You got Questions? We Got Answers!
How do I place an order?
How can I get a price quote?
I am concerned about sending my books in the mail.
What is OCR?
What is included in the scanning?
Are there limits to what books can be scanned?
Does Custom Book Scanning guarantee 100% perfect results?
What if there is a problem with the order?
What if I want to make changes to the final PDF files?
What is your turn-around time?
Do I qualify to use Custom Book Scanning's services?
Can I have my books sent directly from Amazon or another book vendor?
What languages do you support?
How do I properly count my pages?
What if I only need a section of a book scanned?
How big will the files be?
Do you accept international orders?
What about copyright law?
What are the advantages of an eBook over a printed book?
Will online publishers accept your files? What about publishing to eBooks?
How long do I have to review my files?
How do I make my payment?
Will my eBook look exactly like my original book in terms of layout?
Do you upload my ebook to Amazon, Apple, etc.?
Are there any additional charges or hidden fees?
1. Fill out the order form on the necessary product page choosing all the options you require. Our "Book Scanning" page is setup so that you can only add one book at a time which will allow you to specify specific output and delivery options for each book specifically. If you have a two or more books you want to add to the order that all require the same options you can use the "Bulk Book Scanning" page to quickly add them to your order by selecting your options and entering the number of books in the "quantity" field.
We offer Paypal payments but Paypal registration is not necessary. We accept all major credit cards.
2. Once you’ve placed your order you will receive a confirmation email . Include this in your shipment to us and allow a few business days for receipt of your books.
3. Once received we begin the book scanning process and within 5-10 business days you will receive an email with a link to the .zip file that contains all your files.
How can I get a price quote?
The order form on our product page all the necessary options for calculating your total and automatically updates as you modify your order. Simply select the bracket of pages that contains your number of pages and all the options you desire and it will display the total cost for you at the top. The cart is also where bulk discounts will be calculated for placing orders containing multiple books.
I am concerned about sending my books in the mail.
Proper packaging should be given to books while shipping to reduce possible damage in transit. We always reccomend getting a tracking number for your shipments.
What is OCR?
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. We use OCR technology to convert the text that is scanned from your books into searchable and selectable text. This allows your output documents such as the Word, PDF, ePub, and mobi files to be conveniently searchable allowing you to search for specific words in your file. In the case of e-readers this also allows the text-to-speech feature to function properly.
What is included in the scanning?
All files are compressed and delivered in a ZIP archive for reduced size and faster downloading. Our standard scanning service includes the following features for each book scanned:
1. One editable Word document which is formatted in the style of the original source file
2. One searchable PDF file which includes covers
Additional output files are avaliable in the order form and custom processing options
*Word, and eReader files are produced directly from OCR, and thus may contain some errors. Although we make every effort to spellcheck for OCR errors, these are sold for 'personal use only'. If you intend to publish your book, you will want to use the accompanying Word or HTML files as a starting point, to make further edits/proofs prior to submission online.
Are there limits to what books can be scanned?
Most books in circulation today should scan without a problem, with a few limitations to each (see below). If you feel your book may pose a potential scanning problem, please contact us first before ordering, so that we can review the request.
Limitations of our Destructive scanning stations:
Minimum inner margin of 1/4". Maximum scannable page size 8.5"W x 14"H.
(*Note, even if page width is larger than 8.5 inches, as long as the text section that will be
actually scanned is at least 8.5 inches or shorter we can remove the excess page width to
complete scanning.
Does Custom Book Scanning guarantee 100% perfect results?
In an effort to keep our prices low, our staff does not perform manual page-by-page inspection on our scans. To do this would significantly increase our cost. Thus, we do not guarantee perfect results (for example; the Word files may contain a few spelling/formatting errors, or decorative fonts may not be recognized properly, etc.). Due to the limitations of OCR technology today, it should also be assumed that some editing/proofing will be required for customers who intend to publish their works (although our OCR tends to be extremely accurate; 99+%).
Will online publishers accept your files? What about publishing to eBooks?
Converted ebooks are meant for personal use only and may not be accepted by ebook publishing websites as is. Ebook publishers all require their own formatting guidelines and additional editing may be required.
What if there is a problem with the order?
No problem. Just let us know, and we will do what we can to resolve the issue, free of charge. Please also note, we retain the original scans in our archives for about 6 months, after which point they are deleted in order to free up storage space. However, we still retain a copy of the final product for up to 1 year.
What if I want to make changes to the final PDF files?
