1DollarScan will scan your paper books, cheap
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With the launch of 1DollarScan, society might be moving a step toward consigning paper books to the relic bin.
The idea of converting old formats -- remember floppy disks and video cassettes? -- into digital versions that can be preserved for posterity is nothing new. But 1DollarScan is trying to differentiate itself as the cheapest way to digitize books, documents, business cards and pictures.
One dollar at 1DollarScan will buy you: 100 pages of a book, 10 business cards, 10 photos or 10 business documents.
The company is operated by zLibro, a subsidiary of Bookscan, a Japanese company launched last year that has become a popular digital scanning service in that country. According to Bookscan’s website, founder Yusuke Ohki was inspired by worries that the 2,000 books stuffed into his Tokyo apartment would one day collapse.
‘There were lots of news in Japan that bookshelves were falling over in bookstores and that people died after being stampeded by books after earthquakes,’ making him fear for the safety of his two young children, Ohki told Forbes.
Check out how the process works in the video above. It’s not in English, but you’ll get the idea.
And be warned -- the company reduces costs by taking some time-saving measures such as cutting off books’ spines.
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-- Shan Li
Video: Process of scanning a book. Credit: Bookscan
