{"id":17467,"date":"2019-03-11T11:50:42","date_gmt":"2019-03-11T10:50:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.davidbosman.fr\/en\/?p=17467"},"modified":"2020-01-23T21:45:32","modified_gmt":"2020-01-23T20:45:32","slug":"reading-print-books-when-one-cant-read-print","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.davidbosman.fr\/en\/?p=17467","title":{"rendered":"The Fujitsu ScanSnap v600: a Book and Magazine Scanner"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A bad eyesight that\u2019s getting worse make it so that I can\u2019t read print anymore: black text on a white background is illegible for me.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s easy, David,\u201d you could say, \u201cjust open your ebook and put it in night mode\u201d. You\u2019re right, and it\u2019s exactly what I\u2019ve been doing for a long time\u2014that or using an accessibility setting in macOS and Windows that allows one to invert the colours of the screen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And it\u2019s working great until one wishes to read a printed book.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many older books are not available in digital format, even some recent books aren\u2019t. Because the publisher consider these books are not worth being digitised, or because the publisher doesn\u2019t like ebooks, or fears piracy. Whatever the reason it sucks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What am I to do? Not read the book I want to read? No, thanks. I\u2019d rather make my own ebook.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Work in progress: the partial scan of \u201cA Grammar Book for You and Me\u201d by Edward Good. It\u2019s opened in PDF Expert, that has the option to display PDF in inverted colours. But it\u2019s a standard PDF with white pages and dark text, as one can see in the thumbnails on the left<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Enters the ScanSnap v600<\/em>, a Fujitsu scanner optimised for books and magazines. <\/p>\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n

The ScanSnap v600<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Here is a short video ad showing how it works<\/a>. It\u2019s dead easy: you turn the pages under this odd lamp-like scanner and, tadaaam<\/em>, a few moments later the app delivers a PDF (with OCR, so one can search for any text in the book): <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In reality, it\u2019s a bit longer than that, and a little less magical too: it can automate everything, but you\u2019ll have the best results by doing it by hand. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scanning a book<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
  1. Launch the app, lay the book flat on the provided black mat, and press the big button at the base of the scanner.
    It\u2019s important to use the provided mat as the scanner uses contrast to detect the edges of each page and applies its voodoo-like straightening on each of them. That\u2019s also why it won\u2019t work that well with dark full bleed pages (pages with borderless dark background, often used in magazines). <\/li>
  2. Rinse and repeat for each spread\u2013aka, for each pair of facing pages in the book.
    The scanner can be configured to auto-scan a new page every few seconds, without having to press the button each time, while leaving you enough time to turn the page. It can also be fitted with an optional foot-pedal, to control it.<\/li>
  3. Now, the tedious part: cleaning and preparing the scan before letting the app straighten all pages and turn them into a PDF. We\u2019ll talk about that in a moment.<\/li>
  4. When done, click Finish and the app will create your PDF.<\/li>
  5. Optionally run the provided OCR to make the text searchable.<\/li>
  6. Enjoy reading your new ebook.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

    Cleaning and preparing the scan<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

    This step is crucial, as it helps the app straighten and flatten each page and its printed text, making it more comfortable to read. It\u2019s done in two (or three) steps, don\u2019t skim on the first two: <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    1. Check that each spread is split in two pages.<\/li>
    2. Check the borders of each page <\/li>
    3. Optionally: remove your fingers from those pages.<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

      Spread and edges<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The software\u2019ll try to do all of that automatically, but most of the time you\u2019ll need to check after it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      See that each spread is divided in two pages by adjusting the green dashed line between them. Most of the time, it\u2019ll be good:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Then, check the edges of each page using the red dashed lines and the little. There, you\u2019ll often have some adjustment to do. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Move the little handles thingies (they\u2019re way too small for people with a bad eyesight, Fujitsu!). The software\u2019ll then detect the edge of the page as you move each handle. As a matter fo fact, it\u2019s quite good at it, it\u2019s just too bad it\u2019s not better at doing it all by itself<\/em>\u2014in the year or so I\u2019ve been using it, there is almost never been a book where I could trust the automated edge detection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Removing your fingers<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      If the book can lay flat while scanning it, you won\u2019t have to do it at all. But if you hold the pages and if you don\u2019t want the tip of your fingers to appear on each page\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Dear reader, here are my hands. Don\u2019t be shy hands, say hi!<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Click on the third button from the left. The pages are straightened and cut to edges, that\u2019s why it was essential to do it well:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      To remove a finger, click anywhere on it. When it works as intended the whole finger\u2019ll be selected at once. But it won\u2019t often work as intended and you\u2019ll have to fiddle with it. Click anywhere on the finger or, if it doesn\u2019t work, near<\/em> the finger, to create an empty selection, then use the handles to recover the finger or any other defect (useful to remove pen marks too). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Don\u2019t worry about precision, just make sure that you select no part that you want to keep<\/em>, as all that is selected will be removed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \"\"<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

      Everything is ready? You\u2019d better check one last time, because you won\u2019t be able to undo it. Click Save and quit<\/strong> and you get your brand new PDF.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The OCR<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      The bundled OCR for MacOS is some version of Abby Fine Reader, so it\u2019s good and supports many languages. I have not checked what comes with the Windows version.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      The final result\u2019ll depend on the quality of the original scan, though. So, make some tests before scanning a full book. Pro tip: the higher the DPI of your scan, the better the OCR, but the bigger the file size.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Is the ScanSnap v600 worth it? <\/h2>\n\n\n\n

      Maybe. I know… But it really depends on your situation, your needs and if you can justify its price.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      Negatives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n