If you want to make additional changes to the final PDF files, such as deleting certain pages, re-ordering, rotating, cropping, splitting, combining, changing the resolution, reducing the file size, etc. this can be performed using a PDF editor such as Adobe Acrobat Pro or PDFill Tools. PDFill is a free program, and Adobe offers fully functional 30-day trial copy of Acrobat Pro.
What is your turn-around time?
About 5-10 business days, depending on size of order and options selected.
Do I qualify to use Custom Book Scanning's services?
In order to use our services, you must agree to our Terms and Conditions and meet at least one of the following;
-Ownership of Rights - You are the author, you own the rights to the copyrighted material, or you have received permission from the publisher to copy the material.
-Startup Company or Small Business - For internal and lawful use of business related material.
-Non-Profit Organization - You are an NPO or CSO and meet at least one of the 501c provisions (1-28)
-Research or Educational Agency - For internal and lawful use
-Non-Profit Personal Use - You are an individual interested in our services for personal use
Can I have my books sent directly from Amazon or another book vendor?
Yes, we ask when you order the books from the vendor, to please include the Custom Book Scanning Order Number in the shipping address label. This will allow us to more easily match your shipment to your order.
What languages do you support?
Our OCR can recognize nearly 200 languages. To view a list of supported languages look at our features page. Please also bear in mind that selecting multiple languages may decrease the accuracy of the OCR slightly.
How do I properly count my pages?
If your book is like most books in circulation, then all you need to do is flip to the last page to obtain the page count, then add a few additional pages for the Table of Contents, Index, etc. The page pricing is determined by page ranges so you don't have to count each page individually.
What if I only need a section of a book scanned?
When a customer sends a book to us, it is assumed that they require the entire book scanned. However, we can set our start-page and end-page at points specified by the customer. Just fill out the comments section with instructions before submitting your order.
How big will the files be?
The .zip file that we provide will generally be very large, sometimes up to 1 GB or more depending on size of order and options chosen. It is recommended to be on a DSL or Cable connection to download the file. In addition, sometimes older Mac and PC computers may have difficulty unzipping larger .zip files. However, this can be resolved by using a free unzip utility such as 7-zip. Excessively large files can be broken up for easier downloading upon request at no charge. Please also be sure that you have enough hard drive space for the files. If the burn to DVD option is selected files will be burned to a blank CD or DVD depending on space required. Flash drive sizes will also vary according to space required for the particular order.
Do you accept international orders?
Absolutely. Note, books cannot be returned outside of the U.S.
What about copyright law?
It is the responsibility of the customer to insure compliance with all copyright laws, as stated in our Terms and Conditions, as Custom Book Scanning cannot be held liable for any unlawful activity. By placing an order, the customer certifies full compliance with our Terms and Conditions and all applicable copyright law. For information on US copyright law, please contact the US Copyright Office.
What are the advantages of an eBook over a printed book?
Some of the best advantages of ebooks compared to regular books include:
- They’re digital. A whole library containing hundreds of ebooks can be packed onto a single e-reader device, saving your spot on each one so you can pick up where you left off no matter how many ebooks you read at once.
- Regular books eventually start to deteriorate and are susceptible to damage and spills.
- You can access them in seconds. You can download new books, transfer between devices, and access them from anywhere without having to leave your couch.
- You can easily sell and share ebooks you’ve written yourself
- Ebooks can read the text to you, you can resize the words for easier reading, and you can take them on the go.
How long do I have to review my files?
You have 30 Days to review your files before the original document is recycled. If any major errors are found such as a missing page you will need to inform us before 30 days.
How do I make my payment?
Once the products are placed in the cart and all information is filled out you can place a payment using any major credit card or through PayPal. You don’t need to have a PayPal account to pay through PayPal. Simply choose "checkout as a guest" if you don't have a Paypal account.
Will my eBook look exactly like my original book in terms of layout?
Our staff strives to stay as true to the original formatting as possible. We understand some books use special formatting such as text wrapping, drop caps, etc. Please make a note in the instructions if you believe a certain area in the book needs special attention and we will do our best to format it accordingly.
Do you upload my ebook to Amazon, Apple, etc.?
We don’t upload to any booksellers or self-publishing platforms.
Are there any additional charges or hidden fees?
Our calculator has been programmed to accommodate most book demands. If for some reason you have more than the selectable number of pages in a single book or need a special accomodation we ask that you e-mail us for any specialized pricing. If this is the case we may need more than the standard 5-10 business days to return your completed e-book.