Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

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Steverd
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Country: USA

Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by Steverd »

I need advice and guidance.
I have been scanning in some rare 1980's arcade magazines from my collection.

1. I can do it very fast with my ScanSnap iX500, BUT I must cut the spine, which would destroy it's collectable value.
I could use a Thermal Binder and 'Kinda' restore the magazine, but it would be missing the end.

2. I also have an OpticBook 3900 scanner, but it has a 6mm gutter and takes at least 30 minutes per magazine.
BUT it is non destructive and I can re-sell the magazine (these are $25-40 each)

3. I can buy either CZUR ET16 Plus ($429) or Fujitsu ScanSnap SV600 ($800), BUT from reading review it sounds like they are not the best for magazines.
Or the Plustek OpticBook 4800 ($700) Like my OpticBook 3900, but faster and only a 2mm gutter

4. I could try the DIY digital camera method, BUT what software would work the best for old glossy magazines?

Here is a link to a few pages of what I am scanning if this give you an idea:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/jj21 ... t8zlza.jpg

Man I need help and advice - THOUGHTS?
and Thank you
Steve
recaptcha
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Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by recaptcha »

Questions:
1). How many magazines do you need to scan?
2). If you already have an OpticBook 3900 scanner, tell us why it's not working out for you. It seems like the most cost effective solution. Is the gutter not small enough for your magazines?
3). If you are looking at other scanning options, how much are you willing to spend? Do you need something only for magazines, or other materials?
Steverd
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Country: USA

Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by Steverd »

recaptcha wrote: 16 May 2018, 23:13 Questions:
1). How many magazines do you need to scan?
2). If you already have an OpticBook 3900 scanner, tell us why it's not working out for you. It seems like the most cost effective solution. Is the gutter not small enough for your magazines?
3). If you are looking at other scanning options, how much are you willing to spend? Do you need something only for magazines, or other materials?
Hello.

1. Have about 60 to scan right now with 80-150 pages each
2. The OpticBook 3900 scanner works OK, but is VERY Slow and with the 6mm gutter you can not always get close enough to the spine for a good scan.
It currently takes about 30-45 Minutes just to scan one magazine, that is only scan time, I am not counting all the time in Photoshop per page, since that would be about the same on any scanner.
3. Right now I just need something for magazines since I already own the ScanSnap iX500 also.
I just decided to try the CZUR ET16 Plus, if it doesn't work well, I will return it. (Should be here in 2 days)

I will post a video on the CZUR ET16 Plus on my YouTube page next week.

Thank you
L.Willms
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Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by L.Willms »

Steverd wrote: 17 May 2018, 00:10 all the time in Photoshop per page,
Have you tried Scan Tailor? Saves a lot of work.

Check it out in the "Scan Tailor" section in "Software and Processing" in this forum.

I am using the "Scan Tailor Advanced" and am very satisfied.
dpc
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Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by dpc »

I've scanned magazines to PDFs in the past and the process differs somewhat from scanning books with black text on white pages.

One difference that you've discovered already is that magazines will frequently have page content that gets very close to the gutter. You can also have photographs that span the gutter and so you'll want to be able to get in tight as possible when capturing these pages. Fold outs (centerfolds) are another variation of the same issue. There are camera-based scanner designs on this website that will allow you to get right down into the gutter (example here). The decision you'll have to make is would it be worthwhile to go to the trouble of building a specialized scanner for the number of magazines you need to scan?

Magazines will typically have multi-colored pages with contrasting colors for the text that can vary quite a bit. As such, you'll really benefit from adding a color correction step in your post-processing of images (I don't believe ST can do this). I usually get the camera(s) and lights setup and then photograph a color card so that I can use this to color-correct the scanned images during post-processing. Search the archives here for posts from a user named "Misty". She described her process for color calibration in scanning comic books that you may find helpful.

Magazine pages can be dark and dust and small paper particles on the pages or platen surface will show up as small white artifacts (this isn't a big problem with black text on a white page as you have when scanning novels). You will need to keep the platen glass clean at all times and possibly have a camel hair brush or compressed air bottle handy. At one time I thought about a post-processing step that could detect artifacts like dust specks that appeared in multiple consecutive frames and eliminate them automatically, but never got around to coding this.

