if you've got the cash (~US$250) and a win32 machine then I recommend Whiteboard Photo [pixid.com] for processing that first image. It not only cleans up noise from shadows but also takes care of any changes due to the angle from which you took the photo. Here's an example [cwinters.com] of the output (with a couple of names smudged out so I don't get in trouble). It doesn't look as nice as your second image, but it's a LOT less work...
whiteboard photo (Score:2)