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Digitizing Your Dead Trees?

Posted by Cliff on from the when-you-can't-carry-them-with-you dept.

smart2000 asks: "I'm tired of lugging around dead trees. I've just moved offices and had to move over 100 pounds of 'essential' technical books. It is clear to me that the dead tree industry is never going to supply the books I want in electronic form, so it's time to do it myself. What hardware and software should I use?"

"The Plan: Take the binding of each book and cut it off. Feed into a scanner with duplex and cut-sheet feeder. Scan as a 300 DPI jpeg with compression. Then OCR them overnight. I don't expect the OCR to be perfect, just good enough to use as a searchable index.

What are the suitable scanner choices for Linux? Any recommendations for OCR software that will write in an open format? Has anyone done this before?"

4 of 347 comments (clear)

  1. fp by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    i believe you can use a program known as first post :)

  2. OCR has improved by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    Two years ago the Xbox and Gamecube weren't out.
    Two years ago they didn't have OS-less computers
    Two years ago Linux installation was really hard.
    Two years ago they weren't close to a v1.0 Mozilla.

    The computer Industry changes pretty quickly. Everything does double every 18 months, you know.

    1. Re:OCR has improved by DEBEDb · · Score: 0, Offtopic

      Everything does double every 18 months, you know.

      Stock prices especially...

      --

      Considered harmful.
  3. reed all about IT by Anonymous Coward · · Score: -1, Offtopic

    now that the "news" "changes" .asp we read IT, will priNT be allowed anymore.

    see also: FraUDuleNT fairytail "economy" collapses due to onset of hobbyist whiner's coolapps giveaway.

    see also: stinking rotting carcass of stock markup "bull" is reincarnated for just one more fleecing of what's left of J. Public's ability to take on debt.