Any Strategy Guides currently being scanned?

[kitsunebi]

  On 10/23/2024 at 12:49 PM, slider1983 said:

I feel it's important to keep a magazine whole if possible. Why would I destroy I magazine just because I want to scan it? I'd rather pass it onto someone and preserve it longer. Some scanners only care about digital preservation which is wrong because physical preservation is just as important for magazines.

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Again, there's nothing wrong with being a collector and preserving a copy for your own personal enjoyment.  People who want to preserve the contents in a way that can be appreciated by hundreds/thousands/millions/unlimited numbers of people who don't have access to the physical mag are those who have answered the call of the scanner.

Scanning is literally about creating a digital copy that does not depend upon the possession or even the existence of the physical mag to be enjoyed.  No one is disputing that preserving physical copies is also important, but the fact remains that the best scan is created from a destroyed mag.  And so, like I said, there are scanners, and there are collectors.  If all scanners were ALSO collectors, then we wouldn't have nearly so many quality scans.

Luckily, most of these magazines are fairly common with thousands of copies (or more) floating around out there and periodically showing up on sale, and so far as I know, no one has ever destroyed the last copy in existence of a mag in order to scan it, so there's no reason that scanners can't continue to do their job to the best of their abilities, guilt-free.  

[slider1983]

  On 10/23/2024 at 1:20 PM, kitsunebi said:

Again, there's nothing wrong with being a collector and preserving a copy for your own personal enjoyment.  People who want to preserve the contents in a way that can be appreciated by hundreds/thousands/millions/unlimited numbers of people who don't have access to the physical mag are those who have answered the call of the scanner.

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I'm not a collector if I'm selling my magazines on. You're correct that there's thankfully a lot of copies of particular magazines out there but as someone who believes in both physical and digital preservation I find it possible to create a quality scan without destroying the source.

[Gregorick]

If you can find a way to create a scan of these irregularly-shaped British mags with horrendously placed and generously applied glue without wrecking them then please let me know!

 

My biggest challenge is trying to get the pages to scan without having huge glue marks/tears etc. on them. Thankfully, @kitsunebi has helped me with some heat gun tips so I can better move the glue for some future scans. Or at least that's the hope, will be interesting to see the results.

[kitsunebi]

  On 10/23/2024 at 2:44 PM, slider1983 said:

I'm not a collector if I'm selling my magazines on. You're correct that there's thankfully a lot of copies of particular magazines out there but as someone who believes in both physical and digital preservation I find it possible to create a quality scan without destroying the source.

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I don't want to argue across forums on two separate sites.  The question was, can a mag be scanned without debinding.  I answered that yes, yes it can.  But it will not be as good as a debound scan.  It simply isn't possible in most instances. 

If you're scanning skimpy 70 page stapled mags, then yes, you can make a pretty good scan of a bound mag.  But the quality is still almost definitely going to be at least slightly better on a properly debound mag being squeezed through an ADF.  And if you're talking about a thick square bound mag, forget about trying to make a scan while bound that can compare to an unbound scan.  Its impossible, and I'm sure every scanner here would agree with that point.

If you're happy with your own scans, that's all that matters.  And there's nothing stopping the original poster of the question from continuing to try to scan the mag while bound (though he has admitted being dissatisfied with the results).  If "good enough" is good enough, then all's well.  But if "best possible" is the goal, then debinding is almost always necessary.  I say again, this isn't my own isolated opinion, but rather one shared by every regularly productive scanner I've ever met on any site, and its the reason why the majority of mags released here are debound.

So my only point is that anyone wanting the best possible scan needs to accept the fact that they can't have both that AND be able to keep their mag intact.  It's a sacrifice either way.  If you want the best possible scan, you can't have an intact mag.  And if you want an intact mag, you can't have the best possible scan.  If keeping the mag intact is important to you, no worries.  No one is forcing anyone to debind anything against their will, and depending on the length and binding of the mag, a pretty good scan of a bound mag might be possible given enough extra time and effort.

I personally take offense at the implication that someone choosing to sacrifice one copy of a mag in order to create the best possible scan that can reach unlimited numbers of people until the end of time (so long as the data isn't lost) is somehow doing less for preservation than someone who lets a mag rot in their closet for 30 years before selling it on eBay to someone else who will do the same ad infinitum until the pages become so brown and brittle it can't even be read.  There are mags here which have been downloaded by thousands of people.  I sincerely doubt any single physical mag could ever change hands that many times to reach that many people.

