I have been working on a pretty advanced system to automate most of the process of remastering old books. This combines tools to utilize an optimized optical character recognition output, use precise locations of the original text, and then create a brand new text-based layout that is virtually identical to the original, only with crisp fonts in a searchable and copyable PDF file (and touched-up original images). It is not perfect, and still requires some fine-tuning, but nothing compared to the normal process of touching up every page by hand in photoshop.
Here's a sample. The top part shows an image that was touched-up in photoshop for the Classic Reprint of Machineguns & Magic. The bottom part uses the new automated system to produce a text version using truetype fonts. It maintains the layout and spacing, but will print more closely to modern page layout, such as something designed in Adobe Indesign.
The font weight is noticeably different, but this is due to several factors. The original book was produced with an offset printer, so the ink bleeds in the paper a bit more. It is also scanned to an image, which is then manipulated for a clean black and white print. This means that current Classic Reprints do print slightly heavier than the originals. The new system produces an all-new printing with modern technology.
I'm running the system through some final testing and hope to begin using it to produce the Classic Reprint for The Egyptian Trilogy, a supplement for Man, Myth & Magic.
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