Fopydo, short for 'photo-copy documents', is a two-part solution for using digital cameras to scan loose sheets, notebooks, books and photographs. It includes a portable copy stand and image processing software.
The Fopydo stand is designed to hold a camera device in a stable manner and in an optimal position with respect to the scanned item. This assures the quality and consistency of the scans as compared to freehand picture taking. As a result, the scanning software can easily process batches of documents quickly without the need for framing individual pictures one at a time. The image processing software is designed to work with the stand, and this makes their solution more complete than other software available on the market. The stand's design is based on the premise that most users might be willing to trade a bit of quality and some professional features of other, big and expensive stands for affordability, simplicity, portability and ease of use.
It was decided that there's no need for a dedicated camera since virtually everybody owns some kind of picture taking gadget that can produce pretty high quality images. The stand will accommodate most smart phones, tablets and point & shoot cameras. As a result a single stand can be shared by many people - for instance, at a school or a library.
Tomek Wardega came up with the basic form for the stand that would allow scanning loose sheets of paper in the horizontal and vertical position, photographs, as well as books and notebooks. All this can be done while sitting comfortably at your desk. He looked at different materials and decided to use corrugated plastic as it offered proper strength and rigidity and allowed them to incorporate into the design hinges and adjustment slides without adding any additional components. To facilitate scanning of creased paper and books, they added a sheet of low-glare clear plastic.
Finally, they decided to use a micro suction material to hold the camera in place – this works great as most cameras, smart phones and tablets have a smooth face that will adhere to the micro suction tape. Formed wire elements provide additional protection for the camera in case the holding power of the suction cups is not sufficient. They also added narrow strips of micro-suction tape to the scanning surface to keep photographs flat during scanning. The stand can be set up very quickly. It has a small foot print, so it won't occupy your entire desk. You'll get very nice results using just ambient light or regular office lighting. When not in use, it folds flat for storage and it will fit into a briefcase if you need to take it on the road.
The stand comes in two sizes:
Small – folds flat to 10.5” wide x 10” high and works with cellular phones and point-and-shoot digital cameras.
Large – folds flat to 12”wide x 10”high and works with digital cameras, cell phones and tablets.
