Camera People vs. Scanner People

There really aren't that many controversies of any serious nature that stir up the genealogical world (with the exception of the same one or two that get revisited every year).  I've noticed, however, that there is one topic of conversation that tends to get people a bit heated.  That is the preference for capturing digital copies of items either by a camera or by a scanner.

Now, let me say right at the start that I am a firm believer in calling ahead to a library or archive and asking them what their policy is. Regardless of your technological preference, following the repository rules is key.

But what if you have a choice? What if the archives says you can use either? Then which do you select?

I'm going to use deeds books as an example for this particular discussion.  You know deed books, those big, awkward to hold and photocopy books?  My preference is to use a wand scanner to capture the images of the page.  The reason for that is the wand scanner lies flat on the book and curves with the large awkward curve of the book to give a nice flat, curve-less image when finished.

Cameras on the other hand, will capture all the text but also capture the curve.  The result is that your line of text is not straight as with the scanner.  In a low light situation that can make your photographs blurrier and more awkward than what is already created with the curve.

Mind you, many deed books are modern copies of original or older deed books. For this reason I have no problem with using a wand scanner. However, if this were an original document I wouldn't dream of using a hand scanner. In that case, I would use a Flip Pal, flatbed scanner or digital camera (digital camera being the easiest to transport to an archive followed closely by the Flip Pal).

It's not so easy picking your digital capture device is it?  There are so many factors to take into consideration. The preservation of the documents being first and foremost and our digital capture preference next in line.

I've gotten into some serious "going no-where" discussions with folks who insist that using the camera is always better than using a wand scanner.  Clearly I think the wand scanner has its time and place.

What about you?  Which camp do you fall into and why?

Scanning Up a Storm

original photo

This year I made it my goal to try to get better organized and to digitize my photos. This past weekend I made inroads toward that goal by scanning up a storm.

My father recently gave me a photo album from my great grandparents with photos taken between 1901 and 1912.  These photos are wonderful because they show the family at play on vacation when they are their most relaxed. Prior to this I had seen mostly formal shots that gave me no indication of their personalities or their interactions with each other.

I got out my Flip Pal and tore through 160 photos. That's quite a lot of photos to scan! The original photos weren't in great condition so now I am in the process of correcting/improving them in Adobe Photoshop. After I complete that task I will share the digital copies of the photos - both the original and corrected versions - with all my family.  The important thing is not that they do anything with the photos but that multiple copies are preserved in several different locations.  The other key thing is to make sure all descendants who want them have copies of the photos.

Corrected version

I still need to do work on acting as the family archivist. I need to catalog the photos/album, note the provenance (the chain of ownership) of the photo album and identify where the original physical copy will be kept. That's next on my list!

But I feel good. I feel like I got something accomplished and I'm glad that the line of communication is open with my other family members so that they can get excited too.

This album is just one pebble in a riverbed of scanning and cataloging that I need to do. Small steps. Each small step will get me closer to my goal.





Photo notes: These photos show Sarah Estella Gurney Edwards (1871-1963) helping her young son, William Henry Edwards (1898-1976) up the front porch steps during a family vacation in 1901. The location is unidentified but is likely the south coast of Massachusetts or Rhode Island.

Flip Pal: Where It Shines and Where it Doesn't

I've been writing a lot about the Flip Pal lately.  It's a great new tool and overall I'm very happy with it.  But no tool is perfect.  It needs to be selected for the right reason and the right task - just like any other tool you would buy.

Yesterday on my blog Jennifer left this comment:

"Thanks for the info on stitching. I have been debating whether to get a Flip-Pal scanner. I will use it primarily to scan 8 1/2 x 11 documents, though I am sure I will use it for photos too. Because I plan to use it primarily for documents, I've been debating whether just to get a portable scanner with a paper feed."

When I read this, I really felt it was time to talk about Flip Pal's strengths and weaknesses.

Flip Pal is the perfect tool if you need a light, portable scanner that you can take with you to scan snapshots while visiting family or at an archive, particularly if you need to scan computer screens or microfilm tables or if the archive doesn't allow wand scanners.

