Here's a nifty little app for both iPhone and Android devices that I've found very helpful -- and it's free! CamScanner by InSig Information Co., Ltd. uses your device's camera to 'scan' documents, photographs, whiteboards, newspapers, etc. quickly and easily. Some of the in-app features include auto enhancing that help create sharp, clear images; document editing to add notes and make annotations; a sorting feature to allow you to sort those documents/photos into groups on your device; and the ability to email the document or upload to the Cloud. The paid versions of the application have more features, of course, including document syncing and Cloud space.
I've found this app to be especially useful with hard to copy photographs in books. Photocopy machines are fine, but CamScanner allows me to take a photo-quality scan of the image and instantly adjust the quality/sizing/borders. It will even compensate for the slight skew caused by a bent page or book binding, adjusting the image and flattening it.
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Take, for instance, the photo of the Primitive Baptist Church in Independent Hill, Virginia, that I posted earlier this year. The photo was taken using CamScanner from "My Lynn Families, Vol. 1," by George H. Lynn, a limited edition vanity press published in 1977. The original photo in the book is a tiny little insert photo with a handwritten caption. Using the mobile app, I was able to 'scan' the page, isolate the photograph, and create a nice, clear image for my files. (As a side note, the Primitive Baptist Church -- which was the church for so many of my Lynn and Cole ancestors -- no longer exists. The photo in George's book is the only one I've ever seen of the building.)
Are there better scanning apps out there? Very probably, but I've been so happy with this one that I haven't had the need to search for another. (And did I mention that it's FREE?)
