Scanning old computer magazines

I've started this project mainly because I wanted to digitize my Slovenian PC Gamer magazine collection.

I built a simple rig to hold the magazines and my phone in place. Consistency is key — especially in lighting and angle — so the rig helped reduce reflections and keep the scanning process efficient.

 Scanning Apps Tested

vFlat App (Play Store)

• Pros:

  • Good page-flattening algorithm.

• Cons:

  • Free version limits: 5 double-page scans/month and limited PDF conversion.

  • Cuts off image edges during capture; no post-capture fine-tuning.

  • Output file sizes can be large.

    
    

Google Drive Scanning Tool

• Current main tool

• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCztHNNv3yY

• Pros:

  • Fast and reliable PDF conversion.

  • Best overall image quality.

• Cons:

  • Major flaw: If the app is closed mid-scan, progress is lost.

  • Workaround: Scan in chunks (~1/3 of the magazine), then merge PDFs later using online tools.

    
    

Adobe Scan (Play Store)

• Pros:

  • Fast scanning.

  • Ability to edit converted PDFs.

• Cons:

  • Post-processing can distort or alter image appearance.

    
    

Microsoft Lens

• Cons:

  • No dedicated book/document scanning mode.

    
    

Tools for Post-Processing

• PDF24 (tools.pdf24.org) used for:

  • Merging scanned pages into a single PDF.

  • Optional OCR (later dropped due to quality issues or time constraints).

  • 
    

Current Workflow (Best Results)

• Use Google Drive scan tool.

• Scan ~40 pages at a time (~⅓ of a typical magazine).

• Convert to PDF and back up immediately.

• Merge final PDFs with online tools.

• OCR skipped — deemed not worth the effort at this stage.

• 
  

Key Learnings

• Lighting is critical — avoid reflections, ensure even and sufficient illumination.

• Manual correction of auto-detected edges improves final results.

• A multi-app approach might offer the best flexibility, but no seamless workflow found yet.

• Backups are essential — some apps don't auto-save in-progress scans.

Time Breakdown

• Scan 40 pages: ~9 minutes

• Process 40 pages: ~11 minutes

• Total for 118-page magazine: ~1 hour

The results can be currently seen: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1-DLRbFwU087FcDvhLRY2Q65B0gSaEAZo