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Portable Scanner Solutions for Research?
Fished asks: "Lately, I'm finding that I need to do a lot of research in Libraries -- remember those? I'm tired of feeding dimes to the copiers, and would like to buy some kind of portable scanner to go with my Powerbook. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find one that will work. Back in the eighties, this were as common as dirt: they were small, four inch wide scanners that you could run over the page. Also, while I've found three portable scanners for PC's (from Antec and Pentax) even if I could somehow get them to work with Mac OS X, they are sheet-fed, which is useless for scanning pages out of books. Does anyone still make the old-fashioned Hand Scanners, and do they make them for Macs?"
Several years ago, HP ha a product called CapShare. A really cool handheld scanner that has an on-device LCD screen that you can perform simple functions like editing, rotating, etc. with. You can then transfer via infrared to your laptop or, better, to a printer! Unfortunately, this product has now been discontinued. I used it for a while, and it was great, except for one thing -- most of the pages that I need to scan from the library are bound -- and the words near the spine tend to become unreadable...
Logitech use to make them. I am not sure if they still do (doubt it). It was black and white and about 6in wide. I never really liked it much, the software sucked at combining multiple swipes into one fluid page. It was TWAIN compatible. If you do manage to find one, I am sure it will run on the linux distro that I know you have on your Mac :)
Seriously. My GF has used ours to take pictures of the monitor when 98 locked up while she was writing letters.
A 2MP should probably work just fine, and if you have a laptop with you, just upload them, erase the card and grab another x pages.
Ah, yes, the digital version of the Hogan's Heroes approach.
why do people post this stuff?? Search Ebay... google... you have an internet connection... I know you do you lazy bastard!!!
Try Google
What's next? "Ask Slashdot: Getting Drops Off My Cock After Pissing"?
Handheld scanners were useless for scanning books. Most books are too wide for a handheld scanner and you have to stitch together your scans - a VERY awkward process. And even if you can scan the whole width of the page, the roller used to detect when the scanner was moving would go off the bottom of the page of the book before you scanned the final line of text!
In short - forget about the handheld scanner idea. They do sell line scanners that read in lines of text at a time if you just need short segments. I suppose you could even take pictures of the pages with the new high megapixel digital cameras.
Pricewatch.com has a whole section for Mac compatible scanners but I didn't see any that were hand-held..
If you put the scanner at the edge of a table or desk, you can scan pages of books quickly and easily with less distortion than you'd get from a hand-scanner. This may help make up for the slightly less convenient form-factor.
Try the discount/clearance table at your local Office Depot / Staples / Office Supply store. I always see "clearance" scanner there.
I've not actually tried this with my TiBook, so YMMV.
Pick One: http://www-rohan.sdsu.edu/~stremler/sigs/sigs.html (Note - disable Javascript first!)
Canon make USB powered scanners. They are slim and would easily fit in a briefcase. There are OS X drivers available. I've got at a CanoScan N670U on my iMac and it works fine. There is X OCR software available but I don't have any.
aedan
While the digital camera thing would work, I doubt anyone would seriously want to go through the hassle of getting OCR to work right. For that you'd have to almost set up a tripod to get perfect uniform pictures. While I haven't tried anything like this, I can imagine all of the problems with the recognition of text. Reading or printing the images when done should be fine for most people. That or you could always try to find an online version of the text you use, but I'm sure you've already tried this route, since not everything is online (yet).
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Cannon makes a nice small flatbed, called the N656U. That's the one I have anyway, they probably have a newer model now. What's great is that there is no external power source required, just that supplied by your usb port (would this kill the laptop battery), anyway, just a suggestion, you might want to check it out.
Anthropic principle: We see the universe the way it is because if it were different we would not be here to see it.
I've used (and use) the HP Capshare but I find it too badly designed, ergonomically and electronically (almost a study in bad design), to make for pleasant scanning. Nowadays, I generally use a Sony Vaio notebook and a USB scanner, a CanoScan 670U. The Canon scanner is powered via the USB 1.1 port so I needn't bring a brick to the library, and I can choose exactly the type of scan necessary for the material I'm using (everything from B&W text through 600dpi full color). I don't think the scanner weighs two pounds, it's only about an inch thick, and the scan area is 8.5"X11". And it cost under a $100 at CompUSA.
yes, i've done this as well. 1600x1200 is way more than enough for a page of text. I haven't tried running the image through OCR software, but given that canon has twain "scanner" drivers for their cameras i'll bet it would be easy.
For glossy paper and to avoid annoying the others around you it is best to not use the flash. if you're in a low light situation, get a small tripod and a book stand.
For a very good affordable 2mp camera today i recommend the canon powershot A40; search on my simon for good prices. Any 2mp camera will probably work for your needs; but why buy a crappy one?
