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How do you scan cards?

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IUjapander

New member
Jan 28, 2011
1,003
0
Indianapolis
I've been using a mini card as a guider so that all six cards are straight as possible. Does anybody have any other methods, or tricks they would be willing to share?

677FAB91-D11F-466D-9C01-E728DDEC22CF.jpg
 

gradedeflator

Active member
Mar 31, 2011
1,388
17
I usually scan 1-2 cards per and then use software after the fact to edit (rotation, cropping, etc.). I specifically use Microsoft Office Picture Manager 2010.

however, this is much more time intensive than 6 cards per scan. but i'm sure it would take me a long time to get those 6 cards aligned perfectly!
 

fordman

Well-known member
Feb 22, 2013
3,190
32
Ohio
I usually scan 1-2 cards per and then use software after the fact to edit (rotation, cropping, etc.). I specifically use Microsoft Office Picture Manager 2010.

however, this is much more time intensive than 6 cards per scan. but i'm sure it would take me a long time to get those 6 cards aligned perfectly!

Most scanners within the last 10 years will have software that will break up all six pics into individual files for you. If you have an old scanner, check to see if the software that came with it has been updated to be able to do this.

If your scanner is more than 10 years old, time to invest into a new one.

Sell me your Jay Bruce cards!
 

IUjapander

New member
Jan 28, 2011
1,003
0
Indianapolis
I usually scan 1-2 cards per and then use software after the fact to edit (rotation, cropping, etc.). I specifically use Microsoft Office Picture Manager 2010.

however, this is much more time intensive than 6 cards per scan. but i'm sure it would take me a long time to get those 6 cards aligned perfectly!


I just use the scanners software to crop and rotate, so once it is done scanning, I'm left with six individual photos. The mini card actually makes it pretty fast to make them straight, just get the card straight and slide the mini down to the next card.

Here is the result from that picture
9788170_orig.jpg
 

RStadlerASU22

Active member
Jan 2, 2013
8,881
11
IMO your set up is working pretty good ! I'm going to start on my Will Clark project by the end of the year and may try something similar. I know in the past it's been discussed but anyone want to throw out scanner or program ideas ?

Ryan
 

gradedeflator

Active member
Mar 31, 2011
1,388
17
I also scan with the lid up...i prefer black backgrounds vs.white. guess i could also just put a piece of black cardboard in there as well.

with acetate cards, i usually have to scan with the lid down.

i use a canon canoscan 9000f. but looking for perhaps an epson to use part time for tricky foil cards.
 

IUjapander

New member
Jan 28, 2011
1,003
0
Indianapolis
I also scan with the lid up...i prefer black backgrounds vs.white. guess i could also just put a piece of black cardboard in there as well.

with acetate cards, i usually have to scan with the lid down.

i use a canon canoscan 9000f. but looking for perhaps an epson to use part time for tricky foil cards.

I have that same scanner, but like the white background vs. black. Personal preference.

It does sometimes have trouble with silver foil, like the below, all of the text at the top shouldn't be so dark.

3396807_orig.jpg


But I can't stand the Epison's due to this...

127044d1360693188-scanner-type-2011-bowman-chrome-prospect-autographs-blue-refractors-bcp95-addison-reed.jpg
 

jszczech

Well-known member
Dec 27, 2010
2,315
243
Minnesota
What if you were to build a template using the same set up you have now. That way you could just throw cards in the template and remove it and they would be aligned correctly. Might take a bit of time to make something out of cardstock or something similar but it will save time on every scan down the line.
 

D-Lite

New member
Nov 10, 2010
1,872
0
SF Peninsula
I have that same scanner, but like the white background vs. black. Personal preference.

It does sometimes have trouble with silver foil, like the below, all of the text at the top shouldn't be so dark.

3396807_orig.jpg


But I can't stand the Epison's due to this...

127044d1360693188-scanner-type-2011-bowman-chrome-prospect-autographs-blue-refractors-bcp95-addison-reed.jpg

This is me too, with the 9000F, having come from an HP that I did like. I scan 3x3 with VueScan, so I get 9 at a shot. The software gives me 9 zones (can set whatever I want), but I need to adjust the positions slightly for all 9 first. Pretty fast actually.
But yes, the foil is a problem. The all foil face cards look pretty bad, so I'm trying to figure out how to fix this.
As for the background, I'll scan lid up with light border cards, and lid down with a gray/black piece of construction paper for contrast with most other cards.
 

olerud363

Active member
Jun 14, 2010
3,212
14
Ontario, Canada
I don't have any consistant lid up or lid down procedure; I just use whatever turns out best. If the card is slightly warped I close the lid to flatten it. I'll usually scan the card without any sleeve or toploader, and put another card against the edge to keep it straight, similiar to the OP. I have a cheap all-in-one printer/copier/scanner, so I have to scan and crop one card at a time.
 

linuxabuser

Well-known member
Jan 16, 2011
2,364
50
I've got some POS Epson all-in-one inkjet that I use just for scanning. It was like $30 on clearance at Staples a few years ago. I do 9 at a time in sleeves, or 4 in toploaders. My settings are pre-set to save them at 600dpi in a JPG format, directly to an SD card. After they're saved, I open them in paint and cut them out and save them individually. 99% of cards in my bucket have been saved that way.

http://photobucket.com/linuxabuser
 

DaClyde

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2010
1,614
58
Huntsville, AL
What if you were to build a template using the same set up you have now. That way you could just throw cards in the template and remove it and they would be aligned correctly. Might take a bit of time to make something out of cardstock or something similar but it will save time on every scan down the line.

