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Selecting the Ideal Book Scanning Software: An In-Depth Guide

Choosing the perfect book scanning software is essential for effective digitization. This comprehensive guide emphasizes features to consider, particularly for the Scan2NET platform. Notably, the technological foundation of all Bookeye scanners from Image Access.

Understanding the Role of Book Scanning Software

It is important to understand what book scanning software does. This software is the cornerstone of the digitization process, converting physical books into digital formats. It manages the capturing, processing, adjusting, and storing of images. Consequently, it plays a pivotal role in the realm of modern digital archiving.

Software Bundled with Book Scanners

Most book scanners, like the Image Access Bookeye Scanner, come with built-in software in the scanner. This software often replaces traditional scanner drivers. Moreover, the Bookeye interface integrates seamlessly into complex workflows simple integration of complex workflows utilizing one of the many capturing software solutions or add-on software available, such as BatchScanWizard, BCS2, Scan2OCR, Scan2Pad, ScanWizard and TWAIN driver. Hence, evaluating the quality and capabilities of this software is critical when choosing a scanner.

Essential Features of Book Scanning Software

1. Batch Scanning

An important feature that enhances and compliments your scanning software. Batch Scanning, will enables users to automate scanning large quantities of documents, which speeds up the data throughput and reduces operational tasks substantially. Included in the Bookeye, the BatchScanWizard handle this important task and will automatically set an incremental file name or you can assign an individual job or assign a new job name of your choice, as desired.

2. Output File Formats

The scan software should be able to generate multi-output formats such as PDF (PDF/A) and TIFF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, PNM, PNG, BMP, TIFF (Raw, G3, G4, LZW, JPEG), AutoCAD DWF, JBIG, DjVu, DICOM, PCX, Postscript, EPS, Raw data and more. All these formats can be produced by the Bookeye scanner built-in scan software “BatchScanWizard” at no additional cost. With the option to add some Metadata or document properties into the scanned image, fields such as Author, Title, Description, Subject, Rights, Copyright Marker and other Keywords.

3. Automated / On the Fly Functions

90°, 180° or 270° Scan Rotation, Auto- Deskew, Auto-Crop “with or without Crop Margin and/or Crop Density”, Book fold correction “to scan bound documents without annoying shadows”, Automatic Thumb Removal “to assist in straitening the output images”, Automatic Size detection, Auto Density “for better background recognition”, Book Fan Removal, Punch Hole Removal and Black Border Removal.

4. Rescan Mode

By scanning in Rescan mode, a formerly scanned image will be held in memory. Color mode, file format, rotation, mirror and camera settings can be modified without having to rescan. This function is available in the Bookeye BatchScanWizard, in ScanPad or ScanTool. The new settings will affect the image immediately, without having to physically rescan the document.

5. Templates

The Software should enable the user to create custom templates for specific scanning parameters, file naming conventions and directory locations.

6. Automatic Naming & location

Automatic generation of file and directory names and directory structures using individual variables or combinations of variables. Freely configurable file, directory, and scan template names (via manual input, barcode or using variables).

7. Indexing Tools

For every job created, the software should allow users to create, edit and add job index variables, as string or integer data types for your scan job, when you have the need to add or combine two or more name parts to an image or to a directory name. BatchScanWizard will allow a job index variable to be used to build image file names, directory names and directory structures or to provide index or trace log and text files, e.g. for tracking the image export results of a scan job operation or supporting document management systems and databases. These files are text based (currently UTF8) and they can be created in an individual file format, like xml, html and txt.

8. User Management

With BatchScanWizard User Management all user operations can be tracked in a scan job protocol, the trace log, or in single protocol files, the text files, for each scan. For example information like the name of the actual logged in BSW user, the creation time of a scan job and the used scan parameters can be sampled in existing or in created variables and combined into a report file. Users and user groups can be created and managed by giving them individual user rights for the desired scan workflow.

9. OCR Technology

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is central to digitization, a technology that allows the conversion of image with text into a machine-readable text format. This feature not only makes documents searchable but also readable by computers. Scan2OCR an optional software module with Scan2NET scanners (Bookeye & WideTEK) that supports more than 100 languages and allows the user to scan in job mode and to OCR the entire page or multiple pages scanned, using multipage PDF mode and runs in the background so that users can continue scanning subsequent pages in the job.

Key Features of Scan2OCR:

Conclusion: Start Your Book Scanning Journey

With the right software, digitizing books becomes both efficient and rewarding. Therefore, choose software that meets your specific needs and stay updated with advancements. As technology evolves, continuously adapt your software choice. Happy book scanning!

Key Features of Book Scanning Software

Remember, continually reassess and adapt your choice of software as technology and your needs evolve. Enjoy your book scanning adventure!