At any rate, any scan is better than no scan and all scans are appreciated. So I hope to one day see you release some of your scans which I've been hearing about for years.

[Interesting]

I'll probably just stick with the one Consumer Guide one then, since it's coil bound with a wire and that's super easy to de-bind, scan, and reattach for me, and probably any of those other types that are similar. Other than that, I can at least offer to scan things on my own time later on (I work at a print shop so I'd have to do it while it's slow on my own time, which may take a while).

[kitsunebi]

Don't let yourself be discouraged by anything but your own efforts.  If you can manage to create a scan you're happy with, that's all that matters.

When I scanned my first few scans, they were bound mags on a flatbed.  I quickly realized there was no way I could scan hundreds of mags that way,since it took far too long and gave results I wasn't 100% content with.  So I bought my first ADF scanner and a heat gun, and went to work rescanning and replacing the mags I had previously scanned.

But if you don't mind the time and are happy with the results, don't let anyone convince you to stop if you don't want to.

[slider1983]

  On 10/23/2024 at 4:04 PM, Gregorick said:

If you can find a way to create a scan of these irregularly-shaped British mags with horrendously placed and generously applied glue without wrecking them then please let me know!

 

My biggest challenge is trying to get the pages to scan without having huge glue marks/tears etc. on them. Thankfully, @kitsunebi has helped me with some heat gun tips so I can better move the glue for some future scans. Or at least that's the hope, will be interesting to see the results.

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I can't say I've had a problem on the ones I've had to scan so far apart from the bookazines and Radio Times, the latter was a nightmare and an exception where I did have to destroy the mag to scan it.

[Rando1975]

  On 10/23/2024 at 9:47 AM, kitsunebi said:

Scanning mags isn't something to be precious about.  My view is: your goal as a scanner should always be to create a scan so good that you'll never have a need to look at the physical copy again.  If you're happier reading the print copy, why bother making the scan in the first place?

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100% this. I'd certainly like to keep some of the guides I've donated, but the end result in sacrificing it look REALLY good, so I can't complain. I can't wrap my head around how much work it is to have the scans look so good.  

[tcaud]

Something you might want to look out for (assuming it's not already scanned and I don't think it is)... way back in the early 90s I remember seeing a strategy guide which had hand drawn maps for popular Nintendo games. Both Zelda 2 and Kid Icarus were featured.

[Bufo]

I come bearing gifts of rare guides - after a year of searching, I have at last found the BradyGames guides for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles Echoes of Time and Crystal Bearers, and scanned them myself! These are the first whole guides I've ever scanned, so I know they're not perfect, but they ARE entirely legible and I believe the very first time these particular guides have ever been digitized. I've uploaded them to archive.org, but feel free to host them here as well.

I'm quite proud of them, but as I said I'm very new at this so be gentle!

[tcaud]

  On 10/25/2024 at 8:01 AM, tcaud said:

Something you might want to look out for (assuming it's not already scanned and I don't think it is)... way back in the early 90s I remember seeing a strategy guide which had hand drawn maps for popular Nintendo games. Both Zelda 2 and Kid Icarus were featured.

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I did some sleuthing and found this strategy guide at Internet Archive, apparently the first production by Nintendo's magazine dept.

https://archive.org/details/The_Official_Nintendo_Players_Guide_1987/mode/2up

I believe this to be the guide I remembered, although I could be wrong. (the guide is notably not hosted here)

[kitsunebi]

  On 11/18/2024 at 12:49 AM, tcaud said:

I believe this to be the guide I remembered, although I could be wrong. (the guide is notably not hosted here)

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That guide was everywhere for a while back in the day - I think it was given away in different promotions.  Someone in the comments mentions getting it free with their NES.  Did Nintendo Power ever give it away with subscriptions?

At any rate, we may not have it here, but it originally came from SOMEWHERE other than the URL you linked to, since Sketch the Cow (Jason Scott) isn't a scanner, just a re-poster (or "professional archivist" if you want to make it sound fancy.)

