Handheld document scanners

[annedonnelly]

Has anyone any experience of handheld document scanners?

I have some scrapbooks full of newspaper cuttings which I'd like to scan so they can be stored electronically. Ideally I'd use an A3 flat bed scanner, but they are expensive - even second hand - and I don't want to spend that sort of money.

I see that you can get handheld scanners. Some are A4 in width so I'd probably have to scan a large page in two parts. Others are mouse-like and claim to work on A3 pages. I suspect they might be tricky to get the hang of.

Anyone used any of these? As the input is newspaper cuttings stuck into books the input quality won't be great. Am I likely to get readable output with a handheld scanner? I don't want to OCR the text, just create image files.

Thanks!

 

[Pale Rider]

Is there £75 in the budget?

If so, a scanning mouse would do the job:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-LSM-100-Button-Scanner-Scroll/dp/B0053T0HNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388836114&sr=8-1&keywords=mouse/scanner

Edit: I see you mentioned those, looks like they work well enough.

 

[ufkacbln]

I used one many years ago on an early PC, along the lines of this:

All was well, but relied on the accuracy of hand movement. Even a slight rotation of the wrist as you scanned would cause shape of text changes in teh scanned document

I suspect that this will still be the case

 

[Mile195]

I use a Luminox handheld scanner that I bought second hand for £15 on ebay to scan all my documents, bank statements etc as they come in. It runs off two AA batteries and stores on a microSD card, so I can scan them as they come in, and just upload to my PC as and when I see fit via a USB cable.

The quality is as good as I find it needs to be, and you don't have to have exceptionally steady hands to get good results. It tells you if you're going too fast as well.

It can be a little awkward if the page isn't totally flat at the top - It won't always roll on to it so well off the table or other surface that you're working on, but in these cases you just start with the scanner already on the page, and lose 5mm or so off the top of what you're scanning.

My scanner saves as a jpeg, which you can then convert to whatever you want. I make PDF's using Word.

I would probably recommend something better for priceless family photos etc, but for newspaper cuttings/receipes etc etc then they're ideal really.

 

[Roadrider48]

There is a scanning app for iphone that I have used in the past. It does actually work quite well.
The plan does come unstuck if you don't have an iphone though.
I'll find out what it is and post it back here. It may help you, I hope it does. Docs stored to phone.

 

[welsh dragon]

I have not used hand held ones, but have seen them demonstrated on QVC on the television. They seem quite good. Have a look at that shopping channel.. if you have sky it is
channel 640.they are also on the internet.

 

[Tyke]

Is there £75 in the budget?

If so, a scanning mouse would do the job:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/LG-LSM-100-Button-Scanner-Scroll/dp/B0053T0HNI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1388836114&sr=8-1&keywords=mouse/scanner

Edit: I see you mentioned those, looks like they work well enough.

Not used one but they look OK and go up to A3
http://www.qvcuk.com/LG-LSM-300-Sma...-_-IO_ProdDetail-_-1&relType=IO&refLocation=1

 

[Roadrider48]

It's called camscanner free....for iphone.

 

[annedonnelly]

Thanks all - especially Mile 195 for real life experiences. I don't have an iphone, but wonder if that wouldn't be just the same as using a digital camera. Perhaps I'll try that first!

 

[Roadrider48]

Thanks all - especially Mile 195 for real life experiences. I don't have an iphone, but wonder if that wouldn't be just the same as using a digital camera. Perhaps I'll try that first!

Quite possibly, good idea!

 

[ASC1951]

[QUOTE 2853537, member: 45"]You can buy an HP MFD for £35 which will scan A4. And print. And copy.[/quote]
But the OP wants to use it on A3 stuff which is a) twice the size and b) stuck into books.

 

[Canrider]

It's called camscanner free....for iphone.

I believe there's also an Android version--certainly there *was* one as I've used it on an S2. Very handy little app except that you'll need a second pair of hands to hold the document flat.

 

[classic33]

http://www.bmisolutions.co.uk/iriscan-book-executive-3-1619-p.asp?gclid=COr1_vKf6LsCFZPItAodWBIA4g
& if lucky
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/portable-handheld-scanner-with-ocr-software-n90ht

 

[annedonnelly]

http://www.bmisolutions.co.uk/iriscan-book-executive-3-1619-p.asp?gclid=COr1_vKf6LsCFZPItAodWBIA4g
& if lucky
http://www.maplin.co.uk/p/portable-handheld-scanner-with-ocr-software-n90ht

Typical that the cheaper one is discontinued! I wonder if it's because it didn't work or was such a bargain that it sold out.

 

[classic33]

Typical that the cheaper one is discontinued! I wonder if it's because it didn't work or was such a bargain that it sold out.

Some stores may still have them, New catalogue at the beginning of the year. It'd be a case of check the stores.