Hi Sandy, thanks for the commiserations. They have been good years these Ebony consulting years. I'm happy to be moving on, but my little company served me very well when I needed it.
The hovercam is a pretty fabulous tool, as long as you have a good OCR software. I don't know how well the tool that came with your opticbook would handle camera photos or whether it is tied to the scanner you are using. Most of my clients are using docuscan or kurzweil 1000 which are specially designed to recognize images at 240 DPI, the throughput of the 5 mpx hovercam t5V. So, picking the software is really crucial to your hovercam experience. Best, Erik Burggraaf Ebony Consulting will close it's doors for good on december 20th. Thanks to everyone who contributed to the past four years of success for my little consulting business. It means a lot to me. Ebony Consulting toll-free: 1-888-255-5194 or on the web at http://www.erik-burggraaf.com On 2013-10-02, at 10:59 PM, Sandi Jazmin Kruse <sandi1...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hi Eric. > So it will eventually be about 2 times faster than what i do now. > That i don't have to move the book would be a massive plus for me. > Yes the optic book comes with super proof software that should work > under normal situations, however if the books are thick plus 500 > pages, depending on the thickness of the page they are nearly > unmanageable, and that is what i wanted too find an solution for. > And it seems you have just been giving me that. > Sorry too hear that your company is shutting down btw. i have for some > time been reading your blog with great interest as i may just start > something up in dk my self. > > best Sandi > > > On 10/2/13, erik burggraaf <e...@erik-burggraaf.com> wrote: >> Hi Sandy, I've read your post below about 5 times. It's fascinating and >> well written. >> >> You wrote: >> "Eric, how well is the OCR after you have used the cam, i wonder, if >> that process is faster i might consider it seriously." >> >> In my experience, it's good for about 500 pages per hour. The dimensions of >> the scanning area are 8.5 by 14 inches. The scanning accuracy is about 95% >> on average depending on the layout and quality of the text. A black and >> white page of 12 point font is usually good for about 99% accuracy. >> >> It also has the advantage of not having to lift the book. I remember >> cutting my 2000 page html textbook in three back in my college days. I was >> scanning with a little cannoscan portable at the time and I had a broken >> shoulder, having recently been hit by a car. So, it was a bit of an ordeal. >> Ah, memories… laughs. >> >> I've tested the hovercam here myself and trained two clients on it this >> year, and they have both been very happy. >> >> The drawback is, you really need the kurzweil 1000 software to get the most >> out of your hovercam on windows, or docuscan to maximize it under mac. >> >> Your opticbook came with bundle software that you could use very well to do >> professional quality OCR. The hovercam doesn't come with good software and >> so you'll need to buy something more professional. I suppose even abby fine >> reader would do on either windows or mac once you have the images. >> >> Best, >> >> Erik Burggraaf >> Ebony Consulting will close it's doors for good on december 20th. Thanks to >> everyone who contributed to the past four years of success for my little >> consulting business. It means a lot to me. >> Ebony Consulting toll-free: 1-888-255-5194 >> or on the web at http://www.erik-burggraaf.com >> >> On 2013-09-27, at 12:34 AM, Sandi Jazmin Kruse <sandi1...@gmail.com> wrote: >> >>> hi, when i decided too become a nurse i had too find out how too get >>> my information, obviously it meant i had too scan the books, i could >>> see what was around me , but obviously not read any single letter, and >>> well seen from my perspective, if an dyslexic can go through live with >>> out being able too connect letters and live happily so can i. >>> okies, so well a scanner was obviously what i needed, too me i knew it >>> was about getting the right tool for the right job, never mind if it >>> meant getting windows in a vmware image. As Eric i believe it was >>> said, study books and i tell you especially medical books can fast run >>> up in over $ 10000. So i had too find a way i could get some of my >>> money back once i was done with the books. >>> >>> >>> >>> How i did it. >>> >>> >>> >>> I don't know how long time others have had too prepare for classes >>> etc, but it is not a unknown fact that nurses read massive amounts of >>> books, so for me it had to work the first time. and which solution >>> could give me that? >>> I started googling as a mad girl, 1 month to go, it was a tight fit. I >>> was actually unlike me not far from giving up when i found a store in >>> Copenhagen, called scan data or some such. >>> I told the owner what i needed and 50 minutes after i received a huge >>> package,. one scanner, a cd and the different connectors. >>> , it was a optic plus 2500 or so i believe, but i can find that out >>> more precisely later, the reason i got that scanner is as follows. >>> I knew my time table would be tight so i needed something both complex >>> and simple at the same time, i had been working with computers for >>> over 10 years, so i was relatively confident i could make it work one >>> way or the other. >>> The special thing about this scanner is not that it scans the books, >>> obviously, which it does relatively fast or slow, it is 23 seconds >>> before the scanning head is ready to go round the bush again. And >>> since it was the best solution i could get at that time all in all, it >>> was what i got. For medical books it works, if you do not scan the >>> whole book at one time. if you do your arms will be tired at the end. >>> >>> The scanning process. >>> Okay so now we come too the most complex part of it all, or maybe not, >>> the scanning process, and how too do it. >>> Press contact, flip book over too the other half of its open page, >>> press contact again, turn page, press contact, do it as many times as >>> you need, for a book on about 400 pages , that would mean about 800 >>> times. >>> >>> So now that we got the book done and finish, what do you do? you OCR >>> it. press tab on your computer a few times, and it goes about doing >>> its thing as you go do something else, when it is done, it lays in a >>> notepad document and is ready to be read, as fast as you can manage. >>> Is it the Fastest way too scan a book on about 400 pages, i doubt it , >>> but for OCR and scanning over all i say that it works pretty well if >>> you want it simple, also the alinement of the book is quite easy, so >>> far my only worry have been if it could run under vmware on my mac. >>> And it does that gorgeously with nvda. >>> >>> >>> >>> A few words about why i got exactly this scanner. >>> I am not kidding when i say the following, medical books will in the >>> long run cost me more than my car, but too me it means that if i use a >>> scanner solution with out cutting the book up that i can sell it >>> again, and by that way get some of the money back from the book, >>> meaning obviously that i can use them for getting the rest of the >>> needed money for more books. >>> As i have said before, unless you are a really strong female, scanning >>> 1000 pages in one go will tire you out. >>> I do believe i did it one time, and that was only cause i got Sandi >>> stubborn, and is not too be repeated. The other reason for getting >>> that scanner is that medical books are huge, page vice, it is not your >>> normal book sized novel. >>> The scanner it self was invented too scan old books, at least if i >>> shall trust the homepage. And i have too admit that it does that >>> really well, you see there are 2 things we have too remember when we >>> scan for studying, accuracy and speed. and i choose too call it >>> reusability of the scanned book, so at least for me cutting the books >>> too pieces is not an option, hey i am not rockefella, i am the other >>> fella smiles. >>> so realistically, how many pages can you scan on, say 1 hour, i will >>> say, 200 if you are focused about it. I am a bit of an airhead at >>> times, so it is most likely you can get it up too about 300. >>> So all in all, if you want the book scanned ultra fast this option is >>> most definitely not for you, but i am pretty sure it is the one that >>> gives the best solution in the long run, but then again, if you are >>> just needing it for reading a novel, i don't know how much the >>> accuracy means too you. >>> I personally have the scanning process running under windows xp >>> installed under vmware fusion, and i got to admit i was pretty >>> surprised too discover that the process worked as well under fusion as >>> it would under a native windows environment. >>> Eric, how well is the OCR after you have used the cam, i wonder, if >>> that process is faster i might consider it seriously. >>> >>> >>> best sandi. >>> >>> >>> On 9/26/13, James Lee <jameslee...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> Thanks Anne for explaining the process. >>>> I'll let you know if I go into Vuescan+Abby route. >>>> >>>> JL >>>> >>>> On 9/25/2013 5:25 AM, Anne Robertson wrote: >>>>> Hello James, >>>>> >>>>> I use a flatbed scanner and scan a double page at a time. I use VueScan >>>>> to >>>>> capture the images and ABBYY FineReader Express to do the OCR. This is >>>>> faster than just using FineReader and the images are better so the OCR >>>>> is >>>>> more accurate. >>>>> >>>>> This does however mean buying two applications to get the job done. If >>>>> you >>>>> don't buy a license for VueScan, it leaves a watermark on each scan >>>>> which >>>>> can really mess up the OCR. The License for VueScan costs $39 for one >>>>> year >>>>> or $79 for life. >>>>> >>>>> If you choose to use VueScan plus ABBYY FineReader Express, let me know >>>>> and I'll send you my little set up guide for VueScan. >>>>> >>>>> Cheers, >>>>> >>>>> Anne >>>>> >>>>> >>>>> On 25 Sep 2013, at 10:44, James Lee <jameslee...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> >>>>>> Hi Anne, >>>>>> >>>>>> Thanks for the suggestion. >>>>>> This is true, scanners with automatic document feeder are much faster >>>>>> than flat bed. I haven't used one of those, so I haven't thought of >>>>>> it. >>>>>> What if you can't take books apart. What would be the best solution? >>>>>> Thanks for help, >>>>>> >>>>>> JL >>>>>> >>>>>> On 9/24/2013 1:55 PM, Anne Robertson wrote: >>>>>>> Hello James, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> If you can take the books apart, you'd be fastest with the kind of >>>>>>> scanner that will scan both sides of a sheet and also has an >>>>>>> automatic >>>>>>> feed. The application VueScan can probably handle one of these and it >>>>>>> produces very good images. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> However, VueScan is not good for OCR. It will do it, but not very >>>>>>> well. >>>>>>> You can, however, feed the file of images to ABBYY FineReader Express >>>>>>> for Mac which does an excellent job on OCR. >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Here is a link to the page showing which scanners are supported by >>>>>>> VueScan: >>>>>>> <http://www.hamrick.com/vuescan/vuescan.htm#supported> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Cheers, >>>>>>> >>>>>>> Anne >>>>>>> >>>>>>> >>>>>>> On 24 Sep 2013, at 15:41, James Lee <jameslee...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>>>> >>>>>>>> Hi All, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> I'm wondering what would be the fastest way for a college student to >>>>>>>> scan books with accurate OCR? >>>>>>>> I know there are cameras out there for scanning documents like hover >>>>>>>> cam and pearl, but I haven't actually used them. >>>>>>>> I could be wrong, but pearl is only works with Open Book, right? >>>>>>>> Can someone share their experience, and recommend what to buy? >>>>>>>> Especially comparison would be very helpful. >>>>>>>> Thanks so much, >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> JL >>>>>>>> >>>>>>>> -- >>>>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>>>> Groups "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, >>>>>>>> send >>>>>>>> an email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> To post to this group, send email to >>>>>>>> macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>>>> -- >>>>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>>>> Groups >>>>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>>>> an >>>>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>>> -- >>>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google >>>> Groups >>>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send >>>> an >>>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >>>> >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "MacVisionaries" group. >>> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >>> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >>> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >>> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "MacVisionaries" group. >> To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an >> email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. >> Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. >> For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. >> > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "MacVisionaries" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to macvisionaries+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > To post to this group, send email to macvisionaries@googlegroups.com. > Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/macvisionaries. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "MacVisionaries" group. 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