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Re:Preparing for the Incoming Computer Shopper Tsunami by rbanffy on Tuesday June 06, 2023 @11:47AM (#36214657)
What if instead of cutting, we sanded them? The pressure on the surfaces would be smaller and it could remove just enough to debind the volume.
Re:Preparing for the Incoming Computer Shopper Tsunami by modernerd on Tuesday June 06, 2023 @12:03PM (#36214842)
Nice idea but I would be worried about tearing.

I don’t know what the actual paper weight is but it looks in the “bible paper and cheap newsprint” range (~40-60gsm), which will probably rip as soon as a belt/orbital sander crosses the glue line into the looser leaves (and you have to cross the glue line to debind, and by nature that line isn’t normally straight, because glue does not melt evenly). You also destroy the spine, making it harder to identify issues at a glance.

A thermal binding machine would likely melt the glue in 45-90 seconds without those risks. And you might even be able to rebind after the scan with fresh glue strips using the same machine, assuming you don’t have to cut the cover wrap.

Re:Preparing for the Incoming Computer Shopper Tsunami by gwern on Tuesday June 06, 2023 @05:49PM (#36219529)
I briefly experiment with that for books before switching to a guillotine. It was slower, and made a mess. Even when I thought all the dust/grit was gone, some snuck into the scans anyway. For softer lower-quality aged acid-attacked newsprint-style magazines like this, I imagine the mess would be even worse.