If they goto CD, I am gonna have to put a wireless keyboard and flatscreen in every bathroom…MAN that is gonna cost me!!! [:)][:D][:-^]
Brian
I hope that I didn’t sound condescending with the “kid” comment. i was just thinking that if someone had asked me if I would like to arcive documents for MR when I was in college, I would have jumped at the chance, chalked it up to an internship, and had a great time. We have to archive old records at our clinic, and I would think that it could be done without too much effort if it was something they wanted to do. I can understand that there is a fear of loosing control of distribution etc if it were digitized, but I’m sure that could be fixed.
It is already happening. The MER region of the NMRA puts their bimonthly on the web.http://www.bytedesign.com/mer/MER.html You can still buy it as a print version, but the web version is free.
Enjoy
Paul
I’m with you 100% on that. There’s just something pleasing about leafing through a glossy magazine that a computer will never be able to replace.
As an aside, yesterday I had an error in a spreadsheet that I could not find even after staring at the screen for quite awhile. As soon as I printed a copy, I saw the error right away. Maybe that’s just me, but I still think there is something valuable in hard copy.
This subject came up shortly after I joined the forum in April of last year; somebody, at that time, was in the process of scanning their back issues onto CDs. I thought it was a good idea then and I think that it is a good idea now, assuming, of course, that it is feasible. I haven’t really checked on the cost and availability of a high grade scanner but I’m putting that on my to do list.
I have yet to get into digital photography but I know that memory cards allow storage of a couple of hundred digital images. In a do-it-yourself environment is this not, perhaps, a more feasible technique than CDs???
A flat bed scanner will generally get you a better image with much less setup. Most scanner software will allow you to scan multiple pages into a single .pdf file with little to no hassle, and reasonable file sizes. The only hassle factors are deciding which articles you are going to scan, placing each page on the scanner, and giving the resulting file a meaningful file name for later reference and search. Scanning at 300 dpi on the older issues/articles is plenty - although I will shift to 600 dpi when there are color photographs.
Using a digital camera requires 1) setting up stands for the article being copied and the camera so that the camera focal plane is parallel to the magazine article; 2) setting up lighting that is adequate but no glare for the camera; 3) adjusting camera resolution for good clarity yet reasonable file size. Then the pictures have to be downloaded into the computer, and the .jpg compression adjusted for storage vs clarity. You still have the issue of putting multiple pictures into a single file that is adequate for viewing and reprinting as a single article should you so desire at a later date.
A flat bed scanner is really a low resolution digital camera set up on a moving carriage to take the hassle out of the procedure. And decent scanners are no more expensive than cameras (my scanner, bought 4 years ago, cost $150). With either camera or scanner, you can store the digital file on any media you want - DVD’s, CD’s, flash memory cards, hard drives, etc. CD-Rs have the advantage of lasting longer with less risk than most other storage formats.
A camera has many other uses - I would not recommend a scanner in lieu of a camera. But while we have been trying to buy a house long distance for the past few weeks, I have found the scanner to be a great substitute for a fax and copy machine. The realtor e-mails us the documents, we print them, sign them, scan them, and e-mail ba
Most commercial copy machines now have scan to email and scan to file capabilities. The one in my office also has a document feeder that can scan two sides of a page at once. Scanning 30 doublesided pages takes under a minute. So, if you have access to a commercial machine…
'Course if I want to scan magazine articles, I have to butcher the magazine, i.e. cut the pages out to load them into the doc feeder, so it’s a tradeoff in that respect.
Just a data point…
Electronic info V.paper,HMM! I had this mental flash of airplanes flying over some 3rd world country dropping propaganda laptops or DVD players with the appropriate message. Free Paris Hilton!!
Actually the PDF’s MR offers are exactly what the Dr. ordered. I downloaded the Scratchbuilding a brass loco series.While I probably have the whole collection of mags with that article in its nice to have it all in one place. Like an idiot though ,I printed the whole thing out and put it in a special binder,when I could just as well have burned a copy. Actually I still can since its saved on the computer still.
You guys have given me some good ideas about saving my magazine collection , Now if I’ll just make the time to do something about it. Sometimes the amount of info out there is just overwhelming. So many hobbies so little time. SIGH!!
The Anthracite Railroads Historical Society (http://arhs.railfan.net/fds/index.html) offers back issues of it’s magazine, “Flags, Diamonds and Statues” on CD-rom. Each cd contains a “Volume” of 4 issues. The Cds sell for $10. The started with the first volume and are working their way to the present, but only 6 volumes out of the 17 past volumes have been produced. All have sold out.
The problem as I see it, is that Kalmbach feels they will lose money not on the process and the CDs themselves, but on not being able to sell reprints and their books which are essentially bundled reprints. Please note that I realize not all Kalmbach books are article reprints.
Personally, I found room for a layout when I moved back issues of MR to storage and let my subscription run out. I still occasionally buy it but no longer subscribe. If they came out with electronic format I would subscribe. If they went the way ARHS did, I would subscribe and purchase the back issues on CD-rom.
i said this last time this topic came up , and just in case somebody at Kalmbach is reading it this time who didn’t read it last time , i’ll say it again
i would buy back issues of MR on cd’s if the price is kept reasonable . national geographic has done this and while i couldn’t find a copy on their website , it seems it sold for $150 - $200 for the complete 112 years edition that was released a few years ago . i find that extremely reasonable , i might pay even more for MR since it is more of a specialist publication and they would be unlikely to sell as many copies as NG would expect to
unfortunately there have been some legal hassles with the NG set involving freelance photographers claiming their contract didn’t include reproduction on cd , their claim is given some weight by the fact that NG applied for a patent listing cd’s as a new medium . anyone know how all that turned out ? might that be why i can’t find the cd set on the NG website ?
You’re a wise man Joe - Scanning a page from a magzine is not just slapping the page down on a flatbed and hitting the scan button. There are issues of color correction, elimination of back-side bleed-through, dealing with the morier effect, touch ups using PhotoShop, and coversion to PDF with the balancing act of having the smallest file size while maintaining visual clarity. . .
http://www.twinimaging.com/latestnews.html
Peace
Thanks for the compliment Brotha, but it’s not rocket science. I’ve been a publisher myself, and I just stop and think how picky I can get about how my product looks.
I understand the enthusiasm of hobbyists, but if I wouldn’t trust my original publication to be put together by hobbyists, why would I trust page scanned copies to be done that way?
Just take anything you own and value (your house, your car) and ask yourself if you would trust a bunch of people of unknown skill level to gang together and work on it for you? How reliable would the result be?
It would be all over the map in quality – and that’s my point. [swg]
Even the Wikipedia (which is an online encyclopedia anyone can make entries into) has editors.