Shine Ultra Smart Portable Document Scanner, Thin Book Scanner with OCR, USB Document Camera for Desktop/Laptop, Capture Size A3, Compatible with Windows & Mac OS (Not for Android & iOS)

You have to be careful with focusing and keeping the pages still, it won't scan small papers clearly sometimes, and the light does make scanning glossy surfaces a chore... but this thing is perfectly adequate for most use-case-scenarios. If you're scanning things like 30 page comic books or manuals, this will do a phenomenal job... if not a perfect one. This isn't a miracle device. You will have errors before you get good practice. It's not *crystal* clear. But it's not a one-trick-pony either. I've used this to scan a 500-page massive text book, paperbacks, hardcovers (easier than paperbacks for me), family photos, handwritten notes, and as a top-down webcam for teaching, all to perfectly usable success. For larger documents, if you're willing to sacrifice some resolution, you can boost the device's height on a box and get some black fabric, making the scannable area larger. OCR still works in common use. And oh yes, something that this device excels in is it's desktop software's OCR function. *Excellent.* Those who use speech-to-text software will be *very pleased* with this device. One can simply copy and paste text right out of one's digitized books on one's computer. You will likely not be disappointed with it's OCR, for sure. The device comes with everything you need. If your skin-tone doesn't work well with the automatic finger-removal function of the software, the box supplies you with "finger cots" which very accurately allow you to prop the book open with no fear of distracting artifacts. It comes with a foot pedal to scan the pages with, and also automatic scanning in the software which sees when you turn a page all by itself. Very nice packaging as well, very easy to understand. This company, Czur, is known for their excellent packaging. The speed of the scanning this device can do is actually very impressive. More destructive techniques may be faster, but I've scanned a 300 page novel in 10 minutes. You can do the math there, but that's pretty darn good. Something you may have noticed with minimal research is that this company makes other scanners that look similar. I can confirm to you that for consumer use, this scanner may have a lower resolution than the (tempting) $600+ scanner that they sell, but this model is more portable, and its resolution is *perfectly* adequate for all common users, I would say. Do your research. Look at reviews. But if you are in need of a non-destructive book and document scanner that is portable (fits in my small backpack) and will scan pretty darn fast and in good quality, along with the best OCR software I've realistically ever used, and all for personal use, and don't need higher resolution (which most people shouldn't), this device is probably the best you can buy from Czur. Have a nice one.

Great scanner, here's what I thought about it broken down by different aspects: -Packaging Comes in a nice, sturdy box with a handle so you can easily carry it and pack it up in an organized way when you're storing it between scanning sessions. -Software The software it comes with is straightforward and easy to use. I really didn't even read the manual, I just installed the software, plugged in the scanner, and figured it out and started scanning in like 5 minutes. -Functionality How it works is it comes with a black mat, you put your book/paper on it and select single page mode or book mode. Single page mode scans one object at a time, and it automatically crops the page against the black background; there are some finger tabs for holding pages flat and the scanner software automatically makes them disappear. For book mode, it scans two pages at once, and splits each page into its own separate image. I have attached some example scans from this product, compare it to the setup photo I took with my phone - even though the page isn't level, it automatically flattens the perceived curve from the camera snapshot, so you don't need to fiddle with making the pages flat. The cropping and page flattening is great, it just works. When you're done scanning, you can export all the images as various document types such as word/pdf, or you can leave them as images. Of course, you can choose where to save the base images to help keep organized. My wife also uses this in her classroom as a visual presenter where she can put a page underneath and write on it, and project it in real time on her projector. -Quality I have attached photos for black/white mode, color mode, and a final word document export. I should also mention, the export automatically processes the image to identify words and does a great job. I picked a page with tiny text on a 5"x8" book and you can see from my attached images that the camera is good enough even for tiny text, and can accurately translate that into a word document. Note that for some glossy pages, the light can reflect back to the camera and reduce quality, but for matte surfaces and "regular" paper, it performs excellent. -Speed It comes with a foot clicker so you can fully use your hands to flip and position pages without slowing down. Flip the page, give the camera a second to focus, press the foot clicker and repeat. As you scan, you can see a preview image and it's pretty apparent if something went wrong, maybe 1 out of 2-300 page flips or so I find I want to do a rescan which is totally fine for me. Depending on how focused I am, I flip a page every 2-4 seconds, on average maybe 15-20 page flips a minute, so that's around 300 pages in 10 minutes! Which I think is super good. Overall it's straightforward to use, takes good quality scans, exports files well, and scans through books quickly. I am very satisfied with this purchase and recommend this for anyone who wants good, fast scans.

Short version Pros: 1. Faster than a regular scanner 2. Easy to use 3. Better on the books Cons: 1. Camera doesn't handle glossy pages well 2. Some books have some damage to the spine due to forcing them flat enough. I bought this scanner because I'm planning to move and don't want to take my hundreds of books with me, but I don't want to get rid of them. So I started scanning them into PDF's. It's very time-consuming, and pressing the books flat on a printer/scanner destroyed the binding. I started with my own writing, diaries, loose leafs of papers with printed or hand-written stories, etc. This device was a god-send. It was very easy to use and quickly turned years of writing into a handful of PDF's on my computer. As I've turned my attention to the handful of paperback and print books that I want to preserve, it's a little more complicated. For starters, it's still time-consuming, just less so. The camera tends to create a glare on glossy pages and you still have to lay the book fairly flat, though not as much as a flat bed scanner. Take this book for example, it's a manga I picked up in Brazil on a trip and if I give it away I doubt I will ever find it again, so I wanted an electronic copy. You can see that the cover and first few pages are glossy and there is a noticeable glare spot. Not bad on the cover, but in places it interferes with reading. The matte pages are excellent quality. The process took slightly less than an hour, maybe forty-five minutes or leisurely work (with some editing and cropping after the scanning). The book is still serviceable, but you can see the binding has been bent a bit. I recommend this product, but wanted to show real results so you can judge for yourself.

