Jump to content

Recommended Posts

Howdy there! Had no clue this database existed 'till today, and I'm happy that my collection of game magazines I've held onto as a kid can be useful for someone. I never had subscriptions and bought all of my magazines piecemeal, so I've got an assortment of different publications. Not all of these are in great or even good condition, but I cross referenced to what was missing online. Here's my list, and pictures.

https://puu.sh/EPwZx/5cda65258d.jpg

https://puu.sh/EPwZB/6194900aa1.jpg

Here is a link to my Google Sheets where I'm keeping progress on my scans updated: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fahYRFqG8HQkWN7nXUhgtjpH-vNNAdWrpuOfDKeoOZs/edit?usp=sharing

In case the link doesn't work, here's what I have. The spreadsheet lists things like condition, and current status. I also have two issues of a publication I could not find listed -- Ultimate Solutions. Sadly, they're not in great condition, but it looks like it was created in the UK and published in the US?

GAMEPRO
September 1999
August 2001
May 2001
OFFICIAL US PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE
October 1998
February 1999
May 1999
October 1999
November 1999
January 2000
March 2000
April 2000
September 2000
November 2000
January 2001
ULTIMATE SOLUTIONS
September, Vol. 2 Issue 4
November Vol 2 Issue 6
TIPS & TRICKS
February 2001
December 1999
GAMENOW
Issue 01
COMPUTER GAMING WORLD
August 2001
EXPERT GAMER
September 1998
October 1998
GAME BUYER
August 1998
October 1998
PSM
June 1998
Mar 1999
May 2000
June 2000
August 2000

 

Apologies that many of these are in poor condition. I definitely used these as a resource when I was a child who didn't have internet and rented games voraciously. I'm just starting out here, so I'll read over the guidelines and tricks to scan. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter where I'm easily accessible at @hunterkennoy if you need to!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 minutes ago, Phanterm said:

Apologies that many of these are in poor condition

A missing page or missing cover is bad, since there's nothing you can do. 

But poor condition pages are par for the course when scanning old magazines which were usually owned by children.  Which is where Photoshop comes into play.  I once got a message from a guy who wondered where I got my mags since they were in such good condition.  I had to lol, since he obviously didn't understand how much work we have to put into digital restoration to get our mags coming out looking decent.

I delete all of my raw scans after I release an edited scan, so I don't have any of my personal "before" images to show you, but I did still have these two images on my HD: 

The "before" cover is someone else's scan which I then edited in Photoshop to demonstrate what would be necessary to share it here:

Img1.jpgImg1-1.jpg

Obviously not all magazines are in such poor shape, nor is that kind of work necessary on every page.  It's usually the front/back and inside front/inside back covers that have most of the damage, but the point being, I can count the number of mags I've released which DIDN'T require extensive cover editing on zero fingers.  So don't look as poor condition as anything more than an extra bit of effort needed to overcome in the editing process.🙂

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, kitsunebi77 said:

Which is where Photoshop comes into play. 

I'm happy to report that I do have some considerable Photoshop muscles from a background in photo editing and videography 💪 but I've never scanned a magazine before and have no clue how long the lion's share of this list would take to get finished. My wife and I want to take it on together to make the work go by faster, so I reckon I can keep this thread updated to indicate my progress? :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, Phanterm said:

I'm happy to report that I do have some considerable Photoshop muscles from a background in photo editing and videography 💪 but I've never scanned a magazine before and have no clue how long the lion's share of this list would take to get finished. My wife and I want to take it on together to make the work go by faster, so I reckon I can keep this thread updated to indicate my progress? :)

Sure.  The process (time-wise) goes like this, in order of quickest/easiest to most time-consuming:

De-binding - speed and technique varies dependent upon if you're cutting a stapled mag or melting the glue on a square-bound mag (using a guillotine cutter to debind is obviously super-fast, but I personally frown upon their use since you will also be slicing away part of the image on every page.)

