Our weekend project

Web and SaaS

notebook digitization service

SHOW HN2014

42points
30comments
#754of 2,272 in 2014
Top 34%of 2014 by points

How HN took it

CuriousMostly questions and neutral comments

2 positive, 11 neutral or asking, 1 mixed, 8 critical, out of 22 comments about the project. Thread score -0.23.

Execution: 0 for, 3 againstIdea: 1 for, 2 againstDocs: 0 for, 1 againstPricing: 0 for, 1 againstPrivacy: 0 for, 1 against

The thread, comment by comment

Each row is a top-level comment and its replies, in HN's order. Select a cell to open that comment on HN.

positive neutral or mixed critical about another commenter or something else the maker

What HN said

What people liked

  • Non-destructive scan so the notebook is returned

    From 1 comment
    • Awesome! I have been waiting for a service like this! I especially wanted a non-destructive scan. It's important to me to get my notebook back. I've priced other services.…
      jessmartin on HN
  • Price is reasonable compared with alternatives

    From 2 comments
    • Awesome! I have been waiting for a service like this! I especially wanted a non-destructive scan. It's important to me to get my notebook back. I've priced other services.…
      jessmartin on HN
    • I've purchased a Mod Notebook and am waiting for it to be delivered. They launched first, so I get to compare you to them naturally. Mod Notebook Pros: -Notebook and scanning…
      josephjrobison on HN
  • Landing page illustrations look good

    From 2 comments
    • I like the hand-drawn animations on your landing page! Did you guys make those yourselves?
      hobonumber1 on HN
    • Glad you like the illustrations! They are a combination of stock images and ones we did ourselves. One of our goals here was to launch something beautiful, as quickly as…
      bdm on HN

Objections

  • Sample PDF resolution is low with visible JPEG artefacts

    From 2 comments
    • Cool idea, but your sample (https://www.papersync.co/static/PaperSync_sample.pdf) isn't really selling it. The resolution is a lot lower than I would expect and there are JPEG…
      micheljansen on HN
    • I have to agree, I was almost in and I know a friend of mine would be (he's got a pile of 100 notebooks laying in his closet).. but that PDF was a letdown. (Time to grab my paper…
      threeio on HN
  • Sending private notebooks to a company raises confidentiality concerns

    From 2 comments
    • The site itself looks alright, its obvious what you are trying to sell. Ironically the first selling point is also a reason why someone would not want to use your service "[...]…
      WebSearchingPro on HN
    • On the "About" page: We make our best effort to maintain the security and confidentiality of your content, and we will never share, publish, or otherwise distribute your content…
      timthorn on HN
  • Price of $20 per notebook is high

    From 1 comment
    • $20 per notebook is a bit on the expensive side, imo.
      nubela on HN
  • Only usable from the US

    From 1 comment
    • "offer this as a service to all the beautiful people of the world." No, you don't do this. But please let me know once people from outside the US can use this, interested in…
      diggan on HN

Requests

  • Provide high-resolution sample scans

    From 2 comments
    • (I'm working with OP on this) Thanks for the feedback! We are using a setup similar to http://www.diybookscanner.org/ for this and the scan quality is very high. The sample PDF…
      ssong on HN
    • Hi, this is awesome! I would like to see a sample in 0.3 mm B pencil lead. I have pretty much given up on evernote because I don't have time to do this in bulk (a solution you…
      niels_olson on HN
  • Offer OCR or transcription of handwriting

    From 2 comments
    • I have a pile of notebooks that need to get into my computer somehow - but images won't help. I would pay for OCR, but AFAIK the technology today is not yet good enough for…
      ds9 on HN
    • I concur. As the pile of notebooks full of barely-legible handwritten scrawl grows and grows, so does the amount of money I'd be willing to pay a company for notebook…
      nathanb on HN
  • Use tracked/registered post for notebook return

    From 1 comment
    • My immediate reaction was 'backup sure, but what if they loose my valuable notebook in the mail? I think to address this you should state clearly that all notebooks are to be…
      evolve2k on HN

Questions

  • What DPI are the scans

    From 1 comment
    • Awesome! I have been waiting for a service like this! I especially wanted a non-destructive scan. It's important to me to get my notebook back. I've priced other services.…
      jessmartin on HN
  • Does it work with pencil and coloured inks

    From 1 comment
    • Hi, this is awesome! I would like to see a sample in 0.3 mm B pencil lead. I have pretty much given up on evernote because I don't have time to do this in bulk (a solution you…
      niels_olson on HN
  • How many pages do notebooks contain

    From 1 comment
    • Am I completely missing it, or does the website really give no indication of how many pages their notebooks contain?
      mct on HN

Alternatives named

  • Mod Notebooks

    From 2 comments
    • Neat idea and bravo on quick execution. But did you ever see these guys? http://modnotebooks.com/
      y-apply on HN
    • I've purchased a Mod Notebook and am waiting for it to be delivered. They launched first, so I get to compare you to them naturally. Mod Notebook Pros: -Notebook and scanning…
      josephjrobison on HN
  • Shot Note by KingJim

    From 1 comment
    • This reminded me of something called "Shot Note" which is used to digitally store and organize handwritten notes: http://www.kingjim.co.jp/sp/shotnote/english/
      itazula on HN
  • Evernote with phone camera

    From 1 comment
    • Hi, this is awesome! I would like to see a sample in 0.3 mm B pencil lead. I have pretty much given up on evernote because I don't have time to do this in bulk (a solution you…
      niels_olson on HN
  • Flatbed scanner or ScanSnap

    From 2 comments
    • I have to agree, I was almost in and I know a friend of mine would be (he's got a pile of 100 notebooks laying in his closet).. but that PDF was a letdown. (Time to grab my paper…
      threeio on HN
    • OP here: I spent a few days working with ssong last week to create papersync.co -- a service where we scan paper notebooks and turn them into .pdf’s. We both carry notebooks…
      bdm on HN

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