Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Got Large-size Items? Try the SimpleScan Demo at Mt Clemens Public Library

Hi Everyone!

I just wanted to remind you that the Mount Clemens Public Library is testing a SimpleScan BookScan station. We are about half way through the one-month demo which began on October 15.

What is a SimpleScan station?
It is a scanning station that operates two scanners using a touchscreen monitor. It asks you what you want, you pick it and then it tells you what to do.
SimpleScan BookScan Station at Mount Clemens Public Library

Since the library is evaluating this unit for purchase and it is in demo mode, you do need to bring in your own USB/Flash/Thumb drive to save your scans. (A fully functioning unit has the capability to email a file, send a file to Google drive, or output a scan to a printer.)

In demo-mode or fully-functioning mode, you have the option to create JPG, TIFF, PDF, searchable PDF, or Word files. You also have the option of scanning in color, black and white or grayscale; and at 200 Pixels Per Inch (PPI) (standard quality), 300 PPI (high quality), or 600 PPI (photo quality).

The station has two scanners. One is a sheet-feed scanner for loose and flexible papers/photos that you feed into the scanner. It can scan both sides. (This scanner is not for stiff items or delicate items that you don't want damaged.) The other scanner is a large flat-bed scanner with a book-edge that can scan items up to 11" x 17" inches!!! (A book-edge is an angled edge that allows a book to lay flat without damaging the spine of a book.)

The SimpleScan station is located in the local history/genealogy room. The library staff can walk you through scanning or if you have questions. But honestly the station asks and tells you what to do right on the screen so you should just be able to walk up and get started on your own.

I do have a tip from my own experience. If you want to make sure you have an individual file for each document you scan ... DO MAKE SURE that you save (give a unique name) to each document right after you scan it. (Tap the next after you are happy with the image.) Otherwise if you scan several items and then do a save, you will end up with one image file containing multiple images in that one file. As of yet, I have found no way to separate these combined images into separate files.

Think about this. 

Besides scanning items in the library's collection, you can bring in your personal large-size items that do not fit on your scanner at home and scan them in one piece. Things like large certificates and large photos that do not fit on most home scanners are great items to scan on the station. See the baptismal certificate in the photo above.

If you use the scanning station let us or the library staff know what you think.

See You Soon at Mt. Clemens Public Library!

LE

1 comment:

  1. That was fast! About two and a half hours after publishing the SimpleScan post, MCGG member Bob McG. was sitting at the station testing it out. I will write a post on his scan results soon. LE

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