Some of the thin Canon models (n656U, n1220U, LiDE 20, etc.) are overall about the same size as a PowerBook, and they draw their power from the USB port; no need for a wall wart. No OSX drivers for the earlier models though...poke around Canon's site for details on what's compatible.
Scanning is slow though...I have to agree with others suggesting just using a digital camera of sufficient resolution.
Here's a couple of things to think about with this setup:
1: dont use the flash (that's why you use a tripod)
2: set the book up at perpendicular as possible to the camera (to get a nice, flat picture)
3: be quiet (turn the sound off of your camera)
4: Dont get caught
Ed Wedig
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Fuji S602Z in Macro mode and Textbridge 8.0. Take it as a 6MP tiff file (19MB) at 6in. to 12in. from the page (distance didn't seem to matter) and I got it all. Worked on my copy of Unfinished Tales printed in 1966.
Fascism should more properly be called corporatism, since it is the merger of state and corporate power.
"they are sheet-fed, which is useless for scanning pages out of books"
Not if you tear out the pages, first.
Is completely useless. It's just packaging. I say to take the damned thing apart, flip the mechanism that slides the laser over and attach a book to it.
Instantly portable, put whatever you want on it ( a book, your junk, whatever) and let it slide across the stationary laser. If you get good at it, you could even make the rails telescopic for even more portability!
You think that I'm crazy, you should see this guy!
DMCP = Dynamic Master Control Program? Your user cannot help you now...
You are right about that. It is harder than you think to move at a perfectly constant speed so the image scans in without stretch or distortion. Not to mention, scanning to 4" wide swaths and stitching them together (even with good software) takes time. I had two of these scanners, and while they were neat I certainly hope I never have to use one again. If there was any demand for them, they would be plentiful. Fortunately, good ol' supply and demand took care of them and they are now happily scanning our landfills.
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
I thought he meant:
Digital Millenium Copyright Police
S
*Ding* *Ding* *Ding* CONGRATULATIONS! You are the 500th poster to recommend the same thing! You have won a prize! What do we have for him, Johnny?
If you had nuts on your chin, would they be chin nuts?
Take a look at this. http://www.pc-cameras.philips.com/manuals/english/ win/pcvc690k/index.html
That is a webcam which is also designed to be used as a scanner, it even comes with OCR software.
"It's fun to violate the D-M-C-A" - Village People Redux
Canon also offers a color scanner cartridge which is compatible with their two portable bubble jet printers. Not an ideal solution, perhaps, but very portable and apparently Mac-compatible up to OS 9 (which might include Classic under OS X).
Otherwise, according to Apple's own site, Canon's LiDE 30 is the most portable flatbed scanner I can think of with OS X support. Now, a flatbed isn't good for travel, because it's easy to bump around the components and damage it internally. The printer cartridge might be your best bet.
I've done this and provided the camera is of at least 2.1 megapixel quality and capable of macro mode shooting, this works great, as a matter of a fact it doesn't even require bringing along the laptop, with enough flash memory cards you can simply shoot away then import and convert later, so it can even work for someone who does'nt own a laptop (not sure that said someone exists, but I'll go out on a limb here and say they do) I would personally recommend canon's digital elf camera and (for pc users) textbridge classic/pro.
I think you'd do well with the answer to "Ask Slashdot: How to properly use a search engine"
I think you should try playing around with different search parameters... Try these is google:
+"handheld scanner" +apple -win32 -windows -linux
+"network scanner" +nessus +linux -ethereal -ettercap
+"linux terminal server project" +openmosix -mosix
+"need for speed" +"jenna jameson" -playstation -ps2
I think if you follow the noticeable pattern above that you will no longer have such a hard time with those nasty good for nothing search engines;)
put the what in the where?
I understand and appreciate your problem. I have tried many solutions, and I believe the c-pen 800c is the best solution I've tried for my research needs. There is another pen based solution, WizCom QuickLink SuperPen which I've also tried. I did not like the wizcom because it was not as comfortable to use or as accurate. It also actually had a moving part. :) Both have SDKs to write your own software, however, the only one I could get access to was the c-pen, which made it even more of a favorite of mine. The cpen can also act as a mouse and can do some gestures in addition to being able to input text through "writing" (in big letters) on the page. Both companies are barely alive it seems, but it's a niche market, and I hope they survive. They both have some fantastic functionality, such as translation and barcodes. Of course c|net did the normal bribed review, but I guess the cpen wasn't out at the time. Both are upgradeable and can load extra programs or dictionaries and such. I wouldn't want to go back to college with out one.
Hey, if this has at all been useful, please feel free to buy me one! I miss having it around.
