What is the ideal size for a platen?

[daniel_reetz]

Got an opinion? Data? I had the idea that we could get the size data for all books from Amazon and then average it, but that seems like overkill. My folding platen is 10.5x13, but that's just a guess.

Put another way, what's the smallest platen you think would be widely useful?

[kentsin]

I have the same doubt also. I think I will go for A4. Which will also capture some big reports and magazines.

Old books seems bigger.

[fbonomi]

Technically, A4 is not a common size in books. A4 is 29.7 x 21.0 cms, while the standard book size approximately similar is quarto (30.5 x 24.15). Not that the traditional sizes are much used any more....

I went for a platen 24x30cm, as I will scan a few ancient books and I want to cover the "old style" in-quarto books

Otherwise, I think A4 is more than enough, very few modern books won't fit. That is, unless you have a special interest in atlases, large photography book, or ancient books..

NOTE: quite a few magazines won't fit in an A4 either, you will see they are a tad wider as they still follow the "quarto" standard.

[StevePoling]

Here's an idea. Walk into a bookstore with a ruler in hand. Find the section selling books most like the ones you will scan. Measure the distance between shelves. That should serve as an upper bound for platen height, b/c the books need headroom for you to reach in for them. Find an empty bit of shelving and measure the depth of the shelf. This can serve as an upper bound for platen width, b/c sometimes books are shelved toward, but not at the front edge of the shelf and books are seldom pushed all the way back.

I'd trust this heuristic more with megastores like Borders and Barnes & Noble and trust it less with funky stores like The Strand. I figure metastore proprietors have massive corporate resources they can put into figuring out optimal shelf size which is predicated upon an aggregated nominal book size.

[daniel_reetz]

I just read that the BKRPR people have changed their name to "Book Liberator" and that they are commercializing their design.

Anyway, on another, related site, they have an answer to the optimum platen size. Nicely done.

[Antoha-spb]

Guess there's no universal platen size. Everyone should mind one's own 'target' book type choosing the platen size. My platen is 24 x 34 centimeter and it's good enough for most of the 50-150 year old books as well as for making fast scans of A4 dox. However, some books appeared a bit wider than I can scan easily, so my next platen will grow by some 4-5 centimeter in both dimensions. A possible solution is to have two changeable platens, if scanner design allows that.

BR,
Anton