I've been thinking along these lines but never come up with anything. It would be great to just preview once, set the borders of each card, and from then on just drop new cards in, click scan and always get a perfect scan without always having to preview and adjust. That would save probably 25-30% of the time taken per 9 cards.

I've got an Epson 9000F and use some really old, hacked (because it has been abandoned and there is no one to take my money) Instant Photo Scanner software and usually scan 9 at a time.

I typically scan everything at 600dpi to avoid moire patterns, then re-size everything that I use online down to 1000px on the longest side. Images are then usually renamed to the card number and sorted into folders for the set.

What I really hate about most scanners is that they do not "see" the entire scanner bed. It seems like they always miss one or two of the edges by maybe a quarter inch or more. On my Epson, the two sides touching the corner with the arrow (near the hinge) I can slide a card all the way to the edge of the glass and get a complete scan. But the opposite side and the bottom edge both have gaps in that the scanner element does not scan. As a result, cards must be a good quarter or half inch from those edges if I want to get a complete scan.
 

DaClyde

Well-known member
Jan 17, 2010
1,614
58
Huntsville, AL
After thinking about this topic for a it, I think what many of us would benefit from is some kind of adjustable card scanning....rack doesn't seem the proper word....form? template? The point is, a device to allow bulk scanning on any common flatbed scanner, without the need to adjust scanner settings between passes. The "bulk scanning" aspect would be restricted to cards of the same size, of course. You wouldn't be able to throw disparate sizes together, but if you needed to scan several thousand 2.5" x 3.5" cards in one go, this would work.

Basically just an interlocking assemblage of straight pieces that could be adjusted to accomodate multiple sizes of cards on a scanner bed, without the cards moving around. It would be helpful if it were sandwiched between two clear plastic sheets, so you could insert 9 standard sized cards, scan, remove the whole thing in one piece, flip it over and scan the other side without having to make any adjustments on the scanner. COMC just accomplishes this by putting all their cards in 9-pocket sheets, but cards still tend to shift around a bit, and if you want clean images, free from any extraneous border, sheets wouldn't work.

If you needed to scan mini cards, you re-arrange the interlocking strips to create "cells" of the appropriate size, drop in your cards, close it up and get started. The first pass of a different size card type would require a preview and lasso adjustment before scanning (or if there were someway in the scanning sofware to establish profiles that pre-selected the areas to scan), but after the first pass, it would just be: insert cards, scan, flip, scan, swap out new cards, repeat.

Probably the biggest challenge is making the contraption both quick to unload and reload cards, yet safe from damaging cards in the loading/unloading process.

Thoughts?
 

nkdbacks

Active member
Aug 7, 2008
865
51
AZ
I do scan with the borders of the cards touching the edge of the scanner, but I've found that the scans have a little bit of the side touching the scanner cut off. Not a huge deal for some cards, but obviously something with a border like Bowman Chrome autographs are going to have it cut off and look off-center. Not sure if this is a common scanner issue, I've just always assumed it was my crappy scanner I got for free.

I'd love to find a better solution to scanning and put more time into it, but I just don't feel like making the effort for anything more than passable scans. Might be worth it to invest in a good scanner and hopefully it'll do the work for me.
 

Lancemountain

Active member
Apr 11, 2009
8,313
5
Philadelphia
I sit down to scan about once every two years. I scan for a few hours, I organize new folders-I label each front and back. I have it all nice and neat and promise to scan new additions as they come in.

Then two years later, I sit down to scan lol
 

gradedeflator

Active member
Mar 31, 2011
1,388
17
I sit down to scan about once every two years. I scan for a few hours, I organize new folders-I label each front and back. I have it all nice and neat and promise to scan new additions as they come in.

Then two years later, I sit down to scan lol

LOL. that sounds really effective. my problem is that i start to read a few thread, see other people's posts / mail days, and get real antsy to share my stuff!
 

Calripkenjrcollector

Active member
Dec 12, 2009
935
34
National City, California
I use HP Photosmart C5280 All in One. I scan nine cards at a time inside soft sleeves. I use the soft sleeve as a guide for the top & bottom and just try to align the sides as straight as I can, then edit, etc, etc.

It took me about NINE months working about 20+ hours a week to scan, edit, paste the black borders and name the 5500+ Ripken cards that I have. Nowadays, I do everything as soon as new cards come in. Here's how the final product look.
attachment.php


attachment.php
 
Last edited:

RStadlerASU22

Active member
Jan 2, 2013
8,881
11
I use HP Photosmart C5280 All in One. I scan nine cards at a time inside soft sleeves. I use the soft sleeve as a guide for the top & bottom and just try to align the sides as straight as I can, then edit, etc, etc.

It took me about NINE months working about 20+ hours a week to scan, edit, paste the black borders and name the 5500+ Ripken cards that I have. Nowadays, I do everything as soon as new cards come in. Here's how the final product look.
attachment.php


attachment.php

Always have loved the look / layout and description of your items.

The 9 months 20+ hrs scares the he out of me when I do my Clark's ;(

Ryan
 

Calripkenjrcollector

Active member
Dec 12, 2009
935
34
National City, California
Always have loved the look / layout and description of your items.

The 9 months 20+ hrs scares the he out of me when I do my Clark's ;(

Ryan

That's only when you start from scratch like I did. After you get the bulk of it done, then you're down to once a week or so. It's fun at first then it start to feel like work and after a while the fun comes back and you continue on. Good luck when you decide to do yours :)
 

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