Since this has come up a number of times and several years ago we went through the same experience, here’s what I have (and remember) about archival and book friendly copiers.

 

Minolta BookScribe 2000, now I believe it is the Minolta PS3000, face up, black and white, image size up to 11”X17”, cost around $10,000.  It has many quirks, such as good luck getting a really clear image from folios and larger tomes and/or really thick volumes.  This is the one we went with.  (Our Friends group paid for it.)  Warning on the toner cartridges: while they say it is good for 10,000 copies, don’t count on it.  At a cost of $200 per cartridge, we go through about one every 3-4 months.  Art books have more images that require MUCH more toner than just printed words.

 

Minolta PS7000, scanning area of 17”X23 3/8” (requires a separate oversize printer), also adjusts for distortion.  If I remember correctly the cost was around $20-25,000 without the printer (way out of our budget).

 

There was also a German manufacturer of a face-up copier that could scan into a book open at  a 45 degree angle and correct for curvature, etc.  Apparently the Mercedes of copiers at a Mercedes cost as well of around $40,000.

 

There is a face down archival copier designed by the British Library called the Bookmaster and woe to the unfortunate soul who contacts the representative if it’s the same person (Rueben), you WILL be plagued daily by hard pitch sales calls.  Cost was around $8,000-$9,000 and for the difference in price we went with the face-up Minolta.

 

The other book friendly (not archival) option is available on a number of commercial copiers.  Its called the Binder Minder and can be fit on a number of machines.  We were given a quote on a Canon NP-6230 copier fitted with the Binder Minder for a cost of $5829.00 (I’m looking at the quote).

 

At the time there were no color book friendly or archival copiers; however, the company that makes the Binder Minder apparently had it in the works and were hoping to have it out in the next year.

 

There is also an archival color scanner made by the same company as the Bookmaster at a cost of around $3,000, but again this would require downloading the image and printing out on color printer, a little tedious if you were trying for public access in a library.

 

Hope this helps some of you out there and maybe save several months of researching.  If there are other options anyone knows of, I’d like to hear about for the future.

 

Matthew Wiggins

Library Manager

Jean Outland Chrysler Library

The Chrysler Museum of Art

245 W. Olney Road

Norfolk, VA  23510-1587

Email: [log in to unmask]

Phone: (757) 664-6202

Fax: (757) 664-6201

 

"I have come to believe that the highest manifestation of the immanent will of the universe is the work of art."

Herbert Read