[WikiEN-l] Is Wikipedia a News Portal (among other things)?

[Andrew Lih]

On 9/25/06, Alphax (Wikipedia email) <alphasigmax at gmail.com> wrote:
> Ray Saintonge wrote:
> > geni wrote:
> >
> >> On 9/23/06, David Alexander Russell <webmaster at davidarussell.co.uk> wrote:
> >>
> >>
> >>> Here's an idea. I presume the main problem with scanning them is their
> >>> size (ie they won't fit on an ordinary scanner). Why not just scan them
> >>> in sections and then use 'photo stitching' software (the kind that's
> >>> designed to turn a collection of photos into a panorama) to turn the
> >>> scanned sections into a single image?
> >>>
> >>>
> >> Posible in theory but requires a lot of scans per map which increases
> >> the required time a lot.
> >>
> > Unless someone has access to a mega-size scanner that takes a whole
> > sheet at once.  Such beasts are already used by companies who reproduce
> > building construction plans.
> >
> > Ec
> >
>
> The approach used by Google and the Internet Archive is to chuck them
> into a right-angle frame with glass sheets and cameras.

That's a workable setup for books where you need to avoid cracking the
spine, but for large formats what you really want is drum scanning.
Would be nice to organize an effort to have institutions donate some
time on their scanners for Wikipedians to use.

-Andrew (User:Fuzheado)