# HG changeset patch # User Steve Losh # Date 1306431803 14400 # Node ID ed31fd9aa251bb9d160dd6446a40b744b6e97a50 # Parent 63e4adac659e1bdcd881374d818875bf71a5266e Add paper-free. diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 content/blog/2011/05/on-learning-and-teaching.html --- a/content/blog/2011/05/on-learning-and-teaching.html Sun May 22 20:18:15 2011 -0400 +++ b/content/blog/2011/05/on-learning-and-teaching.html Thu May 26 13:43:23 2011 -0400 @@ -17,6 +17,8 @@ In a nutshell: I think he's pretty much correct. I wanted to write this post because I think I have a solution to the problem that might work, at least for some people. +[TOC] + [Zack Kurmas]: http://www.cis.gvsu.edu/~kurmasz/ [The deep end of the pool]: http://spin.atomicobject.com/2011/05/17/the-deep-end-of-the-pool/ diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 content/blog/2011/05/paper-free.html --- /dev/null Thu Jan 01 00:00:00 1970 +0000 +++ b/content/blog/2011/05/paper-free.html Thu May 26 13:43:23 2011 -0400 @@ -0,0 +1,234 @@ + {% extends "_post.html" %} + + {% hyde + title: "Going Paper-Free for $220" + snip: "It feels like the future!" + created: 2011-05-26 13:44:00 + flattr: true + %} + + {% block article %} + +It's 2011. Personal computers have been around and popular for well over a decade +now, and yet we still have to deal with a huge amount of physical paper. + +I've been wanting to go paper-free for a long time now. The advantages are obvious: + +- Paper takes up physical space in our homes that digital files don't. +- Digital files, if properly encrypted, are far more secure than sheets of paper that + could be stolen. +- Digital files can be searched in an instant, while papers have to be laboriously + sorted through. +- Digital files can be backed up perfectly and easily. + +After reading [this article][] I was psyched to scan and shred all the boxes of paper +sitting in my apartment, but the $420+ price tag was hard to swallow. I started +looking around for other options. + +[this article]: http://ryanwaggoner.com/2010/11/how-i-filled-two-dumpsters-and-went-paperless-with-the-fujitsu-scansnap-s1500/ + +Here are the requirements I have for any paper-free system: + +- The scanned files need to be OCR'ed so I can search them easily. I'm too lazy to + categorize and tag files manually. +- I need to be able to scan files anywhere. If I'm out at dinner I want to be able + to snap a picture of my receipt and tear it up right there. +- No "cloud" services allowed for unencrypted important documents. I simply don't + trust Google/Dropbox/etc enough to put my bank statements and such there. +- Files need to be backed up securely in case my apartment burns down. +- The entire process needs to be automated as much as possible, otherwise I'll get + lazy and not scan things. + +It's taken me a while, but I've finally got a system I'm happy with. This post will +describe each part and how they fit together. The total cost is about $220, $160 of +which is for a physical scanner. + +Note: I use OS X and an iPhone, so this post will focus on that platform. However, +the important pieces of software will run on Windows and I'm sure there are +Windows/Android equivalents to the other pieces. + +[TOC] + +Scanning at Home +---------------- + +The first step to becoming paper-free is obviously scanning your documents. There +are a lot of scanners out there, some more expensive than others. I eventually +settled on a [Doxie][] for $160. + +[Doxie]: http://www.getdoxie.com/ + +I chose the Doxie because: + +- It's compact. +- It runs with a single USB cable. +- It's cross-platform. +- Its software has a great, polished UI. +- It has a "multiple-function button" that lets you control it without the + mouse/keyboard. + +The first, second, and last points mean that (with a USB extension cable) I can scan +documents while sitting on the couch and watching Netflix, which is critical for lazy +people like me. + +I set Doxie to save scans on my Desktop. The scanning process is pretty simple so +I won't describe it here. Check out Doxie's documentation for more information. + +**Note:** When I first received my Doxie and tried to calibrate it, it simply made +a grinding noise and wouldn't feed the paper. I emailed their tech support and +within half an hour I got a response back saying they were shipping me a replacement +immediately. + +When I got the replacement it worked like a charm. Their customer service was so +great that I'd still recommend the Doxie even though my first one was a dud. + +Scanning on the Go +------------------ + +As I mentioned before, I want to be able to scan things while out and about with my +iPhone. There are a bunch of iPhone document-scanning apps out there. I settled on +[JotNot][] for $7 because it has a decent UI and supports multiple-page PDFs. + +JotNot's UI is pretty easy to get the hang of so I won't go over it here. + +Once I finish scanning something I send the PDF to a [Dropbox][] folder called +"JotNot". + +I know I said in my requirements that "cloud" services weren't allowed, but I make an +exception for non-critical things that I'd be scanning with my phone. I don't care if +Dropbox knows how much I spent on dinner. + +[JotNot]: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/jotnot-scanner-pro/id307868751?mt=8 +[Dropbox]: http://www.dropbox.com/ + +OCR'ing Scanned Documents +------------------------- + +The next step is to run the scanned PDFs through an OCR program so they can be +searched with Spotlight. + +I looked at a lot of OCR software and finally settled on [PDF OCR X][] for $30. It +has a simple interface, does a pretty good job at OCR'ing, has a free version so +I could try it out, and is cross-platform. + +Using it is simple: you drag a PDF onto the app and select