However, if you are planning on doing a lot of 8x10 photo scanning or 8 1/2x11 document scanning,  you may want to re-think.  The stitch feature on Flip Pal is great but it's not really practical if everything you scan is 8x10 or larger.  All that stitching adds a lot of time to an already slow process.

I would encourage Jennifer to get a scanner with a feeder that can accommodate regular sized paper. She will have to determine for herself whether that means a portable one or a desktop one.  Even a tabletop scanner without a feeder is going to be burdensome.  If you are scanning lots of documents consistently then getting the feeder option would be worth it.  If you scan documents occasionally then stick with a regular scanner that can accommodate the regular paper size.

I know that everyone is very excited about the Flip Pal.  I am too.  But it is not the answer in every situation.  Before you spend your money be honest with yourself about your needs and how you are going to use a scanner.  Better to purchase what will serve you best than to buy something that will become a source of continued frustration.

Stitching with the Flip Pal

I have to admit that my first two attempts at stitching were failures.  The first photo stitched ok but with some black areas where I had missed overlapping.  The second photo was a total disaster with Flip Pal telling me there wasn't enough information to complete the stitch.

Read the instructions!

When you open the Flip Pal software you will get a little menu like this.  On the left hand side under Help / Manuals make sure your read the option "How to Scan and Stitch Large Originals."  That's where I learned that there should be at least a one inch overlap to get the best stitch.  I hadn't done that with the first two attempts.

The photo I've been scanning is an 8x10 of my grandfather and I.  For first two attempt I did four scans to cover the whole photo.  Armed with the new information I went back and did six scans - three across the top half of the photo and three across the bottom.

Watch those hands!

I took the lid off the Flip Pal and used it upside down to scan my photo which was resting on a desk.  I have a tendency to grab the left and right sides with my hands to move the Flip Pal around.  Inadvertently this caused me to press the scanning button before I was ready.  I must have done that four or five times before I learned the lesson.  Try grabbing hold of the corners instead of the ends so you don't have this problem.

Stitch Away!

With your now properly overlapping scans you are ready to stitch.  In the Toolbox Menu select the top middle option - Stitch Scans (see image above).

You with then see this rather plain screen.  Press File, then select Open.

Next select the photos that you want to include in your stitch.  It's easiest to select the first photo, press Shift (and hold) and then select the last photo to grab all the images at once.

The Flip Pal will then run through a series of five steps while you patiently wait.  It can take up to a minute to stitch all the photos.

At the end Flip Pal shows the completed scan.  Success!  Flip Pla saves the stitched version as a new image.

Here's the raw version before cropping. You can see the wood of the desk surrounding the photo.  The black area is part of the image that was not scanned originally. I'm going to crop the desk and the black areas and then my photo will be perfect.

As you can see the stitch software does a pretty nice job!  You can't detect any lines where the individual pieces were stitched back together.

Scanning with the Flip Pal

One of my readers had some questions about using the Flip Pal to scan so I thought I would write a post that goes step by step through the process.

One of the best features about the Flip Pal is its portability. It's light and there is no electrical cord. The Flip Pal runs on batteries which are found on the underside of the scanner.

It's so handy you can even scan right on your lap if you want to. There are three easy buttons/slots on the side for power (on/off), scanning and the memory card. Slide the power button to turn it on. To perform a scan you will simply press the green button.

To start scanning grab a photo and lift the cover.

Place the photo with the image facing down on the glass. Replace the cover.  You have the choice of 300 dpi or 600 dpi for lower or higher resolution.  You can use the buttons on the front of the Flip Pal to change to your preference.  When you're ready press the green button to scan.  After scanning the Flip Pal will show you a little image of the scan but mine didn't photograph well so I can't show it here.

When you're done scanning your images are stored on the memory card. Take the memory card out of the slot.  If you don't have a card reader built into your computer you can use the  USB adaptor that comes with the Flip Pal.  Insert the memory card into the adaptor.

Then insert the adaptor into your computer.

I viewed my photo with Adobe Photoshop.  You can use whatever default program is on your computer.

