Digitizing Old Magazines? 222
"I have a lot of old video game magazines, they're nice for playing 'classic games' because a lot of classics are impossible without the manual, and hard without a magazine (the magazine obviously negates the need for a manual usually). But they'd get damaged with a flatbed scanner, and digital cameras are hard to set up right for capturing old magazines. I know that old documents are digitally archived with very high-res cameras..."
So, the question is, what is the best way to capture all the information in old magazines in digital format? Does anyone have a home-built rig taking after the angled-pair-of-scanners setup that Project Gutenburg uses?
Re:Wouldn't that be copyright infringement? (Score:1, Insightful)
Nope, not even close...
Next question?
Re:Destroy the magazines (Score:3, Insightful)
Now alas, these are probably copyrighted and can't be shared.
Depends. Who owns the copyright? It's possible the copyright was assigned to the publisher and that the publisher has since folded, or that if you contact the publisher and explain your position that you could get a release to archive it online, at least for the parts that the publisher holds the rights on (screenshots, boxcovers, etc. - that's different but will anyone care? Given the use, they're probably fair use as part of the magazine too). The other thing to consider is that it may not be possible for a publisher to feel comfortable giving you permission to reproduce their works, but would the actually sue you?
I personally collect Amiga memorabilia. I would find it absurd for anyone in this day to object to preserving a passion for the system. Of course when there is passion for something there is money to be made, but those businesses working against the collectors for the possibility of gaining a few pennies years down the road that will probably never materialize are not doing themselves any favors with brand perception.
Don't destroy the magazines (Score:4, Insightful)
I must respectfully disagree with the above reply. The magazine is not simply a print-out. It's an intact cultural artifact as a magazine. If not now, then in fifty or 100 years from now.
Are you primarily interested in the text of the magazine articles themselves? Or the images (such as 'Mens magazines' like Club International that are primarily images)? Or are you interested in preserving the balance in the layout between the text, the images, and the adverts?
For text primarily, use a stand for the magazine, and a 10 megapixel digital camera with a small tripod. Optical Character Recognition is the way to go in this situation. But it is hard to get the exact right program for your configuration.
Are these magazines in English or a western European language? OCR is much easier and faster with 100 or so ASCII characters than it is with Chinese, Japanese, or Korean. OCR for these languages exists but the programs are expensive if you actually buy them. Personally, I believe that because the Chinese have stolen billions of dollars worth of software from the Americans since the earliest days of computers, the Americans have no moral, ethical, or legal obligation to pay for any software developed and sold by a Chinese company. But, opinions differ on this issue.
Keep the magazines intact. You'll regret cutting them up in the future when a more elegant solution to digitizing them appears that doesn't entail destroying the original materials.
Re:Don't destroy the magazines (Score:2, Insightful)
Personally I feel that as the Americans "stole" millions of pounds worth of literature from the Europeans since the earliest days of books, Europeans have no moral, ethical or legal obligation to pay for anything developed and sold by an American company. But, opinions differ on this issue.
Re:Classic Comics too (Score:3, Insightful)
A non-glare glass plate that does not reduce picture quality is probably too much of a dream, but I'm open for suggestions.
If it was me, I'd undo the staples, scan, reassemble. I presume this is not an option.
But scanner or photocopier glass, a ring light. It would be the way I'd go about it. 8MP cameras are common. You might want to go SLR, something like a Pentax or Nikon where you can get the a stock manual focus 50mm. For something that is, I presume, 9x7 inches I doubt you need a macro lens. I didn't say Canon as the mount changed from the manual focus days, but that's an option as well, just good bang for the buck with a used manual focus 50mm lens.
I forget the name of the platform to photograph flat things. But you have the easel, rod, and camera mount. One can construct such a thing with moderate ease and low cost since it would be for something of a standard size, you don't need something which can telescope.
You can get higher resolution from a flatbed without a doubt. I doubt you need beyond 600dpi. The rule of thumb is twice print resolution to convert to digital. That being said the more bulky scanners, as in the ones that have height, these guys often have some depth of field to them making them more ideal if you wanted to rig up a reverse scanner, as in one that scans downward.
Amen Re:Someone might have beat you to it (Score:2, Insightful)
Similarly, the best way to restore a faded, scratched, folded family photo? Ask around the family and see if you can find a better copy! That can give much better results than all the Photoshop trickery in the world. I've seen it work.
Re:fair use? (Score:5, Insightful)
He's trying to not damage it. (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:fair use? (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Don't destroy the magazines (Score:4, Insightful)
Wow, just wow. I have to say that I'm saddened and a bit dissappointed to find that anyone, anywhere thinks like that anymore. If you actually gave a little more thought to that line of reasoning, you would presumably have to concede that, for example, native americans shouldn't be obliged to pay for anything, given that their land was stolen from them several hundred years ago.
It is foolish, in the extreme, to punish anyone for the mistakes their predecessors made.
Re:ambient light, tripod, shutter release remote (Score:3, Insightful)
3.1 If your camera has a mirror lockup mode, use it.
Re:Don't destroy the magazines (Score:3, Insightful)
"It's okay to steal wifi because the network door was left open"
Jeez, not that line again. It's great that you have morals, but then you should be willing to make moral distinctions and not call everything stealing. Sometimes when something is left open it is meant to be used. When I see a water fountain without a sign, I assume it's OK to use. If I'm wrong, someone might tell me. No harm done. We might not make the same assumptions about wifi, but if the owner intended it to be used openly, then it is not morally wrong. Even statues which might make it illegal, do not call it stealing. In many places, nothing about using an open wifi connection would be considered illegal.
Sometimes the problem with having high morals is that their owner feels compelled to sit on a high horse.
Re:fair use? (Score:4, Insightful)
Why must lawyers be consulted before every action may proceed? Life is for living.
Daydreaming 50 years into the future..
*checks with lawyer*, *exhales*, *checks with lawyer*, *inhales*, *coughs*, *brain-implement logs: INFRINGEMENT DETECTED $50 fine*
Re:fair use? (Score:3, Insightful)
Interesting how the comments questioning fair use are generally moderated "1", while the ones insisting that of course making personal backups is fair use get moderated "5".
Anyway here's what the EFF, not exactly a bastion of copyright absolutists, says in their Fair Use FAQ [eff.org]:
"Many lawyers believe" is a far cry from the parent's comment that making personal backups has been "heavily tested". I'd say this better supports the grandparent comment: "Don't bet on it."
The EFF also says:
Note that making personal backups is quite different in flavor than any of these activities, which are all oriented around improving intellectual debate and discussion.