Jane,
Yes, I have done it and personally I think a camera is without doubt by
far the best way to digitise books.
A digital camera will not only provide a much safer environment for
capturing books, but once established, should also be much quicker and
easier to.
However it is not without it's learning curve!
Generally the Digital Camera is the easy bit, holding the book safely,
with the pages, nicely flat and well lit can need a more skilled
operator than working with a flatbed scanner. Many of these challenges
need to be addressed by conservation staff rather than digitisation
people.
Also do not forget that a digital camera producing images of a similar
quality as a scanner, could easily cost 10 times as much.
There are plenty of companies who provide this kind of service and I am
sure you will have no problem in finding them, however I am afraid that
TASI is not supposed to recommend any commercial supplier.
So good luck, and please feel free to contact us again if we can be of
any further help to you,
cheers
eib
On Mon, 28 Jan 2002 14:16:35 -0000 Jane Newton <[log in to unmask]>
wrote:
>
>
> We are wanting to create whole-page digital images from long runs of
> nineteenth-century periodicals, which the library currently holds as
> bound volumes. In the past we have microfilmed such items, and then
> scanned the microfilm to create digital images, but with this material
> we would rather go directly to the digital image.
>
> The problem is that most companies that digitise use flat-bed scanners,
> and the additional handling they require seems likely to damage the
> volumes. Does anyone have experience of creating digital images of
> whole pages from long-runs of periodicals, using a digital camera? If
> anyone can suggest a company that does this, or can give an idea of the
> prices involved, we would be happy to hear from them. The total
> collection runs to 85,000 pages.
>
> Thanks
> Jane Newton
> Assistant Head
> Centre for the Study of Cartoons and Caricature
> Templeman Library
> University of Kent
> Canterbury
> Kent CT2 7NU
> Tel & fax: 01227 823127
> [log in to unmask]
> http://library.ukc.ac.uk/cartoons/
>
>
>
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Ed I Bremner, TASI Senior Technical Research Officer
TASI - Technical Advisory Service for Images
Free help, advice and guidance for the
Further and Higher Education sector
http://www.tasi.ac.uk/
A JISC Service
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