Magazine pages are printed on thin paper and you'll sometimes see content from the back side of the page in your scanned images. You can mitigate this somewhat by placing a black sheet of paper (I use a piece of matte black Formica) under the page you're currently scanning.

Glossy paper isn't that big of an issue because the scanner is designed so that you don't get a reflection from the lights off the page (platen, actually) back into the camera lens. You could put a mirror under the platen of a properly designed book scanner and it should appear black to the camera so you certainly shouldn't see any glare or white hotspots from your lights on your pages. One thing to note though is that the darker the page is, the easier it is to see these reflections/glare. If your scanner isn't shielded from other light sources in the room, you might see some of these reflections on your darker (non-white) magazine pages compared to what you'd see when scanning books with black text on white pages.

ScanTailor is great for cleaning up white pages with black text. It's not so great when dealing with pages containing color photographs with text over them as you'll find in magazines. I'd strongly suggest that you scan a few pages typical of the content you'll be archiving from your magazines then get fully familiar with what ST can and cannot do with these images. With the large number of magazines that you'll be scanning you'll want to understand how much post-processing you're actually going to need to do. You don't want to be sitting at the computer for days touching up images with Photoshop, for example.

Good luck!
cday
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Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by cday »

@Steverd

Regarding the gutter: Is there actually content you need on the missing edge of the pages?

If not, couldn't you resize the page images using software to add [white] canvas so as to match the appearance of the pages?

Regarding scanning magazines in general: Are the magazine pages stapled together with staples that you could remove and then replace later?

If so, I started developing a method that could be used to scan a large collection of magazines by:

o Removing the staples;

o Feeding the loose pages through a high quality office multi-function copier-scanner with a sheet feeder that I can access in a public library;

o Processing the output double-page scans using software that splits the scan images into single page images, renumbers the resulting images in the correct page order using an algorithm that takes account of the number of pages in the magazine, performs any image enhancement required, and then optionally creates a PDF file from the final page images.

o Replacing the staples with either the original or new staples, not done yet; ideally the set of magazines scanned would be one that could be sacrificed, even though the pages have not been cut.

It needed some clear thinking to develop the algorithm to renumber the page scans into the correct page number sequence. My utility used NConvert command line image processing utility (similar in principle to ImageMagick) together (as I'm not a programmer) with some Windows 'DOS' to renumber the pages, etc, in a batch file.

Advantages of the method were that scanning using the sheet feeder produced very high quality scans quickly, that the method inherently scanned the gutter, and that a single software utility once developed could handle most or all of the processing. Care was needed feeding the sheets through the feeder, though, which might be a limitation or at least complication as the number of pages per magazine increases.


I realise that the procedure described is likely too complex for your immediate project, but it may be of interest to others.

See also L.Willms's and dpc's posts above.
Steverd
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Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by Steverd »

Thank you everyone for all of the advice so far.
Unfortunately these old magazines are glued and not stapled.
Plus the are still pretty tight, must've been read just once.
And some images run all the way into the gutter.

I might need a sheet of glass to hold the magazine open/flatter for the scans.
Will any glass work? What would you get from Lowes or Home Depot?

Thank you again,
Steve
Steverd
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Joined: 13 May 2018, 12:21
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Country: USA

Re: Scanning larger numbers of 1980's Magazines help

Post by Steverd »

WELL after trying to get the CZUR ET16 Plus to work for a few hours, I am sending it back to Amazon.
See the attached image, it just CAN NOT scan magazines. Sure sometime the page would scan OK, if
I select Flat Single Page, BUT then I would have to separate the pages in Photoshop.
When I used the Facing Page option, it would separate the pages, But many time crop wrong, crop 1/2 the page
have crooked pages, etc. See photo, images are the actual results, ALSO alot of squiggly pages.
If you have questions about this, please ask.
Attachments
CZUR-3.jpg
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