Atiz

Atiz launches new book scanner at ALA midwinter meeting

BookDrive Pro Makes Quality Book and Document Digitization a Realizable Goal for Schools and Libraries of all Sizes and Budgets

DENVER, Colo., January 23, 2009 — Atiz Innovation, Inc., the leader in content digitization, today unveiled its latest book scanning solution, BookDrive Pro, at the American Library Association’s Midwinter Meeting in Denver, Colorado. Designed to address the growing movement to digitize books, BookDrive Pro’s affordable price point lowers the barrier of entry for many schools and libraries.

Priced more competitively than other book scanners, BookDrive Pro is a powerful, cost-effective book digitization solution. By combining digital SLR cameras with a unique v-shaped book cradle, BookDrive Pro is gentle on books and eliminates curvature problems to produce high-resolution scans at up to 700 pages an hour. Featuring a user-friendly, ergonomic design; automatic center positioning to ensure consistent borders and lessen manual intervention; a double security locking mechanism; distortion-eliminating even light distribution and standard auto capture to simplify the whole process, BookDrive Pro is positioned to become the scanner of choice for libraries looking to digitize their collections.

The creation of digital libraries is becoming a top priority for the library sector. Making information readily accessible and preserving and protecting it for generations to come is a considerable undertaking, as only a fraction of the written materials produced over the history of time exists digitally. As one of the key players in the book scanning industry, Atiz has helped hundreds of libraries worldwide scan millions of books. With approximately 500 BookDrive units in place worldwide, Atiz anticipates this number to double in 2009.

“We’ve worked first hand with numerous library decision makers who are passionately committed to digitizing their unique collections,” noted Nick Warnock, president of Atiz. “It is so rewarding to enable them with an affordable and accurate book scanner that allows them to be in control of building their own digital library that truly addresses the community they serve.”

Atiz’s innovative approach utilizes high performance SLR cameras as capture devices, making BookDrive Pro the best value proposition in the industry, as it will never become obsolete. “When new, improved camera models become available, users need only to replace their cameras – not the entire scanning system as is the case with other offerings,” explained Warnock.

In addition to book spine damage and low productivity, conventional or overhead scanners also produce curved page images and rely on software to correct resultant curvature problems. This approach has proven to produce poor, often unreliable results. Atiz has taken a different approach, and BookDrive Pro eliminates the need for page curvature correction, making it faster and less expensive than other offerings. The combination of a v-shaped book cradle and transparent platen which sets the book in an angled position for scanning by high-speed, high resolution digital SLR cameras is a unique design that guarantees sharp, flat-looking pages in every scan.

Atiz worked closely with its library customers and incorporated their feedback into the new BookDrive Pro. BookDrive Pro has been designed to be a greatly enhanced version of the previous model – BookDrive DIY. According to Warnock, “Every known issue or weakness in BookDrive DIY has been addressed and corrected in BookDrive Pro – making it our best, most powerful scanner ever.”

Concurrent with the launch of BookDrive Pro, Atiz is offering optional installation and consulting services to assist in digitization initiatives and ensure smooth integration with library resources.

Please visit www.atiz.com to learn more about BookDrive Pro.

About Atiz Innovation, Inc.

Founded in 2005, Atiz is a privately held company headquartered in Los Angeles, Calif. In support of the global effort to create a universal library of all human knowledge, Atiz is focused on providing digital solutions to capture books and other documents, preserving them for generations to come. After intense research and development, Atiz successfully developed its first revolutionary product, the initial iteration of BookDrive.

Atiz has a strong market presence in the education, library and government sectors, with customers ranging from UCLA, Conjuring Arts Museum (NY), Hampden County Deed Registry in Mass., Los Angeles Public Library and Miami University of Ohio to name a few.

Please visit www.atiz.com for more information.