Correction on previous correction: I did mean megapixels and not gigapixels.
Specifically, current models offering 2.1 megapixels give a resolution of
1600x1200, which enables one in macro focus to scan a document of 4x5.33 in.
at 300 dpi. Since most scanning can be done at an expanse of 8.5x11.7 in., and
pixel densities generally increment by factors of 2 on the linear dimension,
one more such doubling should take us to 3200x2400, for an expanse of 8x10.67
in., which should be enough for most books, and yet another doubling to
6400x4800 should take us to an expanse of 16x21.33 in, which is more than
sufficient for most books, two pages at a time, and would permit using higher
than 300 dpi resolutions, which is important for capturing things like fine
print. That is ~32 megapixels.
To respond to Mark Conrad's comment about media, I must disagree. As one who
has lost the contents of several boxes full of magnetic disks because they
were stored in a shed that got hot in the Texas summer, I can testify that
magneto-optical is far more durable. As long as they are not stored at
temperatures that would warp the disk or exposed to UV light, they should last
for many decades, and before the last drive that can read them stops working,
it should be used to transfer the files to what will then be the current
medium. If not, they can be read with a microscope, one bit at a time.
--Jon
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