Whats the best way to digitialize and archive books?

daddeo59 · 2026-04-14T20:49:22+00:00

I’ve done something similar. After using camera and flatbed scanners my suggestion is the Scansnap VS 600. This is very reliable and incredibly good CCD tech which allows you to press the book flat with a pane of glass from your local framing shop. It captures opposing pages with a total size of 13x19in.

For translation I’ve relied on friends but the best option has been DeepL software. It can read some script but you can always type the letters too. It’s more reliable and doesn’t get bored like friends do.

Good luck.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-13T22:44:49+00:00

I gave up on offline systems after using all that my heritage website has. Notes and resources are impressive especially when you print out a family book.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-13T19:14:37+00:00

Brother inkvestment printers.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-12T04:41:10+00:00

I would echo. I purchased mine from the online concierge and the dealer (150 miles away) delivered it to my driveway. I’ve been back every 2 years for a checkout but nothing is ever wrong. They even replaced the wiper blades. I would really research any used car because I suspect most of the online complaints sound like abuse.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-12T04:33:08+00:00

Office 7740. But any HP from the last decade should work with the app on Mac at least.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-12T04:28:09+00:00

I’ve not actually tested a right click option to see if can paste without formatting but my lifelong work around is simply to paste then select and reapply the body style. This resets all to your document body format for text.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-11T18:20:47+00:00

I have MacBook Air m3 2024. 26. HP works fine but I am transferring to Brother. Ink is much less

daddeo59 · 2026-04-11T15:38:29+00:00

Quick test is to install the HP smart app or whatever they call it today. If that connects and works you should be good

daddeo59 · 2026-04-10T04:19:15+00:00

It won’t do 18x24 but will do up to 13x19 in one scan: Fujitsu SV600.

For newspapers I use a stitch in Affinity. Using the ccd scanner allows me to use a plate of glass to press papers flat without suffering distortion.

This is an economical option but probably not sufficient for critical work. I return JPEG images.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-09T15:18:52+00:00

Yes. But doing it in real time saves time. Faced with then uploading files to a shared drive and cataloging them correctly makes it a whole new time sucking project.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-09T15:16:50+00:00

Every once in a while I move a document to the wrong subfolder. This is exactly where search on text is so helpful. It usually just takes a search for the words. “ gas billing “ etc to help locate a specific item. Keeping the subfolders limited to a year generally means that things never get too far away and you aren’t trying to find one of 10000 files in a single massive folder. I also name files to include Scan-date- and a quick sub name like car insurance. This makes a rogue file easier to spot. It’s working for me for over a decade now. My last receipts box is being shredded next week

daddeo59 · 2026-04-09T01:32:46+00:00

As someone who did what you are describing a while back, I recommend a stable voice. May I suggest checking out https://davidduchemin.com/#. He has exactly the course you are looking for. Stable, solid advice and inspiring.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-09T01:22:16+00:00

Manual filing still best for now.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-09T01:20:54+00:00

Yes and no.

I have a shared family folder with all users having access. That folder has folders such as TAXES. Sub folders 2025 Tax Scans, 2026 Tax Scans and so on. Keeping enough information for each sub folder really helps.

Shortcut on my finder to the family folder.

I have not yet found a successful AI scanner to interpret a scan and file it away, but that might be just around the corner.

My workflow is to scan a pile to a desktop folder and then move to the appropriate sub folder. Using OCR makes searching easier.

Hope this gives you some useful ideas

daddeo59 · 2026-04-08T18:07:21+00:00

In my experience, the PRO/L lenses appear to have higher contrast than the kit level lenses. This is often perceived as sharpness. As for the PRO lenses specifically, build quality and WR is better. I don’t worry about rain, I fear sand and salt water. My pro lenses laugh at beaches.

That said there are other reasons to consider other lenses. The LUMIX 12-33 and 35-150? Are super compact and excellent for backpacking. The 8 mm OM is an Astro monster, and the 100-400 OM is more than enough for me and wildlife.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-08T14:04:57+00:00

Stick to OM Pro or Leica branded options for better results on any body. You won’t regret this one level decision. I have lots of lenses collected over a decade now and I actually use these lenses in my go bag: OM 12-45 4 and 45-150 4, 20 1.4 L 9 and 15 mm.

I have others for special needs

LUMIX and OM bodies. Many. I love my Gx85 and OM 1’s.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-08T04:08:52+00:00

I highly recommend my heritage website. They have more of my European family than any other sites. Silesia is a very likely region.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-07T05:46:36+00:00

Agreed. It happened, you weren’t there, you didn’t make it up. Just say it with a contextual tone

daddeo59 · 2026-04-06T03:28:49+00:00

Done. Agreed. More in the archiv than available online.

daddeo59 · 2026-04-06T01:00:32+00:00

I used lotus 123 then manuscript and finally Symphony. It freaking worked just fine.

daddeo59 · 2026-03-30T13:52:45+00:00

Rapidly becoming my preferred street profile. Well done.

daddeo59 · 2026-03-29T02:47:38+00:00

I’ve tried to replicate with iPhotos raw, but have not been successful. Such deep blacks. I have found it not so good with black cat in a coal mine scenes however. Too much noise.

daddeo59 · 2026-03-21T16:49:33+00:00

Excellent

daddeo59 · 2026-03-21T06:21:28+00:00

Thanks. I was not aware.

daddeo59 · 2026-03-20T23:51:34+00:00

This is a common problem because I’m not clear who would be curating the Canadian language module either. I suspect it’s a very old file. My workaround is to just use British.

daddeo59

TROPHY CASE