Flipped DIY book scanner?

[keviokevio]

I noticed on the book scanner wikipedia page there was a picture of a flipped book scanner with the book facing down. I imagine this would be an easier set up since you don't need tall contraptions to hold up the cameras and whatnot, yet all the other book scanners I've seen have the book facing upward.

What are your thoughts on this setup? You guys think this would be better?


http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MyBookScanner,June12,2011.JPG

(Apologies if there's a thread on this already, I couldn't find one though.)

[daniel_reetz]

I like this type of design and it is particularly well-suited for paperbacks or other books with tight bindings, because on a normal scanner they sometimes want to close when you lift the platen, causing you to lose your page.

This design has a unique set of problems, not the least of which being the amount of handling you subject the book to, the book shifting around in the image plane, and the very close distance between the camera and the glass (which causes glare issues).

The new Hackerspace Scanner is actually able to flip over and go into "paperback mode". More on that here, and also in the original video. There could definitely be more development of this type of design and so I encourage you to pursue it if you are interested.