The Flip Pal scanned a bit more than just my image that's why you see white space around my photograph.  I will have to crop that out.  I scanned the image at 600 dpi.  You can see below it is quite a large image.

I cropped out the extra white and then adjusted the color a bit.  I moved the file from the memory card to a more permanent location on my desktop hard drive. Here's the final result:

All in all it was a quick, easy process.  You can quickly scan lots of photos before transferring them to your computer.

This was fun! Let me know if you have any questions.

A Simple Gift for Non-Crafty Family Historians

Creating a Personalized Deck of Cards

I'm not much of a crafty person.  I'm all thumbs when it comes to glue and glitter.  So I came up with a non-crafty project to do with my Flip Pal.  Scanning and photo editing are right up my alley so I decided to create a custom deck of cards.  I thought this would be a nice quick project but it turned out to be more work than expected.  However, in the end I think the time put in was worth it.

1. Gather together all the photos you want to use for your project

2. Scan the photos using the Flip Pal scanner and then transfer them to your computer

3. Scour the web for a custom playing cards vendor

I spent a lot of time searching the web to find a vendor.  I settled on Printer's Studio because they had cards for as low as US $7.99 for a single deck and because their drag and drop interface looked the easiest to use.  I saw other vendors selling decks for $20 and even $50! Printer's Studio has a bunch of different deck options but I chose the basic Image & Text Standard Index.

4. Choose how many photos you want to use 

You can customize the deck with 54 unique photos or you can choose 13 images (the same image for each number) or 4 images (the same for each suit) or just one image for all the cards.  It seemed to me that 54 cards turns it into a bit of a memory game where card counters have the advantage.  I thought 13 would be better but they don't offer the option to randomize the photos so all the Aces, regardless of suit, have the same photo.  Therefore making it even easier for the cards sharks.  Oh, well, it's all to preserve family history, right?!

5.  Upload the photos

Next I had to upload the photos. I chose (really before I thought about it) to add text directly to my photos.  Originally I was just going to add photos.  Then I thought of all the orphan photos out there and decided I shouldn't make my ancestors future orphans so I put their names on all the photos.  There is actually no need to put the text on the photos because Printer's Studio gives you that option in the next step but I guess I'm a control freak when it comes to images so I added the text right onto my images using Adobe Photoshop.

Note: if you want to stop and work on the project later or purchase the project at a later date, create an account save your project in "My Library."  Printer's Source doesn't ask you if you want to save the project when you are checking out.

6. Place your photos in the order of your choice

I only used photos from 6 or 7 different people so I gave some consideration to placement.  I didn't want to have three photos of the same person one after the other. After uploading all I had to do was drag and drop to get them into the right position.

7. Add Text 

After you upload all your photos and press continue you'll be given the chance to add text. Because I had added the text directly to my photos I skipped this step.

8. Review Your Cards

Next Printer's Studio will show you what your photos will look like when they are on the cards.  This is where I discovered that each number would have the same photo.  A better system would be to randomize the photos on the numbers but I couldn't see that being offered.

9) Check out and Pay

The cost was US $7.99 plus $5.99 for shipping.  I thought that was fairly reasonable.  I ordered one deck.  If I like the way they come out I will order more and give them to family members for Christmas.  There were two options for payment 1) credit card (Visa or Mastercard) or 2) Pay Pal where you could pay with Visa, Mastercard or American Express.

Project Time: This project took me a total of about 3 hours between scanning, adding text and uploading.  I admit I am a bit fussy with the photos so others might be able to do it quicker.

This was a fun family history project that involved no glitter.  I am really looking forward to getting the cards back to see how the turn out.  I'll give you an update when they arrive.

I Feel Like a Kid at Christmas

Sarah demonstrating how to use the Flip Pal upside down

I have to admit that after I opened the new Flip Pal scanner I felt like a kid again at Christmas time.  I love technology but I don't usually get too excited about it.

I took the scanner for its first test drive at 8am Saturday while on the sideline of a soccer field.  Yup, just me sitting there in a car getting ready to scan.  Now that alone should tell you how amazing this is that you can be sitting in a car and use a flatbed scanner.  I admit I really loved that total accessibility.

