Disclosed are apparatuses and methods for holding a document sheet in place against a scanning surface of an image capture system. One such apparatus is a document cover comprising: a body that is oriented parallel to the scanning surface when the document cover is in the closed position; a compliant and elastic document backing that is partially attached to the body and configured to reflect light originating from the image capture system; and a backing constraint configured to secure a central region of the document backing to the body and further configured to constrain movement of the central region in a first direction that is normal to the scanning surface while allowing movement in the same direction of outer regions that are lateral to the central region. The document backing generates a downward spring force which biases the outer regions toward the platen.