I need to legibly scan/digitize whole newspapers. The sheets are roughly 34 x 24 inches (86 x 60 cm). The scanner on my printer is way too small. I’ve tried several (Android) phone apps, but they only operate on single photos, making small text illegible.

It feels like there should be an app for this. A document scanner that stitches images together like a panoramic photo. But I haven’t found anything quite suitable.

I would greatly prefer a free (or cheap) solution. This is hopefully a one-time thing. I don’t want to buy a flatbed scanner or send the documents away to some company.

I’d appreciate your thoughts.

  • grislyfind@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Camera on a stand, and make a vacuum table that sucks it flat. Use a black fabric underneath the newspaper to eliminate bleed-through from the text on the other side.

    • jummyzero@alien.topOPBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I don’t have the dedication to set up a vacuum table, but the note about the black fabric is incredibly useful! Never would’ve thought of that.

      • grislyfind@alien.topBEnglish
        1·
        10 months ago

        I started out adjusting brightness levels on a histogram during or after scanning, but then realized a dark backing would make the printing invisible and save me the effort. I use black cardboard when scanning newspaper or magazine clippings in a flatbed scanner, but I figured cloth would let vacuum through. I think there are vacuum tables made for engraving and woodworking applications, or an air hockey game table might work with the blower reversed.

  • CederGrass759@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    If you have a decent phone, I’d simply use its camera and a PDF scanning software. On my iPhone, I use the free Adobe Scan to create OCR:d (searchable) scans of newpapers. The quality is surprisingly good.

    Only problem is with winkles/creases — if you’re serious about this, I guess you could try to put a glass or plexiglass ”window” on top of the newspaper to keep it flat?

    • K1rkl4nd@alien.topBEnglish
      1·
      10 months ago

      I’ve scanned thousands of video game manuals- I have the pane of glass out of an 8"x10" picture frame for flattening pages. Works wonders.

  • NemoJones@alien.topBEnglish
    1·
    10 months ago

    Just went through this but with books.

    If you look on Amazon there’s a company called CZUR that makes scanners which are a camera on a stick with a foot pedal. Turn the page, take a picture. I had one and returned it as the image quality wasn’t much different than using my phone and the scanners are expensive.

    There’s jigs and rigs you can buy or make for the phone and then just use a scanner app.

    You’re going to want to find a solution that will stitch the image together from several scans. I am drawing a blank but I know I saw one in my research, either a phone app or this scanner does it.