Scanning - an ADF scanner will be MUCH faster than a flatbed here (and give better-looking results, usually)

Editing - the most time-consuming process.  Just how time-consuming depends upon the condition of the mag

Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 minutes ago, Phanterm said:

Interesting! I'll have to look more into the glue-melting method, as that sounds less destructive on individual pages. I unfortunately only have a flatbed scanner, so hopefully the quality won't degrade TOO much. Thanks for the helpful info! 

Flatbeds are often poorer at accurately scanning certain colors, particularly fluorescents, and they often will allow more light through the page, resulting in text from the opposite side bleeding through.  They also often have issues with creating moire.  But it's nothing too bad, and certainly nothing that would prevent a scan from being approved.

The biggest problem with flatbeds is the extra time involved in scanning and flipping each page (being careful not to miss a page or switch the order of any pages).  And most flatbeds don't do any sort of auto-cropping like an ADF will, so the editing process will be longer as well.  So moreso than quality issues, the biggest drawback is that a flatbed makes a tedious process even more tedious.  I scanned my very first mag on a flatbed.  Which was all it took to convince me to buy an ADF. 😋

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Retromags Curator
3 hours ago, Phanterm said:

Howdy there! Had no clue this database existed 'till today, and I'm happy that my collection of game magazines I've held onto as a kid can be useful for someone. I never had subscriptions and bought all of my magazines piecemeal, so I've got an assortment of different publications. Not all of these are in great or even good condition, but I cross referenced to what was missing online. Here's my list, and pictures.

https://puu.sh/EPwZx/5cda65258d.jpg

https://puu.sh/EPwZB/6194900aa1.jpg

Here is a link to my Google Sheets where I'm keeping progress on my scans updated: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1fahYRFqG8HQkWN7nXUhgtjpH-vNNAdWrpuOfDKeoOZs/edit?usp=sharing

In case the link doesn't work, here's what I have. The spreadsheet lists things like condition, and current status. I also have two issues of a publication I could not find listed -- Ultimate Solutions. Sadly, they're not in great condition, but it looks like it was created in the UK and published in the US?

 

GamePro
September 1999
August 2001
May 2001
OFFICIAL US PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE
October 1998
February 1999
May 1999
October 1999
November 1999
January 2000
March 2000
April 2000
September 2000
November 2000
January 2001
ULTIMATE SOLUTIONS
September, Vol. 2 Issue 4
November Vol 2 Issue 6
TIPS & TRICKS
February 2001
December 1999
GAMENOW
Issue 01
Computer Gaming World
August 2001
Expert Gamer
September 1998
October 1998
GAME BUYER
August 1998
October 1998
PSM
June 1998
Mar 1999
May 2000
June 2000
August 2000

 

Apologies that many of these are in poor condition. I definitely used these as a resource when I was a child who didn't have internet and rented games voraciously. I'm just starting out here, so I'll read over the guidelines and tricks to scan. Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter where I'm easily accessible at @hunterkennoy if you need to!

 

2 hours ago, kitsunebi77 said:

Oh yeah, forgot to say:

Before starting on these, you should see if @E-Day has already scanned/will scan any of them.  He's been working his way through a massive donation of mags and may have some of the stuff on your list.

GamePro September 1999 was just recently scanned and will be edited by Melki at some point. The other two I don't have.

OFFICIAL US PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE: I only have October 1999 and January 2000 from your list.

I don't have any of the Ultimate Solutions, Tips & Tricks, CGW, or Expert Gamers on your list.

I have Game Buyer August 1998.

And I have PSM June 1998 and August 2000.

I am not sure when I will get around to scanning these various magazines, so if you want to scan them yourself let me know and I will take them out of the pile. Chances you will get to these before I will :) 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, E-Day said:

I am not sure when I will get around to scanning these various magazines, so if you want to scan them yourself let me know and I will take them out of the pile. Chances you will get to these before I will :) 

But it would be best to start with the ones E-Day doesn't have, of course, just in case.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Retromags Curator
3 minutes ago, kitsunebi77 said:

But it would be best to start with the ones E-Day doesn't have, of course, just in case.

