Photographing versus Scanning for rare documents

EO
Posted By
Eamonn_O_Hogain
Feb 19, 2008
Views
460
Replies
8
Status
Closed
How do I post files on this forum. I want to show you two files (one a photographed image of a rare document page, the other a scanned image of the same document page. How do I post these?

MacBook Pro 16” Mockups 🔥

– in 4 materials (clay versions included)

– 12 scenes

– 48 MacBook Pro 16″ mockups

– 6000 x 4500 px

DM
dave_milbut
Feb 19, 2008
How do I post files on this forum.

use something like <http://www.pixentral.com>

copy and paste the url in your address bar here after you upload.
EO
Eamonn_O_Hogain
Feb 19, 2008
I think I have it now. You can find the scanned image (page of rare document) at < http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1pHy6gUubuU7PGrRgI np2ryI39EgP0>

You can find the photographed image of same at
< http://www.pixentral.com/show.php?picture=1uM1Q0CEZQFOL7B7zs aDhRQH0yLff0>
BO
Burton_Ogden
Feb 19, 2008
Eamonn,

A complication for either method is that the documents are pages in a large bound volume, which makes it difficult to get the central bound area in good focus or flat perspective. As I suspected, the textual details are in low contrast. That is a problem with many old documents, whether they are in pencil or ink. Hopefully your pictures are in the JPEG format because of the restrictions of Pixentral.com. JPEG is definitely not an ideal working format.

In order to deal better with the low contrast problem, you should scan/photograph at the maximum bit depth. It would be desirable to work with 16-bit RGB or higher in Photoshop. The scanner has flattened the document page somewhat, but I am still partial to using photography because of minimal impact on the old documents.

To retain an aura of authenticity I would not make the paper pure white in Photoshop, but I would lighten it and I would increase the contrast to make the ink or pencil darker, but not pure black either. If the document is written in pencil, as it apparently is, you want to retain the texture of the paper and the granularity of the pencil marks for authenticity. The same would go for ink marks. I wouldn’t touch up the stains or small mold colonies either. Just go for making the document easy to read, while retaining the authentic features.

The photograph exhibits a greater degree of uneven illumination than the scanner, but that is a problem for both. I don’t know what the rules are in your working environment but, if it is allowed, you need to improve the illumination on the document. Photographers use a variety of diffuse light sources to get even illumination. I am not a professional photographer, so I don’t know which source would be best for you, but you do need some more diffuse illumination to fill in the shadows. Of course, you can deal with the shadows somewhat in Photoshop as well. But it would be better to give Photoshop something decent to work with.

The photograph isn’t aligned squarely with document. You probably need some sort of copy stand like Lawrence Hudetz suggested. If you need to make fractional rotations in Photoshop to further square things up, you will need lots of pixels to insure a smooth result. The same goes for any perspective corrections that are needed. That will increase the processing time in Photoshop, but if you aren’t in a huge hurry, let quality take precedence over speed.

— Burton —
DM
Don_McCahill
Feb 19, 2008
Ditto what Burton said about lighting. You really need to get a light setup that provides the maximum amount of light, and thus contrast, as possible.

Does your institution have any professional photographers? Ask one for help … these folks are wizards at making the most of light. (You might even get the loan of some lighting/photo equipment.)
P
Phosphor
Feb 19, 2008
There are also dedicated scanners that are designed specifically to capture images from bound books—evenly from page-edge to gutter. The physical design allows you to place the partially opened book over and inverted "V" shape platen/holder. This helps by not having to overly flex fragile books. I don’t recall whether it does one page at a time, or two facing pages. Either way, it looked like a goodie.

The one I remember reading about (though I forget the name of it right now–sorry) also included as part of its software an automatic algorithm that will equalize the exposure across the page, in cases where the gutter comes out darker than the rest of the page. It may even correct for gutter curvature, if I recall correctly.

As an archivist, you might want to try to find the device I’m talking about. It’s not cheap, but it could save you a lot of headaches, and possibly some document damage.
LH
Lawrence_Hudetz
Feb 19, 2008
This site may offer some clues:

<http://www.flatbed-scanner-review.org/>
EO
Eamonn_O_Hogain
Feb 20, 2008
Thanks for all the advice. I will spend the next few days absorbing it and looking at options. I will let you know eventually what I decide. Really appreciative.
FN
Fred_Nirque
Feb 20, 2008
There is a discussion along similar lines going on in the Photography forum which you might want to look at, Eamonn. Tough dealing with images rather than text, there might be information that is relevant to your needs there.
<http://www.adobeforums.com/webx/.3c0608a1/60>

How to Improve Photoshop Performance

Learn how to optimize Photoshop for maximum speed, troubleshoot common issues, and keep your projects organized so that you can work faster than ever before!

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections