Book Scanning

SPS operates a secure document scanning bureau accredited for Information Security, Legal Admissibility and Cyber Security, providing specialist book scanning services to organisations across the UK. Unlike standard document scanning, our service is specifically designed for bound materials that cannot be separated or processed using high-speed sheet-fed scanners.

Standard document scanning is designed for loose, unbound sheets and typically requires documents to be separated before processing. This makes it unsuitable for books, ledgers and bound materials, where non-destructive scanning is required.

We digitise books, ledgers and other bound documents of varying thicknesses and formats, up to A3 in size, using non-destructive capture methods that preserve the integrity of the original material. This makes our service ideal for archive collections, historic records and operational documents that must remain intact.

Using advanced overhead scanning technology, including the ScanSnap SV600, we are able to accurately capture books, notebooks, receipts and oversized documents without damaging spines or bindings. Materials can be digitised in colour, greyscale or mono, with output tailored to your exact requirements, whether for archival preservation, compliance or accessibility.

All digital files can be delivered securely via SFTP, uploaded directly into systems such as SharePoint, or integrated into a cloud-based document management solution, ensuring fast and controlled access to your digitised records.

Our approach is deliberately careful, flexible and tailored — providing a dependable solution for organisations that require high-quality digitisation of bound and sensitive materials, where standard document scanning is not suitable.

Call our team on 0800 046 8081 to get started with your book digitisation project.

Book Scanning Services from Cleardata
Digitise Books

Notepads or Fragile Documents

Accredited and Trusted

ISO 22301 ISO 9001 Cyber Essentials Plus ISO 27001 Cyber Essentials BS 10008 BS EN 15713 NHS Digital

Our Book Scanning Process

Bound materials, such as books and ledgers, cannot be processed using conventional document scanning equipment without being dismantled or damaged.

SPS provides expert book scanning services nationwide, delivering fast and accurate document search and retrieval through advanced technology and proven industry expertise.

We securely collect your books directly from your premises using our fully tracked fleet of vehicles.

Our expert team prepares your book pages for digitisation by removing staples or paperclips, repositioning sticky notes and flagging any poor-quality original pages.

Your books and pages will be digitised with our high-performance book scanners, generating high-quality digital files in JPEG, TIFF, or PDF formats. Our OCR capabilities enable efficient bulk scanning when needed.

All scanned books and pages are processed in accordance with BS10008 standards for legal admissibility. Our quality control team checks for issues like misalignment, distortion, creasing, or rotation, and rescans are performed when necessary to ensure optimal accuracy and clarity.

Completed digital files are securely delivered via SFTP, with flexible output formats such as TIFF, JPEG, and PDF to meet your needs.

Once scanned, your original books and pages can be returned, archived, or securely destroyed using our on-site shredding services.

Book Scanner

Our Book Scanning Technology

  • Our ScanSnap SV600 book scanner allows digitisation of bound books, notebooks and fragile records.

  • Operators are able to perform continuous scanning thanks to page-turning detection and timed scanning features.

  • The book scanner features special technology allowing a linear image sensor and a high-powered LED lamp, providing exceptional image quality. 

When is book scanning required?

Book scanning is required when documents are bound, fragile or cannot be separated without damage. Unlike standard document scanning, which relies on loose sheets and high-speed feeders, book scanning uses non-destructive capture methods to preserve the original format.

Trusted by 10,000+ Companies

Asthma + Lung UK Windsor Forest Colleges Group Warrington Borough Council SIMARC Property Management Limited NHS Horwich Farrelly Biffa

Benefits - Book Digitisation

Choosing book scanning services for your business offers a wide range of benefits, including:

  • Save Time and Money

    Save time and money by eliminating the need to search for paper records. This way, your employees can spend more time on value-added tasks.

  • Retrieve Scanned Pages Quickly

    Easily and quickly locate digital book pages, saving time and effort compared to traditional methods of searching through paper files.

  • Maximise Storage Space

    Digitising your book pages frees up valuable space in the workplace. For businesses needing paper copies, SPS offers secure archive storage with state-of-the-art security and fire detection systems.

  • Improve Business Continuity

    Protect and back up your paper records with expert book scanning services, enhancing business continuity and safeguarding documents from fire, theft or flood.

  • Improve Compliance

    GDPR compliance requires companies to quickly locate information for subject access requests. Specialist book scanning services enhance compliance and accelerate file retrieval.

Why Choose SPS For Book Scanning?

SPS offers secure, accredited book scanning services throughout the UK

Account Management

Dedicated Account Managers are available via phone or email to provide a personal service.

Safe and Secure Premises

Facilities are safeguarded with advanced fire and water detection, perimeter fencing, 24/7 CCTV surveillance and biometric access.

Accredited

Certified to ISO standards, we ensure the highest level of information security with advanced protection and compliance protocols.

High-Tech Book Scanners

SPS uses ScanSnap SV600 book scanning technology and can scan books of any thickness, up to A3 size, offering a highly versatile and tailored book scanning service.

Quality Guaranteed

SPS ensures high-quality 300dpi scans and compliance with BS 10008:2020 standards for legal admissibility and accuracy.

Cloud Document Management

Our secure Cleardox Electronic Document Management system provides fast and easy access to your digitised books, enabling you to view them anytime, anywhere.

I've been really impressed by the services offered by SPS and their team has been a dream to work with.

Supporter Care Manager, Asthma + Lung UK

We've got all the answers!

Check out our frequently asked questions to find out more about our scanning and digitisation process. If you need any more help, please call 0800 046 8081.

Our team will be happy to help.

SPS has a fleet of vehicles and can collect your documents from anywhere within the UK or Ireland.

Yes, we offer manual data entry and automated indexing services. We can use your existing indexing lists as a lookup to automatically index your data. For example, if your database contains a Reference and associated data, we can add the associated metadata to our Archive Management System.

An extensive range of books and bound documents can be scanned, including paperback books, hardback books, manuals, journals, ledgers, notebooks and bound reports. We can accommodate books of different sizes and thicknesses, including large formats like A3.

Scanned books are supplied as PDF files. However, TIFF, JPEG and other formats can be provided where needed. Files can be customised to suit your document management and storage requirements.

Yes. Professional book scanning services follow stringent confidentiality procedures and data security processes. This ensures books are handled safely and securely at all times. Digital files can be encrypted or transferred using secure methods.

Book scanning is a service commonly undertaken by organisations, institutions and sectors like libraries, universities, legal firms, healthcare or businesses. Our book scanning service can digitise any bound documents such as books, notebooks or deeds.

Digitising books helps to reduce the amount of physical space needed in the workplace. It also protects original books from wear and damage, as well as improves accessibility. Finally, book scanning allows information to be searched, retrieved and shared as quickly as possible - an immediate advantage over manual book handling.

Yes. Documents can be scanned in colour, greyscale or mono and formatted to a high-quality digital output.

Book scanning involves converting physical books and other bound documents into a digital format. Every page is individually scanned using specialist technology to produce high-quality digital images. These digital images can be saved, stored, shared and searched electronically with ease.

Non-destructive book scanning services are available. This allows books to be digitised carefully without unbinding or cutting them. This is an ideal solution for books that are frequently used, valuable or rare. We do offer destructive scanning where required, which will need to be agreed in advance.

Yes. Optical Character Recognition, or OCR as it’s more commonly referred to, can be applied to scanned books. This makes the text searchable.

Books can be returned to you after the book scanning process has been completed. Alternatively, they can also be archived or destroyed in line with confidentiality procedures. The choice is entirely yours.

The time it takes depends on the number of books that need to be scanned, their size and whether any additional services need to be carried out. We will provide you with a clear timeframe once the requirements are known to us.

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Cleardata Team

Let’s get scanning!

Call our team on 0800 046 8081, or contact us to get started with your scanning project.

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