New to this but lost in the mass of information

[andyg2]

Hi All,
There's so much information here and I'm lost looking through all sorts of things that don't match my needs.
There seems to be many different designs and specifications, links to various software helper applications and much more.

I plan to construct one dual Canon camera book scanner with lighting for scanning old books from a local university.
I don't need any OCR and de-skewing shouldn't be needed with a platen to keep the page flat.
Speed and quality would be helpful but I'm not the richest man in the world.

I'm a PHP programmer and ex network engineer so would be be fine to implement scripts for the CHDK Canon system or most other technical hacks.
Can anyone point me the right direction to get an up to date parts list with matching assembly instructions, and the software I might need to gain the most productivity.

Many many thanks,
Andy

[daniel_reetz]

Forums are tough. I apologize. There is a lot of work going on behind the scenes to restore the wiki and other parts of the site that will hopefully help distill the activity here.

What you've pointed out, though, is that there is no One True Way to scan a book. Hardware doesn't work for everyone, software doesn't work for everyone. So you need to be more clear about exactly what you're after to really nail this down.

If you are looking for a complete set of instructions, there is nothing more complete than our New Standard build. If you have a lot of stuff laying around it may be the cheapest way to go. There are many versions of the New Standard, but linked in that thread are many other people's build experiences, updates, and pictures showing every step of the process. Many people use it without problem, although it does require some tools to construct.

Another approach would be to buy one of the recent kits from one of the sellers in Agora, but I know that approach is not feasible for everyone.

[Archive5]

Hi,

I'm a fellow new guy too, I'm also lost in the mass of materials. There seems to be no one build that fits my needs so, I've been trying to
follow the the threads of different components in hopes of creating my monster but I haven't had much luck.

I've went another route, I searched the internet for commercial machines that fit my versatile requirements and then have sketched
designs from those. Several of the brochures give nearly all the data required for manufacture and you can add, subtract, or change
as you wish.

I'm still in the sketching and tweaking ideas but I've seen some excellent ideas on this forum and in the commercial models. When I joined
the forum, I had hoped to find a design that was a fairly simple design using "plug and play" type components that could be expanded on if
needed.

I'm more interested in the Copy Stand format so that I can go from a business card to an open newspaper or medium sized map. I want to
use it for archive work and it doesn't need to be fully automated since the materials may be fragile or of irregular shape or size. I also want
to copy bound materials so I need a cradle that can be removed and replaced from the base as required. I have a CPU or Laptop that can be
dedicated and the unit only needs to be moved if I move.

If anyone has a plan like this...post a note or email me please. I hate re-inventing the wheel if someone else has one...I'm happy to pay for
copies and will even put your name on it!

Once I build my monster, I will try to document it as best I can and try to offer a set of plans and builder tips.

Cheers,
Robert