Scanning Tips
- From: Catherine Thomas <braille@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: optacon-l@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Thu, 4 May 2006 04:50:52 -0400 (EDT)
Because I am a Braille transcriber by profession, I use the
scanner and the Optacon together very often. I thought I would share with
you some ways in which you can use your Optacon to help make scanning or
photocopying easier. If you don't use a scanner, you might want to share
some of these tips with friends. I have arranged them so that each one
shows the problem, the reason, and the solution which we Optacon users can
do without sighted help usually. I'll limit this message to three common
situations. Let me know if you want any more posts like this.
PROBLEM: THE SCANNER ISN'T PICKING UP ANY PAGE NUMBERS:
REASON: In some print documents, page numbers appear in the
opposite color from the rest of the text. They are also often surrounded
by a square or circle. The scanner will often not pick these up. The
location of page numbers has also changed. In many documents, the page
number is not in a corner. It is often in the middle of the top or bottom
line and sometimes it is located in the middle of the page in the left or
right margin.
SOLUTION: It's best to determine in advance if the page numbers
are going to be a problem. Open the book or document to somewhere in the
middle and search for a page number. If you can't find one after using the
Optacon on several pages, try again using diffferent adjustments on the
Optacon including the invert switch, the zoom lens, and the threshold
knob.
For users without an Optacon, it's best to ask someone sighted not only
where the page numbers are located but what color they are.
PROBLEM: Every page in this book has a stupid border around it.
REASON: The book or document has been deliberately scan-proofed by
the publisher. Slabs of color in strategic places are not just a
decoration. They serve the purpose of obstructing a scan or photocopy by
causing these devices to miss top and bottom lines of print, headings and
other truly necessary elements. This is to prevent companies and schools
from making multiple copies of material instead of purchasing it.
SOLUTION: If you must scan a document with a thick border on every
page, be sure to carefully check that the top and bottom lines of each
page got included in the scan. If you are enterprising and find that the
thing is not scanning well, take some strips of white paper and lay them
on the scanner glass to correspond approximately with the border. Then lay
the page to be scanned on top of these. It may take a little experimenting
but soon you will be scanning your pages with all the print, and no
gibberish from the decorative borders.
PROBLEM: THIS BOOK IS FULL OF PICTURES.
REASON: Visual appeal.
SOLUTION: The Optacon user definitely has the advantage here.
Pages with pictures can make a scan infinitely slower and often full of
unnecessary gibberish and errors. For these reasons, using your Optacon to
examine eah page is well worth the time. If every page containing a
picture places it in the same location, e.g. the top half of the page,
most scanning programs will catch on to this after scanning several pages.
You might, at the end of the scan, go back and re-scan the first couple of
pages to get a better result. To speed up the scan, or if the pictures are
on a different place on each page, you can use a piece of plain white
paper cut to the needed size. Place this paper on the scanner glass. Then
place the page to be scanned on top. Check your scan to be sure that you
got the first couple of lines. If it's easier, you can use tape and
position the paper over the picture write in the book.
THESE PROBLEMS AND A WHOLE LOT MORE, MAKE ME GLAD THAT I HAVE AN OPTACON
TO HELP ME SCAN.
Catherine
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-Catherine Thomas
braille@xxxxxxxxx /
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