[tcaud]

  On 11/18/2024 at 8:14 AM, kitsunebi said:

That guide was everywhere for a while back in the day - I think it was given away in different promotions.  Someone in the comments mentions getting it free with their NES.  Did Nintendo Power ever give it away with subscriptions?

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I got a "World of Nintendo" poster with both of my NES systems (which were the Mario/Duckhunt/Zapper combo-pack edition; I had two because my parents had split-custody). I did not get that guide. I don't think Nintendo Power gave the guide away either... the guides they gave away were the four themed Players guides and the Strategy Guides (which didn't appear until 1991). It might have been sold at bookstores and kiosks. The 1980s strat guides are definitely a blank spot in Retromags' portfolio... there were a lot of them.

[kitsunebi]

  On 11/22/2024 at 5:56 AM, tcaud said:

I got a "World of Nintendo" poster with both of my NES systems (which were the Mario/Duckhunt/Zapper combo-pack edition; I had two because my parents had split-custody). I did not get that guide. I don't think Nintendo Power gave the guide away either... the guides they gave away were the four themed Players guides and the Strategy Guides (which didn't appear until 1991). It might have been sold at bookstores and kiosks. The 1980s strat guides are definitely a blank spot in Retromags' portfolio... there were a lot of them.

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I've never scanned any strategy guides I own, and it's not because I can't bear to destroy them (on the contrary.)  There are two reasons:

1. I think regular mags are far more interesting, so if I've gotta choose which to preserve, I'll pick a mag over a guide any day.  And since I'm unlikely to ever run out of mags to scan...
2. Unlike magazines, strategy guides' functionality is harmed by digitization.  Guides are meant to be at hand or in your lap and able to be constantly flipped back and forth to different pages while you're playing a game.  Once you digitize it, it loses this tactile functionality and becomes less practical as a reference.  Not that a digital guide isn't better than no guide at all, but again, if I have to choose between the two, I choose mags to scan, instead.

 

This particular guide was already being sold and advertised in Nintendo Power #1.

 

Also, hoo-boy.  As I was checking through my Nintendo Powers to make sure it wasn't ever offered as a subscription bonus in later years, it became clear that most of the scans I have (all from Retromags) aren't very good.  The splash pages at the end are old-school style, so I'm hoping mine are just outdated and they've been rescanned at some point in higher quality?  Because, wow, if not, I'm gonna have to add my Nintendo Power collection to my already too-big scan pile, as well.

[mrmxy]

Hi, I came across this topic because I recently bought guidebooks for some Satellaview-related Super Famicom games that I'd like to scan (three for RPG Tsukuru Super Dante, two for RPG Tsukuru 2, one for Sound Novel Tsukuru, and one for Ongaku Tsukuru Kanaderu). From reading previous pages, it sounds like debinding is the way to go for this. Do you guys have a guide for how to do that, plus scanning tips in general? (DPI, stuff like that.) I own an Epson flatbed scanner.

[kitsunebi]

  On 3/21/2025 at 2:42 AM, mrmxy said:

From reading previous pages, it sounds like debinding is the way to go for this. Do you guys have a guide for how to do that, plus scanning tips in general? (DPI, stuff like that.) I own an Epson flatbed scanner.

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Sorry, my debinding video seems to have been taken down (and I no longer have a copy), but you can see lots of information about debinding here: https://www.retromags.com/forums/topic/10584-de-binding-with-a-heat-gun/

As for scanning, 300dpi is pretty much the max size for mags released here (exact pixel height depends on the mag, but probably around 3200-3300 for American mags).  I scan at 600dpi and make a 300dpi copy for this site (some people release mags here at a height of 2200 pixels, which is around 200dpi and is the mimimum recommended size.)  Since you're using a flatbed scanner, though, you probably want to scan at 300, since scanning at 600 on a flatbed is sloooow.

Once the mag/guide is scanned, there are editing guides in our help section.  I personally disagree with a lot of the specifics in there and think everyone is better off finding their own techniques, but if you're completely clueless, it's a place to start.

Edited Friday at 12:43 PM by kitsunebi

[mrmxy]

Thanks for the tips! I ended up debinding the first book with a clothing iron and I think it went pretty well for the most part (there were a couple of instances where the pages seemed stuck in a different way and there was some tearing on the surface along the edges, but luckily those parts are completely blank). Now that I'm ready to scan, I have a few more questions:

- Is there any benefit to going with 48-bit color over 24-bit color for this?

