A
planetary scanner (also called an
orbital scanner) is a type of
image scanner for making scans of rare
books and other easily damaged documents. In essence, such a scanner is a mounted camera taking
photos of a well-lit environment. Originally, such scanners were expensive and could only be found in
archives and
museums, but with the availability of cheap, high-
resolution digital cameras, DIY planetary scanners have become affordable, and for instance are being used by volunteer scan providers for
Project Gutenberg.