A New Scanner for Books

It’s here. It’s finally here! My book scanner has arrived.

After a 7 month production delay, a slow boat from China, and weeks of customs and quarantine, I finally have it. I’m going to finish the project to digitize my grandmother’s writings with it. Before I do, I’m using some old zines to learn the ropes.

The new CZUR Shine Ultra is a 13 Megapixel camera with its own software. The foot pedal is a nice touch. This thing is super portable and should be great for library visits, paired with a laptop.

This scanner isn’t perfect, I should say. On the friendly and helpful CZUR Users Facebook Group there are several posts about, and workarounds for a few common issues. The light puts glare onto shiny surfaces when scanning magazine or catalogue pages. The images aren’t incredibly high-resolution. The built-in OCR could be better… but for my project, it’s just right. I’ve got hundreds of typewritten pages to scan. They’re not in color, or reflective in any way, and the OCR is much better than what I had a few years ago.

There are even some unintended uses for the device. It doubles as an overhead webcam, a desklamp, and even a headphones stand.

I got this model from indiegogo to back the initial production. That’s why I had to wait for them to be manufactured. There is an older model, the CZUR Aura scanner on Amazon. I thought to spring for the fancy new model, but I placed the order just before the pandemic hit. I’m suprised it ever arrived at all, but now the fun can begin.