your desired settings +(make sure to choose "searchable PDF" as the output format). The app will think for +a while and then create a new PDF next to the old one with the searchable text +embedded. + +Once you've done this once you should go into the preferences and change it to +non-interactive mode so that it won't prompt you for the settings every time you use +it. + +[PDF OCR X]: http://solutions.weblite.ca/pdfocrx/ + +Gluing Everything Together +-------------------------- + +So far we've got two folders with scanned PDFs and a method for OCR'ing them. The +next step is to automate the process. + +I use an app called [Hazel][] to do this. It's $21 for a license and well worth it. +We'll set up four rules to make our lives easier. + +Before we start we need to create two folders somewhere (you can name them whatever +you like): + +- Pending OCR: A folder to hold documents that are waiting to be OCR'ed. +- Dead Trees: A folder to hold the final, OCR'ed versions of our documents. + +The first rule watches the Desktop for scans from Doxie. Any files placed on the +Desktop whose name starts with "Doxie Doc" will be renamed to include the current +date and time, and then moved to the "Pending OCR" folder. + +![Rule 1 Screenshot](/media/images{{ parent_url }}/rules-1-doxie.png "Rule 1") + +**Note:**: you'll need to click the `date created` bubble and then "Edit Date" to get +the time as well as the date into the filename. + +The second rule watches the "JotNot" folder for scans from the iPhone app. Any PDFs +that appear in here (i.e. that are synced down from Dropbox) will be moved to the +"Pending OCR" folder. We don't need to rename them like we did with the Doxie scans +because JotNot already includes the date and time of scans in the filenames by +default. + +![Rule 2 Screenshot](/media/images{{ parent_url }}/rules-2-jotnot.png "Rule 2") + +Now that we've got all of our scans going into the same folder (with unique names) we +can set up a rule to OCR them. The third rule watches the "Pending OCR" folder for +PDFs. When a PDF lands in the folder it will be moved to its final destination +folder ("Dead Trees" in my case) and then opened in PDF OCR X. Because I've put PDF +OCR X in non-interactive mode the files will automatically be OCR'ed without any +intervention from me. + +![Rule 3 Screenshot](/media/images{{ parent_url }}/rules-3-ocr.png "Rule 3") + +The fourth and final rule watches for the OCR'ed copies of our scans and runs +a script to move the originals to the trash once the searchable versions are ready. +It doesn't delete the files completely because I want a safety net in case something +goes wrong. + +![Rule 4 Screenshot](/media/images{{ parent_url }}/rules-4-clean.png "Rule 4") + +**Note:** make sure you change the Shell to `/usr/bin/python`. Here's the text of +the script so you can copy and paste it: + + import sys, os + + RM_CMD = r"""osascript -e 'tell app "Finder" to move the POSIX file "%s" to trash'""" + old_file = sys.argv[1].rsplit('.', 2)[0] + if os.path.exists(old_file): + os.system(RM_CMD % os.path.abspath(old_file)) + +Once these four rules are in place we can simply scan a document with Doxie or JotNot +and it will automatically be OCR'ed and placed in our "Dead Trees" folder, with no +intervention from us! + +[Hazel]: http://www.noodlesoft.com/hazel.php + +Backing Up +---------- + +A while ago I was using Mozy for full backups. Recently they changed their pricing so +it was no longer unlimited. When that happened I switched to [Backblaze][] and +couldn't be happier. + +Backblaze's UI is leaps and bounds above Mozy's, and they offer an option to generate +a secure encryption key for encrypting your backups. I highly recommend this, but be +sure to have a few copies of your key because you'll need it to restore your backups. + +Backblaze is also only $5 per month (less if you pay for a year in advance) for +unlimited backups which is definitely a bargain. As a bonus, they just released +a ["find my computer" feature][find-computer] that's kind of like a lightweight +version of [Undercover][], so it's an even better deal. + +[Backblaze]: http://www.backblaze.com/ +[Undercover]: http://www.orbicule.com/undercover/ +[find-computer]: http://blog.backblaze.com/2011/05/23/lost-your-computer-get-it-back-backblaze-launches-locate-my-computer/ + +Destroying the Originals +------------------------ + +Once the documents are scanned and backed up it's time to destroy the physical paper. +If you live in a rural area you could burn them for free. + +Those of us that can't start random fires need a paper shredder. I use a shredder +I picked up a long time ago -- any crosscut shredder will do the job. + +Summary +------- + +After all of this I've now got a mostly-automated system that lets me go paper-free. +The costs are: + +- Doxie Scanner: $160 +- JotNot: $7 +- PDF OCR X: $30 +- Hazel: $21 +- Backblaze: $5 per month + +For me the $218 initial cost is worth it. Now I can search all of my paper in +a instant and my apartment is much less cluttered. If you have the money to spare I'd +definitely consider trying it. + + {% endblock %} diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-1-doxie.png Binary file media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-1-doxie.png has changed diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-2-jotnot.png Binary file media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-2-jotnot.png has changed diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-3-ocr.png Binary file media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-3-ocr.png has changed diff -r 63e4adac659e -r ed31fd9aa251 media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-4-clean.png Binary file media/images/blog/2011/05/rules-4-clean.png has changed