to change the pages. not cheap.
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rob
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Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by rob »

I looked at the OpticBook. It says it takes 2.5 seconds per page, but you still have to turn the book upside down. That's a lot of muscle, I would get very tired :)

I think adding an automatic page-turner to anything would get expensive, because now you're dealing with motors and linkages and all sorts of crazy things.
The Singularity is Near. ~ http://halfbakedmaker.org ~ Follow me as I build the world's first all-mechanical steam-powered computer.
jradi

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by jradi »

Turning the book down isn't that bad, you can actually turn pages without having to flip the book over, I did it for years. I was actually about to buy that scanner until I found out about the DIY solution and was won over instantly.

The thing about the Optiplex is that it had consistently bad reviews - turns out it's not that reliable solution in the long-haul, lots of reviewers saying that it broke within months. Plus, from experience, if you get into a zone where you're not thinking about things, you might flip the book the wrong way and scan a page upside down - a disaster that you discover only way down the road when reading your ocr'd book and discover a bunch of gibberish in the middle of things. Under the Murphy's Law of Book Scanning, it's always going to be a page at the end of a chapter...
spamsickle
Posts: 596
Joined: 06 Jun 2009, 23:57

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by spamsickle »

I think the Opticplex automatically orients pages as it does OCR, but even if it didn't, software like PDFTK can flip a single page (or every odd page, etc.) in a PDF document.

Breaking down after a few months is another thing. I know people are more likely to post a review if their unit breaks down than if it doesn't, but that would be a concern.
Turtle
Posts: 40
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:53

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by Turtle »

One guy had read lots of bad reviews on the OpticBook but then decided to buy it anyway. He took it home to scan a book or two and then store it away hoping to make it last long. He thought he could save the bulb's life by using it sparingly. The next time he open it up to use it again the bulb died. The bulb was a unique contortion patented bulb which he can't easily find a replacement. The bulb is probably the kind that needs to be warmed up once in a while in order for it to last.

How much does the Opticplex OCR software cost? I don't seem to find info on it?
spamsickle
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Joined: 06 Jun 2009, 23:57

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by spamsickle »

Like most scanners, this one comes bundled with OCR software. I think they're including some (probably stripped-down) version of Omnipage.
JotaPe
Posts: 12
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by JotaPe »

I own an A4 Plustek 3600 Corporate model (http://www.plustek.com/product/book3600_plus.asp (300 EUR)) and in my opinion is a good choice.
dark_slasher91
Posts: 3
Joined: 04 Mar 2014, 00:52

Re: Plustek-Bookscanner

Post by dark_slasher91 »

I have considered buying this scanner a couple of years ago (maybe a previous model) and what stopped me from doing so is the quality of the scans, time, price, and the sturdiness of the hardware. If you are like me, I read tons of tech specs and reviews of products that I buy that costs more than $100 bucks and most of the people that bought the said scanner indicated that it is poorly made and breaks easily, has poor scan output, its not as fast as it says it is and lastly, that you can buy other scanners at the same or fraction of the price.
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