Book Scanning

Non-Destructive book scanning service

Also known as in-tact digitisation method and is suitable for books and material which are valuable, non replaceable or it’s the only hard-copy available and removing the binding is not an option.

It is more costly than destructive scanning, however the books are kept in their original format and handled with extreme care.

We use overhead professional liner book scanners to achieve high quality images as oppose to camera based equipment. Our scanners are coupled with advanced image processing software which provide key image enhancement and optimisation functionalities. In addition to this, our book scanning team has developed applications to further optimise the scanning process for books which are non-standard sizes and are difficult to handle.

Guide to our non-destructive book scanning and digitisation process

Destructive book scanning service

This is a meticulous process which involves carefully removing the binding of the book and then using a professional guillotine machine to slice the glued / sown area by around 5mm. All pages are freed-up from any binding and then fed through high speed industrial book scanners.

Our destructive book scanning service includes scanning of the books to upto A3 size either in black & white or color. In some cases the pages can be scanned like-for-like, this method of book scanning is more intricate but in return provides much better image quality.

Our like-for-like book scanning service method is particularly suitable for those books which are required to be scanned for printing purposes. This option is available for our both destructive and non-destructive book scanning services.

Archival preservation services _{Digitisation Service for Rare, Heritage and Fragile Books}

The greatest of care is taken when it comes to the scanning and digital preservation of older, more delicate and hard to find books. We carefully plan the process which is based around the condition of the books, including reducing the speed at which we process them to ensure that the books remain in the same condition as when they arrived with us. When dealing with material such as bound books, loose sheets, negatives, slides, glass plate negatives and transparencies etc. which over a period of time have been deteriorated, we offer a pre-scan professional repair service to ensure that the digital images do not miss any vital part of the source and do not contain any foreign objects or dust marks etc.

When digitising material for long term archival and preservation purposes, there are number of things to be considered, e.g. image resolution, format, compression types, storage medium and access platform etc. Our Archival Preservation digitisation team reviews each and individual project to ensure that the correct technical specification and profile has been setup to ensure suitability for current and future requirements & any changes.

If you are looking to digitise your archive material from paper or microfilm, you can call us and have a chat with one of our specialist on 0161 832 7991.