I am one of those really impatient people when it comes to technology.  I don't want to sit and read all the instructions and start step by step.  No, not me, I just pulled it open, scanned the first thing I could lay my hands on (my business card) and then pressed the green button to go!  Voila - it worked and I had scanned!  That simple.

Now, I don't recommend my approach.  After I got over my rash impulse I stopped to read the brief but helpful instructions.  They mentioned that before anything I should have set the time as soon as the scanner came on the first time.  Since I totally skipped that part I am now at a loss for knowing how to change the time.  It doesn't seem like you can change it later.  I suppose my easiest solution will be to take out the batteries and simulate a fresh start.

Another thing I discovered was the USB - memory card converter.  The Flip Pal comes with a little device that let's you plug into a USB slot and then insert your memory card into that to access the scans.  This is particularly helpful as my new latptop did not come, regrettably, with a built in memory card slot.

Another small, really silly feature that I love is the slot on the back of the Flip Pal for a business card.  While it may not prevent someone from stealing the scanner, it certainly goes a long way in helping honest folks get it back to you.

Help From Friends

I was able to explore on my own a bit and did a few scans at the two different resolutions but the fun really began later in the day at the NEAPG meeting.

Several other people at the meeting already had Flip Pals or just got them.  Flip Pal guru Sarah Nesnow got us all on the right track with using the scanner.

First off, Sarah told us that the software for stitching photos together was located on the memory card.  She gave us the very helpful heads up that if we switch to a larger memory card that we need to make sure to copy over the stitch software.  So that's one question answered.  I was really wondering where that software was hiding.  I thought maybe I needed to download it or something.

Second, Sarah showed us the most amazing thing - how to scan microfilm.  She actually held the Flip Pal right up to the computer screen and scanned it.  Amazing.  She showed us many microfilms scans she had done to prove the quality of how it comes out.  I was astounded.  That will be hugely helpful.

Lastly, she shared some examples of scans that were stitched together.  I was very impressed because I couldn't see any lines. The only way I could tell was from the "overhanging cliffs" created at the edge of some photos were the scans didn't line up perfectly.

Coming Up with a Gift

The point of this "Simple Gift Blog Hop" is to demonstrate how the Flip Pal can be used to make family history gifts.  I've got two thoughts in mind.  The first is to scan a bunch of old family photos so that I can get a deck of cards made up.  I saw that done somewhere on the internet.  My second idea is to create a Christmas present for my Dad.  Not sure yet what to do but I'm thinking maybe about focusing in on his grandparents.  Let me know if you have any ideas.

Flip Pal Scanner Fun

Well, for someone who usually never wins anything I got lucky! I was selected, along with six other bloggers, to evaluate and review a Flip Pal scanner.

I've heard a lot of buzz around the internet and the genealogical community about these Flip Pal scanners. I've heard that they are portable and easy to use  - perfect for traveling on research trips and visiting family.

Now I'm going to have the chance to try it out myself and see if it lives up to all the hype.

As I try it out over the next few weeks I will be writing blog posts to let you know what I think.  I'll give you the pros and the cons.

I received my Flip Pal yesterday and I haven't even unwrapped it yet.  I'll do that today and see if I can figure out how it works.

For my first test drive, I'll be taking the Flip Pal to tomorrow's annual meeting of the New England Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (NEAPG).  I'm hoping that my colleagues will bring photos and documents so that we can give it a really good workout and all get a sense of what this little portable scanner can do.

The other bloggers participating in the Flip Pal Blog Hop are:

Sheri Fenley
The Educated Genealogist
http://sherifenley.blogspot.com

Drusilla Pair
Find Your Folks
http://www.findyourfolks.blogspot.com

Caroline Pointer
For Your Family Story
http://www.4yourfamilystory.com/blog.html

Heather Wilkinson Rojo
Nutfield Genealogy
http://nutfieldgenealogy.blogspot.com

Nancy Shively
Gathering Stories
http://nancyshively.blogspot.com

Julie Cahill Tarr
GenBlog
http://genblogjulie.blogspot.com

It will be interesting to see what the other bloggers think as well.