It can be tricky to hold the book open while scanning with your phone, especially if you’re planning to scan the entire book. Still, your phone’s scanner is a great option if you don’t want to purchase other equipment or pay for a scanning service.
Scanning a book with a flatbed scanner will be more time-consuming than other options, as you’ll need to lift the book from the scanner to turn the pages and then initiate the scan with your computer. While there’s a slight risk that you’ll damage the binding by pressing the book onto the scanner bed, flatbed scanners are generally a safe, non-destructive method of scanning a book.
Book scanners can really speed up the process of scanning the book, as you’ll just need to flip the page between scans. Because you won’t have to lay the book flat on a flatbed scanner, there’s less risk of damaging the spine than when using a flatbed scanner, which is great if you’re borrowing or renting the book you want to scan.
Automatic sheet-feed scanners might reduce the quality of the scans, so it’s best to use them for text-heavy books without many images.
If you have an iPhone and don’t want to install an app, you can use the Notes app instead. Notes also produces a high quality scan, but it doesn’t have the book-scanning feature that corrects alignment at the page crease. Adobe Scan does require an Adobe account. If you don’t have one, you’ll be prompted to create one during setup.
Scan the book in a well-lit room to make sure you’re capturing the best quality scans.
Once you’re signed in, you’ll be prompted to give the app permission to access your camera and save files to your phone.
If you don’t see this option, tap the camera icon to create a new scan first. If you’d rather scan individual pages separately, you can select the Document setting instead.
If you want to scan another page and add it to the document, swipe to the last page of the scan, then tap Add Page > Take another photo to return to the camera screen.
To email yourself the PDF file, tap Share and select Email. Address the message to yourself. You can then click or tap the link in the email message to download the file to any device. To save to your Android or iPhone, tap More or the three dots next to the scan, select Copy to device, and select a folder. Tap Done or the checkmark to save.
You can use the Notes app to scan two adjoining pages at the same time, similar to using Adobe Scan. However, the Notes app isn’t as tailored to book scanning as Adobe Scan—the alignment might be a little bit off compared to what you’ll get with Adobe Scan.
If the keyboard pops up automatically, tap Done to close it.
For most text-heavy books, it’s best to choose Black & White to ensure a legible scan with text you can copy from the resulting document. If the book has lots of images, you can do a Color or Grayscale scan.
You may see instructions on the screen for better camera positioning, such as “Move closer. " Alternatively, you can scan each page manually. Just tap Auto at the top-right to turn off automatic shutter, then tap the shutter button to capture your first scan.
If it doesn’t look right, tap Retake to try that page again. You can also crop, rotate, recolor, or delete this page from the preview. When you’re finished, tap Done to return to the camera screen.
Tap the document preview to view the first page of your scan. Then, swipe through the pages to make sure everything is in order. Tap the sharing icon at the top-right, then choose a way to share or save the file. You can tap Mail to email it to yourself, Messages to text it to somebody, Save to Files to save it to your iPhone or iCloud Drive, or use any other method to transfer the scanned book to the right place.
If you’re using a large office-style scanner/copying machine/printer, you might be able to start the scan and choose your options from the screen on the device without using software on your computer. On the printer’s screen, look for a “Scan to Email,” “Scan to USB drive,” or “Scan to Network Folder” option, and choose the destination. Many office scanners have a “Book Mode” setting that you can chose to ensure the scan captures the pages correctly. [2] X Research source Once you scanned the book to the PDF format, you can read it in just about any software, including Adobe Acrobat Reader, Mac Preview, Google Drive, Chrome, Microsoft Edge, and more. You can even print it or convert it to other formats, including Microsoft Word.
Both Windows and macOS come with built-in scanning software, but your scanner’s actual software will have far more features available.
Windows: Press Windows key + S to open Search, type scan, then click Windows Fax & Scan. Mac: Click the Apple menu, go to System Preferences > Printers & Scanners, choose your scanner, then click Open Scanner. [3] X Research source If the scanner is also a printer, you might have to click Scan before Open Scan is available.
If the scanner is also a printer, you might have to click Scan before Open Scan is available.
If the scanner is also a printer, you might have to click Scan before Open Scan is available.
If the scanner is also a printer, you might have to click Scan before Open Scan is available.
If the scanner is also a printer, you might have to click Scan before Open Scan is available.
If you’re using a flatbed scanner, open the book, and place it face-down on the glass. Makes sure the edge of the book is aligned to match the guides on the scanner bed. Lower the cover on top of the book gently to blot out as much background light as possible. For a sheet-feed scanner/automatic document feeder, check for any curls, wrinkles, and binding remnants before loading the pages to avoid paper jams. [4] X Research source In most cases, you’ll load the pages face-up, though this may vary depending on your scanner. Before scanning the entire book, start with the first few pages so you can make sure you’ve inserted the pages in the right direction. Some sheet-feed scanners have a “Duplex” button that you’ll need to press if you want to scan both sides of the page. Others might allow you to choose this option in the scanner’s software instead. Double-check your scanner’s documentation. For all other scanners, follow the instructions for your specific model.
Many automatic sheet-feed scanners will automatically save your scanned document as a PDF, so you might not need to choose this option. [7] X Research source
If there’s a “Book” or “Text” option in your scanning software (or on the scanner itself), that option will scan the pages in black and white. If there are a lot of images in the book, grayscale or color will ensure you’re getting better-quality images. However, scanning in either of these formats will produce a much larger PDF file (especially color). Many scanners have an “Auto” mode that can switch between black-and-white and grayscale automatically as it senses different types of content on the page. If it’s important to scan extremely high-quality images in color or grayscale, you’ll should choose a high DPI (resolution) in your scanning preferences.
If you’re using a book scanner or flatbed scanner, wait until the first scan is captured, and then turn the page and initiate the next scan. If you’re using a sheet-feed scanner, the automatic document feeder will quickly scan all of the pages without you needing to do anything. However, you’ll want to stay near the scanner in case there’s a paper jam so you can fix it quickly.
Even if the text appears kind of small in the scan, resist the urge to crop the margins. You can always zoom in on the PDF when reading the book on a computer. You can even enlarge the text on e-readers like Kindle.
If there is a print or copy shop nearby, you may be able to take the book to them and ask them to cut off the binding with large powerful paper shears. This costs very little and ensures your pages will be the right size and devoid of binding glue or stitching.
To remove the binding of a hardcover book, you can use a utility knife to cut the paper hinge between the covers and endpapers. Then hit the flue with a moist, not wet, sponge to remove any paper residue. For a paperback book, use a blow-drier on its warm, not hot, setting to slowly heat up the glue holding the paper to the spine. Then, simply pull the pages from the spine until they all come off in one bunch.
If possible, carve off the binding glue, along with a thin strip of paper, with a sharp knife first or industrial shears. Industrial shears are not essential, but if you decide to purchase one, choose the old style cutter because it can cut thin strips easily. When cutting with a rotary cutter, overlap the paper, on the cutting platform, or else the paper will sink into the groove and the ends will not cut thoroughly. Additionally, to minimize uneven cutting, when using a rotary blade cutter, reduce the amount of sheets you cut. With a rotary cutter, your margins will be narrower on one side (cropping can adjust the margin width). A good scissors and a photo editing program like Windows Live is all that you need to get the pages looking professional in the end.
There might be an adhesive type of glue also — remove this too, as you want to avoid paper jams. If you have streaks on your scanned images, you may have some glue on the glass lens. Wipe the sticky, rubber cement glue off of the glass lens with a soft cotton cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol or glass cleaner.