- My scanning program has a setting called Auto Exposure Type where the options are Photo or Document. I should go with document, I'm guessing?

- There's also a setting called Descreening that has an option called "Magazine (133 lpi)." Should I enable that?

I can upload some examples of pages scanned with these settings if that's useful.

[kitsunebi]

Posting an image in 48-bit color isn't going to get a lot of helpful responses, since most people don't own a display capable of showing it.  The human eye can't perceive the additional colors it allows anyway, so a 24-bit scan should look identical to a 48-bit color scan.  The only potential advantage a 48-bit scan has is during editing.  Since there are more colors to work with (even though you can't see them), there are a broader range of colors that can be accentuated and brought into the visual range by manipulating color controls in editing software.  So if you're a professional-level Photoshop user, you might be able to manipulate a scan to get better results from a 48-bit scan than you could from a 24-bit scan.

For normal people like us, 24-bit is best.

I don't have your scanner, but I'm guessing that the difference between "photo" or "document" is just a fancy way of selecting the DPI, and if you were to change the DPI afterwards, you'd essentially be scanning under a "custom" setting.  Neither scanner I own makes this kind of distinction.

Descreening is a fancy way of saying "blurring."  Magazines have a visible ink dot pattern created by the printing process.  If you're zoomed WAY in, you can see it.  Descreening blurs the image to the point that the ink dots blend together, creating the illusion of a more solid color, at the expense of, well, making everything blurry.

Descreening is always bad for black text (which have no color ink dots to blur) but CAN make certain images more visually pleasing.  However, not all images or pages in a magazine are printed with the same print screen.  Allowing your scanner to descreen every page identically without any fine control over the process is...perhaps a bit reckless.  It's hard to say what results you'll get, so I guess it's up for you to decide.  Another option that will allow you far more control over the descreening process is to buy a descreening filter like Sattva for Photoshop.

[mrmxy]

24-bit it is!

It looks like the "Document" setting just brings the exposure up, so some detail is lost on the art... but on the other hand, the stuff on the other side of the page is less obvious, so I kinda like it more. (These were scanned with descreening, but I've decided to skip that after reading your post.)

[kitsunebi]

  On 3/23/2025 at 1:35 AM, mrmxy said:

24-bit it is!

It looks like the "Document" setting just brings the exposure up, so some detail is lost on the art... but on the other hand, the stuff on the other side of the page is less obvious, so I kinda like it more. (These were scanned with descreening, but I've decided to skip that after reading your post.)

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I'm just speaking of my own personal opinion and preferences, but I believe it's best to ignore any and all scanner settings which will alter the image in any way.  That's what Photoshop is for. 

If someone doesn't want to be bothered editing their scans afterwards and just wants to release whatever pops out of their scanner "as is," then that's what those scanner options are for.  It's perhaps telling that more expensive scanners usually don't even offer such options.

Scans are meant to be fixed in the editing process.  If you try to do it in the scanning process, you're basically tossing out some of the image data and severely limiting what you have to work with if you decide to edit it.

For example, I took your second pic (the one you didn't care for) and in less than a minute in Photoshop, you can easily remove the bleedthrough and whiten the page:

If I started with the first pic (the one where your scanner altered the image), there would have been nothing much I could do to it. If the scanner decided to lighten or darken things too much, there's less you can do to fix it afterwards, since the loss or destruction of image data happened at the scanning stage.  Scanning things as close to the original page as possible gives you much more control during editing.

[kitsunebi]

Btw, I don't use my flatbed much, but I've heard others say that if you tape black construction paper over the white underside of the lid, your scans will have less bleed-through.  Dunno if that's true, but worth a shot.

[dablais]

Yes, I can confirm that using black construction sheet does help reduce the bleed-through.

[mrmxy]

Good to know! I'll look for some. I'll also be scanning without any of the image-editing settings. What you're saying makes perfect sense.

If I'm being honest, I'm only scanning these guides so that Japanese-reading people in the Satellaview community can look over them and find relevant information, which they can do with unedited pages, so I'm not sure how long it'll take me to dig into the whole editing process (the only image editing program I'm proficient at right now is MS Paint). So if anyone else wants to edit these pages and upload them to retromags, they'd be very welcome.