This unit is very good. The ability to scan bound books and old notebooks without having to strip them apart is just perfect. The unit is easy to set up and the many scanning options are welcomed. I value the fact that the unit automatically adjusts the orientation of the scan to give a good result. Great product and I am happy finding it

I have used a number of scanners over the years, from built-in all-in-one printer/scanner/copiers, to standalone Fujitsu SnapScan scanners for documents, to flatbed scanners such as the Epsom v600 for photographs. Each of these has been good for its purposes, but each has its limitations. I also have used the CZUR Aura in a small business environment, and was very pleased with the experience I had with the Aura. The Aura I used had the benefit of its own internal battery and an app, so the scanner could be taken to other locations without need for a computer, and was often used in libraries or other locations where third-party documents needed to be scanned. The CZUR Shine is a smaller, more compact version of the Aura. There are not a lot of moving parts - just the dial to control the light, the up-and-down slide on the light stem to raise or lower the camera (depending on how large the scan needs to be), and the arm that moves from vertical to horizontal when you want to use the camera. The Shine does not have its own power source, and must be connected to a computer to operate. It connects using a standard USB-A connector, and has the foot-pedal to take the image, leaving your hands free to position the image, turn the pages, etc. The scanner came with a user manual and a CD with the software. As my laptop does not have a drive, I downloaded and installed the software from their website. The website was easy to navigate, and had the software downloads clearly marked based on model, operating system, etc. Once the software was downloaded, the scanner serial number was needed to activate the software, and it was ready to go. It took probably no more than 10 minutes to go from an unopened box to using the product. The Shine is also packaged in a more reusable and ready-to-transport box than the Aura. The internal packing contains a shaped foam to hold the scanner, the two cables, the thumb tabs, and the black mat. The box also comes with a built-in plastic handle. While it doesn't affect the functionality of the scanner, it does reflect some thought into not only the product, but the packaging to make the device more efficient, transportable, and usable. I always struggled with the Aura and making sure to bring the components, and do so along with notebooks, files, etc. This packaging makes it easier to bring the Aura as a self-contained kit. The Shine also comes with two yellow plastic thumb tabs to hold down the pages of the book. The best part of these tabs is the software is apparently coded to turn those tabs invisible, so that they don't appear on the pages. The most challenging part of using the tabs is getting used to the feel on your fingers, and making sure that they tab doesn't cover any of the material you want scanned. The Shine is the best all-around scanner that I've used. The image quality is outstanding. While it can't keep up with a document auto-feed scanner like a fujitsu, it has a broader, more versatile usage than a document scanner. It also has more versatility than a flatbed scanner, since the flatbed generally requires the item being scanned to be placed face-down. And, none of these scanner options have the ability to scan a book face-up, and remove the curvature of the pages. I still have and use the Epsom flatbed and the Fujitsu SnapScan, but their days of travelling are over. And, when they eventually stop working, they will not be replaced with newer models. The Shine can handle all of the functions those scanners do, in a more compact, and transportable fashion. And, if I had to make the decision to get rid of all of my scanners, except one, CZUR's product would be the one left on my desktop. This is also a great scanner if you want to leave it on a desktop, or need something for a small office workspace. The entire scanner takes up roughly 4x6 of desktop surface, so it can be easily put aside when it's not needed. The scanner will require more desktop for the mat when you want to scan, but it can be easily placed and removed on an as-needed (or not needed) basis.

I got this scanner to ingest a LOT of old documents, trade show stuff, competitor files. It's pretty easy to setup, though why they chose to send a CD in 2025 throws me for a loop (laptops don't come with them anymore 90% of the time!). Registration was simple, you can't screw that up, and I've already started the process of getting rid of old manuals. I have yet to use all the features of the software. I tend to rely on Adobe for my OCR, but the scans come out nice and clean, I like the live preview in the software, and it doesn't take up a lot of space. The light still glares a bit, but you can turn it down/turn it off, and just bump your contrast. I have overhead lighting in the office, but it's slightly yellow, and the software auto color corrected for me. Big fan of that. Overall, can't wait to take this thing on the road and not have to lug back 10 lbs of trade show literature!

Product was purchased to scan a 1914 NYT newspaper to preserve it. It does not scan well enough to read a majority of the font. The scans blur the regular font the articles are written in. Only bold larger font is readable. Aside from scanning just an average document, with large enough font this device seems useless. It's resolution is awful and it's software doesn't do anything to enhance it or clean it up. The software from Czur is made to sound like a selling point, however it's very simplistic and limited. Basically this is expensive Chinese trash and it is being returned. Could not be more disappointed.

in law school and this is a life saver allowing me to scan books and not have to carry them to class since I walk to school. 5/25 - 1 year update. Product software has gotten really buggy. It won't accurately read pages, the device freezes. I'm not sure why this is