Scanning books with line art

[SteveJohnson]

I know ScanTailor has settings for line art, but I'm wondering if it is the best solution. I have a number of books with black-and-white line art, typically detailed engravings of 19th Century machinery, e.g., and I want to be sure I get the best scans possible, given the excellent quality of the originals. Is using a camera as good as a flatbed scanner (yes, I know the headaches of trying to get an old book on a flatbed without destroying it)?

I have dozens of books with hundreds of illustrations though, so I'm looking for way to scan them at a high volume.

[daniel_reetz]

If you can't destroy the book, there's really nothing better than a camera for volume.

If you can go slow (very slow) and don't mind forcing the binding, a flatbed will yield ultimate quality.
If you can destroy the book, a Fujitsu ScanSnap ADF will get you high quality, fast results.
If you need fast but can't destroy the book, a DIY Book Scanner or similar commercial model with a good camera is your best option.

Software-wise, you may have to work on your workflow. I'm not the expert there. But we've had people scanning just about everything and getting good results with some work.