Definitely. At least do all those first before deciding that the process is too much bitch work and not scanning anymore seems more appealing ;)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 minute ago, E-Day said:

Definitely. At least do all those first before deciding that the process is too much bitch work and not scanning anymore seems more appealing ;)

And even if you only manage to scan and edit one magazine before throwing in the towel, you'll already have done more than 95% of the people who come onto the forums to say they're going to scan something and are never heard from again. 😋

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 12/14/2019 at 7:58 PM, E-Day said:

 

GamePro September 1999 was just recently scanned and will be edited by Melki at some point. The other two I don't have.

OFFICIAL US PLAYSTATION MAGAZINE: I only have October 1999 and January 2000 from your list.

I don't have any of the Ultimate Solutions, Tips & Tricks, CGW, or Expert Gamers on your list.

I have Game Buyer August 1998.

And I have PSM June 1998 and August 2000.

I am not sure when I will get around to scanning these various magazines, so if you want to scan them yourself let me know and I will take them out of the pile. Chances you will get to these before I will :) 

Okay, this helps! And is GameNow 01 still missing? We're getting started on scanning in pages tonight.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bump; I've just started scanning and cleaning up the covers and first 10 pages of Official US Playstation Magazine, November 1999. I don't mind posting my progress here; may I have one of the mods change the thread name to "Phanterm's Work Thread"? Less clutter that way, though I'm also happy to start a new thread. :)

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Retromags Curator
19 hours ago, Phanterm said:

Bump; I've just started scanning and cleaning up the covers and first 10 pages of Official US Playstation Magazine, November 1999. I don't mind posting my progress here; may I have one of the mods change the thread name to "Phanterm's Work Thread"? Less clutter that way, though I'm also happy to start a new thread. :)

Welcome aboard, Phanterm! :)

*huggles*
Areala

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...
On 1/10/2020 at 3:49 AM, Melki said:

Welcome back. The covers are alwys the hardest part. Btw you may also scan the GamePro( august 2001) and ill edit the magazine for you. I like to edit missing gamepros

Good to know! I can take that one on next.

Official US Playstation Magazine, November 1999: I'm about 50% done scanning.

We've been trying to find a consistent way to align each of our pages in the scanning bed so that I don't have to move pages around so much in post. The fewer clicks and drags I gotta do, the faster this goes. Any pointers? 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Phanterm said:

We've been trying to find a consistent way to align each of our pages in the scanning bed so that I don't have to move pages around so much in post. The fewer clicks and drags I gotta do, the faster this goes. Any pointers? 

The most annoying part of scanning for sure. The best tip i say is to use the side edge of the scanner so the page is straightened. Then I would put a weighted book or something on top of the page so it doesn't move around when closing the lid. The thingy that is attached to the scanner lid isn't so good from my experience it doesn't provide much of holding the page in place. Check the edges one more time with the weighted book before closing and the page should scan correctly.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

All right, finally at 50% pages scanned for this issue!

Tip: don't ever restructure your folders for scans unless you'd like a heart attack the next time you scan and find a newly created folder with the same name that doesn't have the other pages you'd been scanning. 😅

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

Hey, everyone! Sorry for the dry updates; things are understandably crazy right now, but I've completed all scanning for OUSPM Nov 1999 and have been doing touch ups little by little. Hope everyone's staying safe and sane out there.

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
  • Recent Achievements

    • imprctcljkr earned a badge
      Member for 1 Day
    • apierret earned a badge
      Member for 1 Month
    • yonew84673 earned a badge
      Member for 7 Days
    • cifa earned a badge
      Member for 1 Month
    • cifa earned a badge
      Member for 7 Days
×
×
  • Create New...
Affiliate Disclaimer: Retromags may earn a commission on purchases made through our affiliate links on Retromags.com and social media channels. As an Amazon & Ebay Associate, Retromags earns from qualifying purchases. Thank you for your continued support!