In contrast to document or passage scanners, book scanners are so-called overhead or reflected light scanners, which were primarily designed for the gentle, contactless digitization of bound documents such as books, journals and magazines. Special components such as gentle light control from above (incident light), a book cradle with book spine exemption and a gentle glass pressure procedure avoid unnecessary stress on the documents during the scanning process and possible consequential damage. Usually, book scanners are also combined with special software that processes the digital copies and allows the user to save them in the desired format.
Book scanners are nowadays used worldwide in the public area of archives, libraries and administrations as a replacement for conventional copier systems (e.g. reading rooms, authorities, law firms, etc.). In addition, they are used in the service sector to process on-demand orders (university interlibrary loan) or extensive digitization projects. In addition to purely manually operated systems, semi or fully automatic scanners (scan robots) are also offered.
Book scanners with modern surface sensor technology are among the most innovative, gentle and reliable systems. They deliver the highest image quality as well as extraordinary scanning speed and image processing processes. In addition to quality and investment security, this can mean considerable time, cost and staff savings, especially when conducting large projects.
In cooperation with the British Library and the National Archives of Sweden, MICROBOX developed the first book scanner in 2006 under the book2net product line. Since then we have continuously expanded our portfolio and today we offer our customers application-specific hardware and software as complete solutions that cover all areas: DIN A5 or DIN A0 format, single sheet or precious handwriting, matt or glossy surface, flat or raised Structures, two-dimensional or 3D objects. From standardized digitization to special applications and professional multispectral photography: the MICROBOX / book2net team offers customer-specific solutions for all areas.