Bookscanner Instructions

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  1. Power on computer (button on top)
  2. Plug in mouse and keyboard
  3. Power on cameras: connect USB cable to power source
  4. Turn on light (check that power bar is switched on)
  5. Open book to desired page(s) and place face up underneath glass plate
  6. On the computer Desktop, create a new folder with your name/name of your project
  7. On the computer Desktop, open the DIY Book Scanner folder
  8. Copy "scan_continuous_rotate.py" and paste in your new folder
  9. Press down on bookscanner handle to raise book and press flat against glass plate; use handle to position book as its binding allows
  10. Double-click the scan_continuous_rotate.py script in your folder to run
  11. Open your folder to view preview images; confirm that images match the left and right side pages
  12. In Terminal window, press Enter to capture (save) images; follow other directions on screen as needed
  13. Verify all page information is seen in the captured image; check that no information is lost or cut off in the spine (gutter), margins, or binding
  14. Turn pages and repeat steps 12-13 to proceed through the book
  15. After capturing all your images, make sure to copy your files to your own storage
  16. Hit Q to quit the Terminal
  17. Power off cameras, computer, and lights


Notes:

  • File names will automatically increment with each capture (image1, image2, image3, etc).
  • Jump to image 0 to return to the first captured image. If you want to retake the image, select and hit Enter again (this will write over the existing file, so remember to save the original elsewhere if you need).
  • If you need to retake any images, it is recommended to wait until you have captured all images and then jump back to the image you want to write over.
  • Make sure to clean up the temporary preview files (delete, rename, move).
  • The computer has no internet connection; save your files to an external drive. Note that the computer is publicly accessible, so make sure to remove any files/data you want to keep private.
  • It has been observed that sometimes MacBook Pros seem to confuse two USB cameras with the identical name, interpreting them as one camera jumping between ports. One less-than-ideal solution is to have two computers with each attached to a single camera. The Python script that is used to run both cameras can be modified to run with a single camera. Unfortunately, this means that you'll have to press ENTER on both computers to advance scanning.

See Bookscanner for more information.