Tag: microfiche scanning

August 23, 2011

Convert Microfiche

Although there are technically several ways to convert microfiche to PDF, TIFF, or JPEG, only one of them will deliver to you a high quality product, in a fast amount of time, at a low price. That method, of course, would be to send your microfiche to Generation Imaging in Florida via USPS, Fed-Ex, UPS, DHL, or via courier. But let us quickly go through the other methods to convert microfiche and see why they aren’t truly options:

Buy your own scanner. Sure you can get a ScanPro 2000 for a few thousand dollars. We have one of those- but we wouldn’t dare use them to convert microfiche for you. The reason why the ScanPro is inexpensive compared to the high production microfiche scanners is because the optics are poor for scanning microfiche; the high reduction ratio of microfiche (24x to 48x), lack of advanced quality filters, and rudimentary camera optics are all factors that are obstacles for creating a quality image. I didn’t even mention that you have to load one card at a time for the ScanPro. Although the ScanPro has its uses for other media, and it does come in handy for us for odd microform we may come across (it’s our business to receive all types of weird film) it’s not suitable for producing an acceptable quality to convert microfiche.
Buy high-end scanners. High production/high optics microfiche scanners (what Generation Imaging uses) can run you anywhere from $30,000 to $100,000 each depending on make and model. In addition to maintenance costs, you must consider training, managing labor, workflow, and technical support.
Flat-bed scanner. PC scanners are unable to convert microfiche (the magnification is too low).
Reader printer. Reader printers cost around $3000 to $8000. The manual labor is very time consuming to convert microfiche to digital image (one frame at a time).
Used scanners, used reader printers, etc. Although used scanning equipment sounds good on paper because the prices are cut by thousands of dollars, they don’t come with any warranties. When you consider that reader printers are known to break down and parts are needed, and the same can be said of microfiche scanners.

Ultimately, it is more cost effective and safer to allow Generation Imaging to convert microfiche for your project. You can plug the numbers yourself and weight the risk factors. If you have a small volume project which requires you to convert microfiche, it’s a no-brainer to use Generation Imaging.

February 14, 2011

Microfiche Scanning- How To Scan Microfiche

Microfiche scanning is the process of converting microfiche to digital images. Scanning microfiche and microfilm scanning are two of Generation Imaging’s main specialties- from quality to price, and to fun. As you could imagine, G.I. gets a lot of questions from callers and e-mails from potential clients that are new to the world of digital conversions. Also, many industries and organizations use different terminologies, so let me clear up some things up:

The difference between microfilm and microfiche is that fiche contain small images on flat sheets. Microfilm is roll film, usually spooled on a 16mm or 35mm or inside a Kodak or 3M cartridge. It gets kind of confusing for some people trying to identify media when they see cut strips of roll film inside clear plastic jackets. But the strong definition is that microfiche is contained on transparent flat sheets (around 4 inches x 6 inches, or 105 x 148 mm).

I used the word transparent for a reason; an image on an opaque sheet (like cardboard or index card) will only work if the material is has a cut-out rectangle. In that case, the “microfiche” is really an aperture card (an old PC card). The aperture card usually has a 35mm drawing, blueprint, or map in the cut-out. There are other scenarios where 16mm strips were cut and pasted in the rectangular cut-off. Either way, Generation Imaging can convert aperture cards to digital image.

There are a few different types of microfiche:

Jacketed microfiche (aka jacket fiche, jackets, jacket microfiche, microfiche jackets, jacketed microfilm sheets) generally contain around 5 rows of cut 16mm microfilm strips. However, 35mm jacketed microfiche have around up to 3 rows. Jacket fiche are perhaps the most varied type of microfiche: some only have a few frames on them, while others have around 60-90 images. Some jackets may contain unusual records, such as EKG, old school dot matrix computer printouts, or earthquake seismographs.

Jacket fiche can be duplicated, which ads to some people’s confusion when identifying microfiche. A diazo microfiche would not have physical sleeves anymore; instead you may see horizontal lines for each row.

digitize microfiche

COM microfiche have been around for a long time. COM = Computer Output Media. These microfiche are computer generated and usually line up perfectly, in addition to having rows/columns or 16 x 13 or 18 x 15. Occasionally, not all the frames are filled with data, so there are blank spaces instead of a packed microfiche. COM fiche usually contain accounting records.

Step-and-repeat microfiche were created with a special camera (also called 105mm film). They are more straight and even than jacket fiche. These microfiche have a varied image count, I’ve seen some have 100-300 images. They mostly contain manuals: airplanes, motorcycles, automobiles, jetski’s, scientific notebooks, etc.

Other rare types of microfiche include ultrafiche (350-500+ tiny images) and rewritable microfiche, sometimes called Microx or AB Dick microfiche.

Microfiche Scanning

Where Generation Imaging comes in is that G.I. Partners, LLC can convert microfiche to digital images, such as TIFF, PDF, or JPEG at a very low price. Microfiche scanning with NextScan scanners is a specialty of G.I. G.I. also has years of experience with microfiche scanning using Sunrise, Mekel, and Wicks & Wilson microfiche scanners, and has handled all types of microfiche scanning projects.

June 1, 2010

Converting Microfiche to Digital Image

Converting microfiche to digital image, such as PDF, TIFF, or JPEG is one of our specialties. If you have no experience with microfiche scanners, don’t have $70,000 to invest in one, or don’t have the time or money to print out one microfiche image at a time with a microfiche reader printer, then you should be pleased to know that Generation Imaging (G.I. Partners, LLC) can convert microfiche to digital image quickly and efficiently.

