Don’t wait in line to feed coins into the library’s photocopier!Here are instructions for making a portable, paperless, digital copy machine. [Earlier I published a version of this that had a clear-plastic “page press”. In some cases, there was too much reflection off of the plastic, and I couldn’t get good copies. This new version has an adjustable, windowless frame for pressing the pages flat. This version is cheaper to make and packs up smaller than before.] Your materials should cost less than $20, maybe less than $10, and the labor time should be only a few hours. I am assuming that you already have a digital camera and a computer for downloading pictures. Of course, your camera will do most of the work here, but you will provide it with a steady stand that has a press for getting those book pages flat. The pictures show what the final device looks like, fully assembled …and broken down for transport. I suggest several, options for improving your copies – in some cases, low-cost software is involved. If you follow all of the options, you can convert your images into word-searchable documents. You can’t search for keywords in the pages you get off of a copy machine! And think of the trees you will save by going paperless!
(The book example is World Book Encyclopedia, 1989.)
InstructJS.load(['imagespot'], function () var spot = ImageSpots.get('spot122042'); $("imgThumb_spot122042_FC256ACG145SMQR").observe("click", function() ImageSpots.show( 'spot122042', 'FC256ACG145SMQR' ); $("imgThumb_spot122042_FG9Y7U4G145SM8X").observe("click", function() ImageSpots.show( 'spot122042', 'FG9Y7U4G145SM8X' ); To View All Steps on one page,
Go Pro Today!
step 1Parts Needed
2x threaded rods, 36” x 1/4”1x Tygon tubing, 6’ x 1/4” inside diameter16x 1/4” nuts5x 1/4” wing nuts4x 1/4” stop nuts or acorn nuts1x 1 1/2” x 1/4” bolt1x wood scrap, about…
step 2Assemble the camera mount
Position the angle brackets onto the wood scrap. (Mine are 3” apart.)Mark the holes.Drill pilot holes for the wood screws.Screw the angle brackets in place.Position the c…
step 3Prepare the page-press
Cut the track material into suitable lengths (My pressing pieces are 13 1/4” and my cross pieces are 13”, all cut as indicated relative to the adjustment marks on the tr…
step 4Prepare the rods
Cut each 36” threaded rod in two; now you have four 18” rods.Round off the cut ends with a file.Check the threads of the cut ends with a nut. (You may have to apply the n…
step 5Final assembly
Assemble the frame to an appropriate size depending on the book or magazine you want to copy. It’s easiest to make the frame with the rod-bottoms already mounted in the thr…
step 6Copy some documents
Turn off the flash. (It’s not needed; it reflects off of the page; and it’s annoying in the library! Shift things around to avoid reflections and shadows. Long exposures …
step 7Clean up the images (Optional)
Use some simple photo-editing software to … Rotate the image, if it is out of alignment. Crop the image. Adjust the brightness and contrast. Fix photo aberratio…
step 8Paste the images into one document (Optional)
Prepare a dummy document using MS Word (or another word processing program).Make a blank page for each image.Give each blank page has a few Returns then a Page Break.Cut on…
step 9Convert the Word document into a Pdf file (Optional)
Why? See Option 10, below. Several programs (e.g. Abbyy Transformer or Cute PDF Writer) convert Word files to Pdfs. (Some conversion programs are freeware.)
step 10Convert your Pdf files into word-searchable Pdf files
Several programs, e.g. Abbyy Transformer (~$49), do a good job with optical character recognition (OCR) converting Pdfs into searchable Pdfs. You can now search for keyword…
Related Videos
http://www.instructables.com/id/New-Improved-Portable-Paperless-Digital-Copy-M/