scanning 17 X 34 inch schematics and documents
1) take them to a copy shop
ask if they have any copyright restrictions. I've had occasions where a copy shop said "we can't copy materials that have a copyright". They won't tell you that, if they provide a self-serve copier. But I've seen notices on the copiers that "prohibit" copying copyrighted materials. And generally large-format scanners aren't available for public use. Please don't give me a hard time about this. I am reporting a experience, not asking for a lecture on the subject of copyright, nor giving one. And it may be, this experience doesn't occur anymore, or only at national-brand copy services.
1a) copy-service costs rather high
Ask for donations from people who will benefit. Some people reject this idea outright, it seems like begging or pleading poverty, or some kind of evil capitalism. No, no, and no. People who benefit, sometimes like to show their support and gratitude. If this is wrong, why is gofundme "right"?
2) take a photo
It's hard to illuminate a document evenly. Keep in mind: a scanner moves the same light across the entire document. It even self-adjusts for uniformity. Scanners are very smart. A digital camera will *highlight* any change in illumination. and it needs to know the "color" (kind) of illumination (sun, cloud, incandescent, etc.) If you use a single-source (a light bulb), it won't work, parts of the document are different distances away. *Try it with a newspaper.* You might wait for a lightly cloudy day - then the sunlight is diffused uniformly. And set your camera for "cloudy" to get the color right. You might have to use a longer exposure; that means you have to physically mount the camera so it doesn't shake in your hands. And set your camera for the largest-sized images. again, try it with a newspaper to see if you can get away with this. People today are so used to smart-phone cameras, many don't have the old digital-camera experiences I'm talking about, like using natural light, worrying about light-source color/temperature, etc. People who take lots of photos, set up light-boxes and diffusers and all that stuff. All that said: maybe some high-end smartphones & cameras can do some "auto-stitch" thing or "panorama" thing, and get a big image, AND do so at 300 DPI or better detail that documents need.
3) scan pieces and stitch together with software
This works reasonably well, if you are familiar with a image application. I use an ancient version of Paint Shop Pro. I won't describe the details (read the documentation) but it amounts to pasting the cuts into same-pixel-size cutouts, and then moving the current paste to overlap exactly the previous-cut's edge features. With practice it works pretty well. Regards, Herb Johnson -- Herbert R. Johnson, New Jersey in the USA http://www.retrotechnology.com OR .net preserve, recover, restore 1970's computing email: hjohnson AT retrotechnology DOT com or try later herbjohnson AT comcast DOT net