Using Digital Camera to take pictures of Documents, instead of using scanner/copier?

Question

I have a special project I am in charge of for work. The process involves reviewing Medical Records and taking copies of the pages I need. The Records are bound so getting the 5 pages I need from a 50 page document is cumbersome. To date, I have been marking the pages I need and then photocopying them. I have the opportunity to expand this project to many other institutions, but don’t want to spend several thousand dollars for a copier for each place. The desktop scanners I have looked at are too slow and would require use of PC or Laptop onsite. I was thinking maybe taking digital pictures of the documents was the answer. I can get big memory cards (because we usually need copies of 500 - 2000 documents at a sitting), take the camera and any necessary tri-pod with me. Does anyone have any ideas about this process or recommendations for type of camera or equipment that would help?

Cant use a sheet feeder because pages are bound. Pages can not leave the work site so Kinkos wont work. I would be open to using some type of flatbed scanner if it could scan directly to a memory stick or hard drive (no Computer or Laptop required).

Answer 1

the solution to this problem requires the use of a copystand. It is relatively cheap and easy to setup and was and still is a relavent way to copy oversized documents. Refering to the diagram below two lights are placed at either side of the document to minimize shadows. The camera is placed at a 90degree angle above the document and the lights. The use of a macro or micro lens is a plus but not necessary. However I would suggest buying a auto sheet feed scanner such as the one below, canon also makes some good ones. This is the best way to deal with having to scan thousands of images.

Answer 2

Kinkos will do this.
I would think a camera would be very time consuming and inefficient. Time is what will cost you for this type of work. If you were copying 5 or 10 pages a camera might work. For 500 to 2000 ? Not gonna be cost effective. Btw, that sounds really, really boring work..best done by a monkey. You want to MANAGE this work, not DO the work. You need to run some numbers to get best answer.

Why no laptop? You could devise a portable setup using a flatbed scanner and laptop. Wheel it in to each location. Do the scanning and exit. You have to place each page on the scanner by hand anyway so a sheet feeder or large scanner with optional equipment won't help you.This is not much different than your photocopying option, but it would circumvent the copier at each location. This would be more durable and less prone to operator error than a camera. You could fit a scanner and laptop in a backpack if you were concerned about wheeling something around the work sites.

Also, if there is contract associated with this service Kinkos would place a person and a copier at each site and charge per copy price. Thus the page could stay on site, etc. This type of work is fairly high dollar, but comanies like Kinkos or a local copier dealer have used copiers they could install for you on lease, etc. etc. Be careful if you are trying to keep the work in your ball court though.

Answer 3

I would get a Fuji, Kodak, or Xerox Scanner with a ADF (automatic document feeder). I would cut the bindings with a large commercial paper cutter (ones that can cut 5000 pages at once). Scan the entire document in. Store the entire document into a PDF workflow. Recycle the orginals. Text would now be searchable, accessable, secure. Save yourself a ton of time and trouble. Simple straight forward. You can use Adobe Acrobat Professional 7 to run the scanner and OCR the documents or just have it treat all the pages as images and store that way. less searchable but even faster.

Answer 4

I wouldn't suggest taking pictures of paper with a camera. Any type of lighting (flash from the camera, sunlight etc.) usually makes any text on the document unreadable. And if you're trying to take a picture of a full sheet of paper, the text will be too small to read. You're better off scanning them or photocopying.

Answer 5

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