DIY Book Scanner Wiki
The goal of this wiki is to enable anyone to effectively learn about, build, and use book scanners. This is a place to collect knowledge in an easy to access form.

Most information comes from posts on the forums.

Please contribute! (You will need to register.) Add anything you think is helpful. If you have completed a build, be sure to include a page in the gallery describing it. Remember, the best information is clear, understandable, accurate, and unbiased… help us build a reference we can be proud of!

For a detailed description of Daniel's model 1 scanner, see the introduction page.

wild kratts coloring pages Free for kids to print and color.

An Overview of Bookscanning

See Project Stages.

The first task is to build a scanner, working either from a blueprint, basing it off of something in the Gallery, or starting from scratch. This may be as simple as a tripod and a piece of glass, or as complicated as a precision aluminum build. Many people experiment with whatever materials are available and learn the whole process before committing to a serious build. In the end, though, a better build means easier, quicker, and higher quality scans.

Once you have something set up, you can use a digital camera to record an image of each page, use post-processing software to clean up the images, perhaps collect OCR and other metadata, and finally bundle it all into your preferred file format. As you scan more books you become more familiar with the software you're using, and you begin to develop a streamlined work flow.

Dive In

One way to start is by exploring the Tutorial Section or by exploring our other top-level tags: the Gallery, Hardware, and Software.