Questions About Debinding And Scanning After Reading The FAQs

[Saivo]

I purchased a large amount of back issues of Dengeki G's to put online after having trouble finding most issues. My original plan was to keep them intact and use a nice CZUR document scanner to keep them intact. I've already uploaded a dozen issues elsewhere. Problem is even with the quality of the scanner it's still less than perfect at scanning, especially with dark pages. It also took an hour an issue, and I have a stack of magazines 3+ feet high. I was unsatisfied with the finished product and ceased scanning them for now. I've been struggling to decide what to do with them, but I think this blog post by Areala convinced me I need to just suck it up and debind them. I really wanted to keep them for my collection, but at the end of the day they're ephemeral and will succumb to the ravages of time. Scanning them will give me the same benefit as the many other people who will enjoy them.

So with that out of the way, here are my questions. Upon reading the FAQs on how to scan and debind, it still seems like a tedious process. I'm not confident on using a razor blade, and a basic flatbed scanner seems as if it will take a while. If I'm able to afford a scanner up to around $500 or so, are there any optimal scanners to expedite the process and make it higher quality? Are there any better ways to debind a perfect bound magazine?

And then I'm also worried about the editing process, I have literally no knowledge in this department. Any additional information on this would be much appreciated. Are there any scanners I would have to do minimal editing with? Are there any programs that will make it more efficient?

I'm worried these questions might be a little dumb, but I just want to have the most painless and foolproof process towards scanning in my collection. Any help will be appreciated.

[Areala]

For me, the easiest way I've found to de-bind something that is perfect bound is to take it to a copy shop that offers the service of a guillotine cutter: FedEx Office and Staples should both be able to do this relatively quickly and inexpensively, especially if you bring items that are all the same size and thus can be de-bound with a single cut. But I'm also working with books, where there's usually wiggle room to debind without impacting the pages left behind thanks to white space.  

Magazine printing often runs "full bleed", ie: the image goes straight from the edge of the page down into the gutter. When that's the case, you probably want to get hold of a heat gun and use that to debind. It basically melts the glue holding the magazine together, allowing you to separate the cover from the pages within, and then separate the pages from one another more easily. This preserves the entirety of the page, allowing you to theoretically scan the full image on both sides without losing any information.

Editing usually comes down to general Photoshop skills: things like straightening pages and using the clone brush or repair tool to fix minor problems. @E-Day and @MigJmz are far more skilled at this than I am, and they'll often edit files that others have scanned. They'll know better about this.

Welcome to the party! It's not easy, but it can be a ton of fun and very much a learning experience, as you've already discovered!

*huggles*
Areala

[MigJmz]

For debinding mags it depends on how much you are willing to pay. Paper choppers can run you in the hundreds on amazon. Cheaper alternatives is more time consuming like heating the spines up with a heatgun or an clothing Iron and removing pages manually.

Editing is minimize if you scan them as straight as possible and at the same spot on the scanner each time. Any editing program or scanner program  can auto-crop all negative areas automaticaly. An ADF scanner is needed to really minimize the work. Flatbeds are time consuming and a pain to get the pages super straight. E-Day is an expert on ADF's so you should ask him. For the pages itself if the magazine is in great shape little editing is needed.

[E-Day]

Don't forget probably the cheapest option: a metal ruler and a sharp box cutter. If you want to protect the table or desk under the magazine a cutting mat is also recommended.

[Phillyman]

13 hours ago, E-Day said:

Don't forget probably the cheapest option: a metal ruler and a sharp box cutter. If you want to protect the table or desk under the magazine a cutting mat is also recommended.

 

This is my setup, a $2 metal ruler from Walmart, a $1 box cutter from Home Depot, and a $10 wooden tray table from Walmart.

You see those battle scars?