Book Scanning & Digitisation

Professional book scanning and digitisation for published books, journals, registers and bound volumes, with non-destructive scanning for books that need to remain intact and bulk scanning options where appropriate.

Discuss Your Books

Professional Book Scanning for Published & Bound Volumes

Oxford Duplication Centre provides professional scanning and digitisation of published books, manuals, reports, journals and other bound material. Where a book can appropriately be taken apart, guillotining the bound edge can provide individual sheets for efficient high-volume document scanning. Where the original binding must be retained, books can instead be scanned using professional book-scanning equipment. We can discuss the condition, construction and intended use of your books before selecting the workflow.

Published Book Scanning

Digitisation of books, reports, manuals, journals and other published material into practical digital formats.

Guillotining for Bulk Scanning

Where appropriate, the bound edge can be guillotined so individual pages can be processed efficiently in bulk.

Book Scanning Without Destruction

Books that need to remain intact can be handled using professional book-scanning equipment and suitable workflows.

Book Scanning Options

The most suitable method depends on the physical construction of the book, the value or significance of the original, the required image quality and the number of copies or volumes being digitised.

Published Books

Digitisation of commercially published and privately published books, including books produced for organisations, societies and institutions.

  • Hardback books
  • Paperback books
  • Reports and manuals
  • Published reference books

Guillotining

For suitable books, removing the binding edge creates loose sheets that can then be processed using high-volume document scanning equipment.

  • High-volume projects
  • Suitable published books
  • Faster sheet-fed processing
  • Post-scan disposal or retention by agreement

Intact Book Scanning

Books that should not be guillotined can be scanned without removing the binding, using specialist book-scanning equipment.

  • Valuable books
  • Books requiring intact originals
  • Historic publications
  • Reference collections

Bulk Document Scanning

Once suitable pages have been separated, large quantities can be processed using a controlled bulk document scanning workflow.

  • High-volume page scanning
  • Colour or greyscale
  • Image enhancement
  • OCR and searchable PDF options

Guillotining the Edges of Published Books

For suitable published books, guillotining the bound edge can be an efficient preparation method for a high-volume digitisation project. The individual sheets can then be prepared and scanned using professional document-scanning equipment.

This approach is particularly useful where the original binding is not required after digitisation. The suitability of each project should be assessed before work begins.

  • Suitable for selected bound publications
  • Creates loose sheets for bulk scanning
  • Efficient for larger quantities
  • Scanning specifications agreed in advance

When the Book Must Stay Intact

Not every book should be guillotined. Where the original binding needs to be retained, we can use professional book-scanning equipment designed for bound material.

This is particularly relevant for books with value, significance, fragile construction or where the client needs the physical book returned intact.

From Book to Digital Archive

A project can combine preparation, scanning, image processing, OCR, quality checking and organised digital delivery.

1. Assess

Review the books, binding, condition, quantity and intended digital use.

2. Prepare

Prepare books for intact scanning or agree guillotining where appropriate.

3. Scan

Capture pages using professional book or document scanning equipment.

4. Quality Check

Check page sequence, completeness, orientation, readability and agreed specifications.

5. Deliver

Supply the finished files in the agreed format, structure and delivery method.

Digital Outputs

Output specifications can be agreed according to whether the digitised books are intended for everyday reference, online access, OCR searching, printing or archival image retention.

PDF

Convenient digital books for viewing, sharing and everyday reference.

Searchable PDF

OCR can be applied where appropriate to make text searchable.

TIFF

High-quality image files for archival and image-based requirements.

JPEG

Practical image files for selected reference and digital-access requirements.

Who We Work With

Published book and bulk scanning projects can be undertaken for a wide range of organisations and collections.

Publishers Universities Libraries Museums Archives Schools & Colleges Professional Organisations Local Authorities Businesses Heritage Organisations Historical Societies Private Collections

Talk to Us About Your Book Scanning Project

Whether you have a single published book, a library of volumes or a large collection requiring bulk document scanning, contact Oxford Duplication Centre to discuss the books, quantities, preparation method and required digital output.

Contact Oxford Duplication Centre Call 01865 457000