Bound Materials
Picturae offers innovative solutions for bound materials ranging from contemporary books, newspapers, and magazines to 16th-century esoteric writings utilizing equipment designed to digitize bound material safely, quickly, and to the highest quality standards.
Vulnerable Books, Journals, and Periodicals
Picturae has digitized many specialty bound materials, such as atlases, books, newspapers and brochures – sometimes centuries old. From the modern local periodical De Uitkijkpost in Heiloo, Picturae’s birthplace, to some of the oldest newspapers of the Netherlands National Archives, and oversized architectural design books, we’ve helped to preserve them all.
Book Cradle
The Picturae book cradle is built to digitize bound material that can safely open to 180 degrees. The glass plate on the table is operated by air pressure, which can be adjusted manually to accommodate books that are more fragile, while a dynamic platform adjusts to support the book from the first page to the last.
V-shape
The books that we have been privileged to work with are sometimes very old and fragile, and cannot be digitized using a regular system setup. We have developed a V-shaped book cradle for this specific purpose. The item does not need to lie completely flat, but is placed gently at a comfortable angle that will not incur damage.
National Archives of the Netherlands
Making the seemingly impossible, possible – this is the type of challenge that we love at Picturae. 1.8 million images are currently being captured each year at the Dutch National Archives. This massive national archive – dating back to 1820 – consists of more than 125 kilometers of photos, drawings and maps. This impressive historical collection provides valuable insights into Dutch history. Picturae’s experience and innovative planning led to the perfect digitization solution for this particular collection, as well as a solid plan for enriching it with metadata.
Contact Us
Our team is ready to help with any questions you might have. Do you have some fragile, historical bound materials in need of digitization? Share a few details about your institution and project, and we will respond promptly to continue the discussion.