Often, critical and historical information and documentation are contained in bound and odd-sized books, manuals, research, and lab notes, etc. The best way to preserve, protect, and access this information is to convert that media to digital files. ECM Today! specializes in providing non-destructive scanning of newspapers, booklets, or any other print media, bound or unbound. We can scan in full color or black and white and deliver the files in any format you request.
If your goal is historical preservation, we understand that these pieces can be fragile and delicate. Our employees are specifically trained to provide “white-glove service” in handling these materials. We can even repair some of the pages before scanning if requested.
Book Scanning and Digitization Services
The books, lab notebooks, and other media types we scan for clients include, but are not limited to:
- Hardcover books
- Magazines
- Rare and fragile books
- Lab notebooks
- Yearbooks
- Manuals
- Research notebooks
- Logbooks
- Ledgers
- Bound medical records
- Surveys
As a high-volume document scanning company, we primarily work with large collections and archives; we typically do not scan just one book.
Note: It is critical that you have the right to digitize your materials. ECM Today! cannot scan anything that you do not have copyright permission to digitize.
Benefits of Book Scanning
Here at ECM Today! we believe in the power of digital media, and books are no exception. There are a wide variety of benefits to scanned books, including:
Protect Intellectual Property and Propriety Data
Keeping only physical copies of lab and research notebooks leave them open to potential loss or damage. Scanning provides not only a backup but allows password protection, limiting access to authorized people only.
Increase Office and Shelf Space
Depending on your preference, after scanning all materials will be destroyed or returned for long-term storage elsewhere. Either way, one immediate benefit of digitizing is to free up space in your office and storage facilities.
Easier Accessibility
The greatest efficiency is your archives becoming fully text-searchable. Once digitized and run through Optical Character Recognition (OCR), it is easy to perform extensive searches; for example, finding a name across newspaper archives, or a product mention in instruction manuals.
Digital files can be also be attached to an email, or an auditor can be given a link. Users can even access data on mobile devices from remote locations. Additionally, multiple people can access the same documents at once, allowing more efficient collaboration, fewer delays, and less confusion.
Preserve Historical Information
Once scanned, your organization has preserved the information forever. No more paging through old books in your archives hoping to find what you need – just do a search from your desktop. And this also limits the handling of delicate or valuable books and documents while still making them available to authorized users.
The ECM Today! Book Scanning Process
We make the book scanning process easy. First is a consultation to understand your needs, business goals, and what we can do to help. We go over what is expected, the scope of the project, and inspect the books and other media. We will answer any questions and address any concerns you might have.
After that, our team will come and pick up your books, or you can hire your own courier if you prefer. Note: If the books or media are older and more fragile, we will discuss preparation prior to pick up or shipping.
Once the books and/or bound media are at the office, they are prepared for scanning.
Books are then scanned one of three ways, depending on type:
- Using a flatbed scanner (good for spiral-bound notebooks or workbooks)
- Using a planetary (overhead) scanner (good for smaller bound books like yearbooks)
- Using our V-shape imaging system (good for newspapers and oversized magazines)
As the books are scanned, our staff will index them so that they are keyword searchable after completion. If requested, pages are then run through optical character recognition (OCR) for full-text searches.
Once the digital files are complete and checked for quality and completeness, they are returned to you via USB, cloud drive, email, or another digital file transfer method. The books will then be returned unless you have requested destruction.
If you are ready to get started on digitizing your books, lab notebooks, and other bound books please contact us.
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