Microfiche is still used in many different scenarios, such as large insurance companies, genealogy records, military records, County records, engineering drawings and blueprints, sewer maps, and literally hundreds of different of industries. Many times a company or organization gets used to running a microfiche filing system and either doesn’t know about microfiche scanning or believes converting microfiche is cost prohibitive. Perhaps they inquire about buying a microfiche scanner and realize how much money, labor, and maintenance goes into microfiche scanning production. Perhaps they had purchased a cheaper alternative like a Scanpro, and realized how slow it takes. In almost all cases subcontracting microfiche digitizing to Generation Imaging is more cost-effective and quicker, not to mention microfiche conversion experts are running the project instead of newly trained laborers.

For hobbyists and researchers, sending Generation Imaging a batch of cards, or even one or two microfiche is an easy solution. With a low minimum fee for microfiche scanning, G.I. Partners takes pride in helping the so-called “civilians” in the scanning industry, as well as giving low microfiche scanning prices for high volume projects. Heck, in this new economy, the low microfiche scanning price is necessary. When you combine quality of work with the low scanning pricing, you can see why G.I. Partners is the number one choice to convert microfiche to digital image.

G.I. Partners is located in South Florida, but accepts projects from all over the world. Contact Dan or Damian for an industry-best quick response.

April 26, 2010

Genealogy Microfiche Scanning: Small Volume Microfiche Digitizing

Many microfilm scanning service bureaus overcharge ($250) for converting a few microfiche cards to digital image (PDF or TIFF). But let’s say you are a genealogy researcher, mechanic trying to read motorcycle parts microfiche, or a small engineering firm that has a handful of microfiche to be digitized? What to do when you get turned down or get up-charged for microfiche scanning. That’s where Generation Imaging comes into play.

You may have come to the right place to scan your microfiche. We specialize in servicing the microfiche industry by scanning your small volume microfiche projects as well as the high volume variety.

Many people have contacted us to scan one roll of microfilm or a couple of microfiche cards. Microfilm service providers often decline you if you only have 1 or 2 microfiche cards to scan. Scanning service bureaus do not like to stop production to scan a hand full of microfiche cards or a few aperture cards. Contact us for any size job of microfilm or microfiche and we shall accommodate your needs.

We value all of our clients equally and have always promise to provide the same level of service even if you have two microfiche cards to scan. We recognize that for each customer, their needs are just as essential as the next one, regardless of the size of the scanning job. Additionally, we make sure priorities and commitments to you are met so your project will be completed on time. Small scanning jobs are not as profitable as large scanning jobs but we make sure that this fact does not interfere with job priority.

Customer satisfaction is always our number one concern. This is the reason why you can always count with us to digitize one microfiche card at a fair flat rate price. In addition to scanning your small microfiche collection, we can also index the images for you. Big or small, any microfiche conversion job you may have can be done with us.

A small microfiche conversion job of just a few microfiche cards may need to be processed in a very short quantity of time. We have been able to deliver small microfiche conversion projects very promptly. We also take care of the security of the data we deliver, and we have never lost or damaged any microfiche. Therefore, you don’t have to worry.

Contact Generation Imaging next time you have a need to scan a microfiche card. Your project will be returned in a very short time- generally a business week. Customer satisfaction drives us to commitment and this means your microfiche conversion project is significant to us.

April 26, 2010

Need to Scan Microfiche (Just One or a Batch?)

Generation Imaging will scan a handful of microfiche for a low cost.

Do you have a genealogical microfiche, a motorcycle manual on step-and-repeat, or accounting COM fiche? Perhaps you have a historical microfiche sheet containing engineering drawings or want to digitize your military records? Whatever the case may be, Generation Imaging can help you view the microfiche images on your computer by converting them into digital images. You have found the place that can scan from one microfiche card up to any amount of microfiche cards. We can scan any quantity of microfiche that you may need scanned. Unlike some bigger corporations who charge $250 minimum fees or simply won’t even scan two fiche from a hobbyist or 20 microfiche from a small business, Generation Imaging is more than happy to assist you.

We recognize that many people will encounter the need to convert their few microfiche. Many companies find it annoying to service someone with only one card because scanning service bureaus do not like to stop production to scan a handful of microfiche cards. Most companies prefer not to bother with very small microfiche scanning jobs. Our most common request is to convert microfiche to PDF or microfiche to TIFF. After you contact Damian or Dan and get your flat rate quote, simply enclose your check to G.I. PARTNERS, LLC with the microfiche.

It makes no difference to Generation Imaging if you have a very small amount of microfiche to scan, as we give all jobs equally high awareness. To our customers, their job is essential. We also make sure that the small microfiche scanning job does not fall to the back of the priority list. Small microfiche scanning jobs are not as profitable as big scanning jobs but we make sure that this fact does not interfere with job priority.

Our priority is customer satisfaction. For this reason we will scan your one or two microfiche cards with great proficiency. Furthermore, we can also index the images we scan if you wish. Regardless of how many microfiche you have, we can provide high service.

A small microfiche conversion job of just a few microfiche cards may need to be processed in a very short amount of time. There are electronic means available to us that will allow delivery of small jobs quickly. This process is easy and can be very secure. Therefore, you don’t have to worry because we will take care of you job.

Give us a call or shoot us an e-mail the next time you need a handful of microfiche to scan. We will scan the microfiche and return your project promptly. Our goal will be your satisfaction. Although we a large capacity company that scans millions microfilm images, we also can take care of a very small microfiche job; this separates us from the rest of the scanning bureaus that throw big money around with Google AdWords. We will take care of your project so fast that you will be thankful you sent it to us.