Category Archives: News

Two smart book2net solutions

Vienna under the sign of democracy – more than 1000 people took part in the 2nd Austrian Library Congress. Lectures and workshops were held under the motto “Libraries: democratic –  diverse – sustainable”. The congress was also a platform for companies, and so we from MICROBOX were also represented in the Austrian capital. Numerous customers who are already familiar with the benefits of our book2net systems, as well as many other interested parties, came to our stand to find out more. Our Reprographic Studio and our Kiosk Public were already waiting there.

For originals from mini to maxi

The book2net Reprographic Studio impresses with its enormous flexibility: from coins to A0 posters it transports everything into the digital world. Easy to use, fast and with excellent quality. It is the ideal flexible solution for all unbound originals in particular, such as single sheets or photos, i.e. archive and documentation material that many libraries also have at their disposal.

Detailed digital copies, careful handling of originals, fast and uncomplicated workflow – these are all features of our Kiosk Public, which is extremely popular in libraries, especially in reading rooms, as a smart replacement for copying systems. Speaking of smart: the big topic at our stand in Vienna was our new “scan2mobile” service. Simply beam the scanned documents to your cell phone – completely without an app, instead with a browser-based version and a dedicated hotspot so that the smart service works everywhere without any problems.

Strengthening democracy  

Our trip to Vienna was very succesful. We were close to the action. The discussions with our customers and anyone who might want to become one are important to us. And something else counts: In these turbulent times, it is all the more important to strengthen libraries as guardians of democracy. The days in Vienna contributed to this – and so did we to a certain extent.

We would like to thank all participants who visited us at the 2nd Austrian Library Congress! We are proud to have been part of this important event!

What we are familiar with on a small scale at home, when we have collected, dried and pressed leaves in the fall, also exists in science − albeit on a completely different level and with considerably more effort: In herbaria, plants or parts of plants are collected, the respective name is added, as well as the collector and the place of discovery.  One of the purposes of such a collection is to compare the archived plant with others that are still growing. Herbaria play a particularly important role in botany, but other sciences, such as archaeology, can also benefit from them. Last but not least, such a collection also offers everyone who is interested exciting insights and orientation in the world of flora. Whether science or “just” amateur interest – when an herbarium is digitized, a large audience gains access to a huge database with detailed illustrations and associated information at the same time and without significant effort.

The innovative software feature of MICROBOX

The smartphone is a faithful companion. As it is useful for everything from app stores to Zoom meetings, we at MICROBOX have now developed a service that integrates the smartphone and makes digitizing with book2net scanners even more convenient than it already is. The solution is called scan2mobile and is likely to delight users of libraries and public archives in particular.

Specifically, it involves saving digital copies on a smartphone. Until now, books, sketches, newspapers and other documents have been scanned in publicly accessible areas and the results are usually saved on a USB stick.

The IT in the book2net scanning systems has guaranteed security for the device itself and for the external data carrier and will continue to do so. But now scan2mobile is being added. There are also options for storing digital copies in the cloud or having them sent automatically by email. The real breakthrough, however, is the smartphone solution.

Digitization made easy

First things first: if you want to conveniently download the files to your smartphone, you don’t need an app, so you don’t have to maintain one. Instead, you can access a browser-based solution completely independent of the operating system−for example iOS or Android−which we are happy to provide.

It’s fast, convenient and completely independent of potential fluctuations in the Internet connection, because we have our own hotspot to ensure that scan2mobile works perfectly, no matter where the library or archive is located.

It is obvious that this smart service is primarily recommended for public areas, where there is a high turnover of users and everyone can quickly pull a few scans onto their smartphone and then share the device with the next person. Now the digital copies can be accessed anywhere conveniently and in the usual excellent book2net quality. It couldn’t be simpler, especially as your trusty smartphone is always with you anyway.

A game changer in 3D technology

Museums want to be places of experience, convey facts without being boring, show rarities, amaze and make people go home happy after their visit. And they want to go out into the world themselves. They don’t want to be tied to rooms, they want to be able to be experienced online everywhere. At any time. The Internet makes many things possible, but how do I manage to present exhibits exactly as they look? Three-dimensionally, from all sides, in top quality, without distortion. If this can be achieved, cultural history can be preserved digitally. You can arouse the enthusiasm of many people around the world for exhibits that they would otherwise have to go to a museum to see.

The perfect scanning of a three-dimensional object is no longer a dream of the future: with the CYBERGLOBE Culture, we have launched a game changer for the cultural sector. The 3D scanner makes no compromises in terms of quality. Three-dimensional scanning in itself is not a completely new invention, but what is new is that the digitized image does not differ from the original in any way, no matter how small.

There are also numerous other advantages that make the CYBERGLOBE Culture so special: Operation is straightforward, the device and the software take care of everything, all you have to do is place the object and press a button. The CYBERGLOBE Culture works extremely effectively, which also keeps the costs very low. If you convert the price to the number of strokes of the 3D scanner from book2net, then you can assume €0.47 per digitized item. A fraction of the cost you would have to pay for a service provider. From seven scans per hour, including calculation by the software, are possible.

The purchase is therefore worthwhile from a financial point of view. Especially as you don’t need an IT expert to operate it. The employee digitizing the exhibits can do something else while the 80-megapixel camera moves downwards in a semicircle and the 0.1-millimetre-thick, yet robust support table rotates around its own axis. During this process, the camera takes photos from 250 perspectives. These images are then combined by the software to form a large whole without having to make any adjustments.

Further advantages are the longevity of the product made in Germany and the service, because we are also on hand with help and advice after the purchase.