Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Scanning microfilm is no walk in the park, regardless of what some equipment vendors like to advertise. http://chilp.it/737ee5
Microfilm Scanning has been very helpful for updating library records and historical information. http://chilp.it/d1d7b2
Monday, August 29, 2011
How Hard is Scanning Microfilm?
Scanning microfilm is no walk in the park, regardless of what some equipment vendors like to advertise. The Holy Grail of scanning microfilm has always been to automate the process as much as possible to increase productivity and decrease labor costs. As much as this is a profitable goal to strive for, the human element in scanning microfilm cannot be understated.
A human must determine the reduction ratio, i.e. how many times the frames were reduced from its original document size. The scanner operator must have the ability to measure the document frame and use an equation to verify the original document size. Operators must use their instincts and experience to notice if the reduction ratio changes in a project.
Scanning microfilm can product a multitude of different quality settings, and let's face it: quality is subjective. Some clients have different needs than others. One organization may insist on bringing out handwriting, while others have a need for seals or stamps. Some customers may not desire any noise or speckle, and will not permit a compromised scan. So it is futile to suppose that a machine has the ability to satisfy all scenarios. It takes human investigation and feedback from a client to set the quality standards, and it takes a human to perform the necessary trial and errors and setting modifications to achieve the optimal scan.
Scanning microfilm is truly a process that combines art and science, or creativity and technical aspects of production a final product.
Damian Hospital and Dan Gandul- two men whom I have worked with for years have showed me just how much focus and different scanning microfilm scenarios go into achieving an excellent final product.
A human must determine the reduction ratio, i.e. how many times the frames were reduced from its original document size. The scanner operator must have the ability to measure the document frame and use an equation to verify the original document size. Operators must use their instincts and experience to notice if the reduction ratio changes in a project.
Scanning microfilm can product a multitude of different quality settings, and let's face it: quality is subjective. Some clients have different needs than others. One organization may insist on bringing out handwriting, while others have a need for seals or stamps. Some customers may not desire any noise or speckle, and will not permit a compromised scan. So it is futile to suppose that a machine has the ability to satisfy all scenarios. It takes human investigation and feedback from a client to set the quality standards, and it takes a human to perform the necessary trial and errors and setting modifications to achieve the optimal scan.
Scanning microfilm is truly a process that combines art and science, or creativity and technical aspects of production a final product.
Damian Hospital and Dan Gandul- two men whom I have worked with for years have showed me just how much focus and different scanning microfilm scenarios go into achieving an excellent final product.
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Friday, August 26, 2011
The easiest way to convert microfiche to PC is to have a scanning service bureau digitize it. http://chilp.it/dfc9a2
Turn Microfiche to Digital and Free Up Space
Have you ever considered converting
your microfiche to digital images? You may not realize the advantages
from an automated storage and retrieval system. The microfiche to
digital conversion has many advantages that range from space saving,
to reduction of related labor and manpower, and efficient customer
services. There are many other benefits that all organizations using
microfiche should seriously consider.
I had the opportunity to manage a
massive microfiche to digital conversion project for an upscale
corporation. At the time, the organization had 14 million documents
stored within many thousands of microfiche cards. Since no microfiche
to digital conversion had been performed, the company had developed a
massive tray system to organized the cards for access to hundred of
employees. Each microfiche retrieved for research, had to be returned
to the exact location before another person could use it. The entire
system used in excess of 20,000 square feet and hundreds of employees
to work and maintain the system.
After the microfiche to digital
conversion, the system changed dramatically. The entire collection of
information was stored in a computer sitting on a desk. A backup was
stored in hard drive for safety. The microfiche to digital conversion
allowed separate users to access the data simultaneously over a
network. And the service level increased to such a point that a
handful of employees were able to complete the work previously done
by hundreds. The cost of the microfiche to digital conversion was
insignificant compared to the savings actualized by the company.
Easiest Way to Convert Microfiche to PC
The easiest way to convert microfiche to PC is to have a scanning service bureau digitize it. Many people don't realize how inexpensive the service is. But beware: not all scanning service companies have the same pricing. In fact, some scanning companies are totally outside of the market range.
Generation Imaging, located in South Florida, can convert microfiche for you at wholesale prices. That means the microfiche scanning cost includes no reselling fees or markups. Generation Imaging has excellent high volume conversion prices, and will also gladly assist researchers, veterans, or clients with just one fiche card or a few of them.
There are a few other options you can choose to convert microfiche to digital images, but they are more time consuming and the quality is suspect. For example, if one believes a Yahoo Answers exchange you could take photos of microfiche frames with a camera instead of using a professional scanner. On another forum, someone suggested using a slide scanner or flatbed scanner. Based on internet advertisements, one may believe one can use a ScanPro 2000 to convert microfiche, but the quality levels and time it takes to scan one card doesn't justify the pricetag.
Speaking of pricetags, new high end microfiche equipment is in the $50,000+ range. You can invest time in looking for used equipment to convert microfiche, but speaking as someone who has been in this industry for decades, have fun training a labor force, creating a workflow, setting up a network, getting support, and replacing parts in a timely manner.
Generation Imaging, located in South Florida, can convert microfiche for you at wholesale prices. That means the microfiche scanning cost includes no reselling fees or markups. Generation Imaging has excellent high volume conversion prices, and will also gladly assist researchers, veterans, or clients with just one fiche card or a few of them.
There are a few other options you can choose to convert microfiche to digital images, but they are more time consuming and the quality is suspect. For example, if one believes a Yahoo Answers exchange you could take photos of microfiche frames with a camera instead of using a professional scanner. On another forum, someone suggested using a slide scanner or flatbed scanner. Based on internet advertisements, one may believe one can use a ScanPro 2000 to convert microfiche, but the quality levels and time it takes to scan one card doesn't justify the pricetag.
Speaking of pricetags, new high end microfiche equipment is in the $50,000+ range. You can invest time in looking for used equipment to convert microfiche, but speaking as someone who has been in this industry for decades, have fun training a labor force, creating a workflow, setting up a network, getting support, and replacing parts in a timely manner.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Recent trends in the Microfiche to Digital imaging has included an additional process called OCR. http://chilp.it/7e4d7d
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
A recent movement to convert microfiche to digital images will help local libraries across the nation in their... http://chilp.it/1ddf78
Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Although there are technically several ways to convert microfiche to PDF, TIFF, or JPEG, only one of them will... http://chilp.it/2a8284
Monday, August 22, 2011
When should one convert microfiche to digital images, such as PDFs, TIFFs, or JPGs? http://chilp.it/31462d
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
