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Scanning

Need to digitize an image or document? Learn which scanner is best for you and how to use it.

The Bookedge Scanner

  • The bookedge scanners are best used for bound books where you're attempting to get an image of a flat page. If this does not describe your situation, please contact a Freedman Center Student Assistant for further assistance.

Getting started

  • First, create a folder in the D: Drive Storage folder, labeled with your Case ID, to store your files in.
  • Take a look at the glass and make sure it's clean. If it isn't contact a Freedman Center Student Assistant for help!
  • If the scanner is not on, turn it on using the switch on the bottom right hand side.
  •  Next, open the Plustek Book Edge software from the Scanners folder on the desktop. Make sure the scanner is on or the software will not open. Once you launch the scanner for the first time, it will need a few minutes to warm up before you can start scanning.

  • Place the book as shown in the image. If your page is backwards, you can adjust that once the scan is complete.
  • Line up the crease of your book with the black triangle as shown.  When scanning, you can choose to leave the lid open.  This will give you both an excellent image and help prevent damage on the scanner.  
  • Gently push on the book with your hand to flatten it. Do not push forcefully as that will break the glass! Scan your book with the lid open; book weights are available if necessary. 

Setting up the scan

Once the software is opened, you will have to edit a few settings. In order, change these settings:

  1. Choose FILE UTILITY from the dropdown menu

     
  2. For the best quality image, make sure to save your files as a UNCOMPRESSED TIFF IMAGE from the dropdown menu
  3. Choose to save your scans as separate files. If you don't it will create a MULTI-PAGE TIFF file which most programs will not recognize!
  4. Click the button labeled Mode Setting
  5. Chose Color or Grayscale, as appropriate
  6. Regardless of your selection, make sure that Brightness, Contrast, and Saturation are set to 0. Set Gamma to 1. For resolution, enter how high you want the resolution of your scan to be. The higher the resolution, the longer it will take for your document to scan. For general purposes, 300 should be your minimum value; for extremely high quality images you can use up to 800, going any higher will expose errors in the printing process.
  7. Close mode settings, and make sure that you save your file to YOUR FOLDER on the D: Drive Storage folder. You can choose a name for your file here too

  • Click PREVIEW to generate a preview scan.
  • You should now have a window that looks like the one below, with your scan showing as a preview.

  • Now, click on the "marching ants" in the preview panel, and drag them to just enclose your scan. This ensures that the image you capture is not the entire scanner bed.
  • Next, select the scan you would like - either color or grayscale.
  • Once your scan has completed, click on "Transfer". THIS IS WHAT SAVES THE FILE.
  • Note that once the initial setup has been completed, using the buttons on the scanner itself will create scans using the same settings!