To begin, place the core holder with the plain core surface on the table of an image capturing system, such as the WSL Skippy system. Align the core holder with the moving direction of the table or camera. Position the table with the core holder below the camera, so the outermost ring is in the center of view under the camera objective.
Now place a scale next to the onset of the core and take an image for calibration purposes. Define the length of the core in the software, and start the image capturing process. Once the last image is taken, the table moves back to the starting position.
Then remove the sample from the table. Place the next holder below the camera. Next, use distortion free stitching software, such as PD GUI to combine the single images into one final image of the core surface.
Take the analyzed cores in the holder and place them in the portable storage rack printed with a 3D printer. Label the rack to identify the cores from the outside. Store the rack on a shelf, or any other available archive.
The high resolution camera system achieved a real resolution of 6, 500 DPI compared to 1, 825 DPI from a flatbed scanner. The camera system provided clear images of single cells enabling precise identification of ring boundaries. The system facilitated imaging of micro sections of tree cores up to 40 centimeters with transmitted light, which is useful for dendrogeomorphology studies.
