Before you commit to scanning all your cards, first scan just 5 cards and e-mail the TIFF images to us, as a trial run. We'll convert them to text and e-mail the results to you, at no charge, so you can see how well they come out.
To avoid extra charges, please follow all instructions carefully.
Scan the cards as black-and-white (not grayscale) TIFF images, 75 dpi. (JPEG, GIF and other formats will be rejected.)
TIFF files prepared in this way should be no bigger than 20k bytes per card.
If your scanner does not have these settings, you will need to use Method 1 instead.
Scan the cards with either (a) a black piece of paper behind them, or (b) with the scanner lid open, and then adjust your scanner's brightness controls so that all holes scan as black rectangles.
The entire top and bottom and sides of each card must be visible (not cropped off or hidden by other cards) in the scanned image.
For best results, scan only the back side of each card (not the printed side, because the printing confuses our software).
After scanning, your card(s) should look like this, and not like these bad examples.
Be sure to write your scanner settings down -- you will need them again later.
Zip your cards and e-mail them together as a single attachment.
A single compressed archive file (ZIP, .gzip, or .sit) is the preferred e-mail format.
Uncompressed images and e-mails containing multiple attachments will not be accepted.
Write a short cover letter, asking for a "Card Reader Free Trial."
Attach the card images, and e-mail us:
Sample letter:
Dear Sir,
I've attached a Zip/.Gzip/.sit file containing 1-5 punch cards.
Could you please read the cards and tell me what they say,
under the rules of your Card Reader Free Trial plan?
I have a total of ____ cards to read (including these ones).
Sincerely,
x
We'll prove that we can read the cards and send you the text.
After reading your Free Trial cards, we can discuss any special formatting issues that may need to be worked out before you spend time scanning or mailing all your cards. Then the paid work can begin.
Due to the variety of scanners available, we cannot provide step-by-step assistance.
If you are not an experienced scanner user, or if you cannot find your scanner manual, you should use Method 1 instead.
Please do not switch scanners or scanner settings after your Free Trial Run nor in the middle of your order.
The purpose of the Free Trial Run is to tweak your scanner settings to perfection before we commit to doing business.
If you disregard or alter any of the above instructions, or
if you switch scanners or settings for any reason, this could cause our software to stop reading your cards smoothly,
and you would need to re-do the Trial Run phase.
Additional Trial Runs are $2 each.
To avoid these extra charges, please follow all instructions carefully.
Copyright © 2007-2008 J. E. Brown all rights reserved. P. O. Box 1368 Los Alamos, NM USA 87544-1368