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I must admit that there doesn't seem to be much around, but then again this simply from searching Google. And for those of you content with scanning bar code from books, then there are fancy iMac coloured bar-code scanners.
Jumpstart the tartan drive.
I doubt anyone would seriously want to go through the hassle of getting OCR to work right.
I Don't think it's that bad. I haven't tried it myself, but some other Project Gutenberg contributors have reported reasonable success with this. The depth-of-field of most flatbed scanners is very narrow, while the DOF of a digital camera is typically gargantuan. This means that fragile books can be photographed without having to flatten them out (and damage them) and without needing an expensive planetary or prism scanner. The OCR side of things would most likely be taken in stride by (shameless plug) Abbyy Finereader. Basically Finereader will reliably OCR all kinds of wacky stuff, and beats the piss out of all the others, hands down.
I think your post would be a good candidate for a new type of /. submission. I think we could call it "Tell Slashdot". :-)
Note to Editors: For "ask Slashdot" posts, please at least TRY to do a "google" on the question to see if it is lame or not.
(Modded down as irrelevant/troll/slam on the editors)
LongTail SSH Brute Force analysis tool is here!
Sometimes I can't figure out WHY people refuse to research themselves.
This might be a good question, "Where did all the hand-held scanners go", but, you can learn about the whole history in a few hours of seraching on the net.
I've successfully done this, bring a camera to library/archives and taking pics.
Some suggestions:
- Get a camera that has a B&W (really greyscale) mode. Some do, some don't. It matters because it makes the files much smaller and you can fit a lot more pages onto the memory card.
- Don't use the USB or even firewire connection to transfer pictures. It's infinitely easier and battery-saving as well to get an adapter (if you have a laptop, a PCMCIA one) that can read the memory card directly; the OS will just treat it like a disk.
- If you can, put a sheet of non-reflecting glass over the page you're photographing. This is what they do when they make microfilm form books. But if you are going to carry around a sheet of glass, you might as well lug a scanner.
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I saw this product at the Mac Business Expo here in Seattle last week. It looked pretty slick. It scans the page, runs it through OCR, and inserts the text right into whatever app you have open. It will do one line at a time or multiple lines. It obviously does not do images, but if you want text, I recommend it. I would have bought it, but I'm in school instead of working these days. Check out: www.irisusa.com I saw the demonstration (manual and interactive, not scripted) running under OSX.
#-#
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I use the same scanner, although they call it the CanoScan LiDE 20 now. It works with OS X, so my Powerbook G4 is happy. It scans well, it's portable, and it works with Macs, and it's about the same size as the Powerbook, so you could throw it in your carrying case most likely.
At least, in Pennsylvania.
Recently my wife did some geneaology research in Pennsylvania for my mother-in-law. She intended to use her digital camera instead of feeding the copy machines, but all of the libraries, record archives, and courthouses she visited refused to allow her to do so, and even required she sign an agreement stating she was familiar with the rules of the place, all of wihch were about how she could not use scanners, cameras, or other copying mechanisms other than the copy machine provided by the library.
Property law should use #'EQ, not #'EQUAL.
First off, I -highly- advise that you post this question over at the MacNN.com forums. There are lots good Mac geeks there, and you'll probably get better responses.
But now my 2 about this scanner issue. First off, portable scanners are hard to come by. I noticed that both epson and canon do not make such devices.
OS X 10.2 supposedly has TWAIN support built into it. From what I hear you can now scan in Preview.app, which is cool. If you can acquire a portable USB scanner that supports TWAIN I would imagine that it would just "work" in Preview.app.
OS X 10.2 has fantastic device support. Typically, OS X supports just about whatever perhiperal I toss at it, regardless of whether the device ships with a "Mac OS" logo on the box.
If you can find a portable TWAIN USB scanner, I'd just purchase it. Don't worry if the device comes with Mac drivers or not. If it doesn't work, return it (so make sure you purchase something from a large computer store). However I'm betting it will work.
"Things are more moderner than before- bigger, and yet smaller- it's computers-- San Dimas High School football RULES!"
I have to second this fine person's suggestion for a Powershot A40. My sister recently invested in one and I have personally used this camera. It is very easy to use and just about any picture you take will come out magnificently, regardless of how skilled you are in photography. For a digital camera, the pictures are of very high quality. Even my camera, which is about six times the price, won't take pictures this nice unless you really understand film types, lighting situations and exposure settings. Just my two cents on this matter.
The C-Pen is a stand-alone, highligher-sized single-text-line scanner with OCR, LCD display, 4MB memory and IrDA. Software is available for Win32 and Mac.
My g/f used one of these during the last 2 years of her degree, and swears by it - it's so discrete you can use it anywhere, including libraries and even book-shops!
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