Discounted Microfilm Scanning, Microfiche Scanning, Aperture Card Scanning, and Imaging Services

Tag: microfilm roll

Things Your Boss Expects You Know About Microfilm Scanning

So you are going about your normal workday when all of a sudden your boss has a new priority for you from left field- get pricing for microfilm scanning! You probably haven’t even heard about microfilm, your office never even uses it, but your boss has an opportunity or need to get microfilm converted- whatever that means! So you politely say “okay” and start your search online. Hopefully we can clear up some confusion with this article!

microfilm questions

Confirm and Get the Microfilm Specs

Your ultimate goal is to get a price for microfilm conversion, but the first thing you have to do is actually identify and get details about the microfilm. Now, I know this may be hard if your boss just dropped a request for a roll film quote on your desk without telling you. But you can show off your knowledge to your boss by turning the tables and asking about what type of film it is. The two main types of roll film are 16mm and 35mm roll film. These look like small versions of movie reels. 35mm reels usually have newspapers, drawings, blueprints, or maps on them, while the more common 16mm reels usually have all other types of documents, like medical records, payroll records, school records, criminal records, land and deed records, marriage certificates, lawsuits, etc. If you have any specifications, let us know: DPI resolution (200, 300, or something else), pdf or tiff, bi-tonal or greyscale, and how are the files named?

A common misnomer is to call microfilm “microfiche”. Microfiche is actually flat plastic cards which contain a few frames on them. A microfilm roll is a spool of film.

Once you get the microfilm type, you want to get an estimate of how many rolls are in the collection. The reason for all of this fact-finding is to help us give you a free microfilm scanning quote. The price varied by type and volume. Without this information, it is like contacting a car dealership and asking for a car price without saying which year, model, or spec you desire.

What is Microfilm Used For, Anyway?

As far as why microfilm is still relevant today, there are still hundreds of thousands- if not millions- of rolls that have not been converted still. Governments still produce them to store their records on them because paper takes up too much space. You would think they would just scan the paper to digital image, but it takes too long and is costly. So it is possible that your boss is helping am existing client who also has microfilm but does not know how to convert it to digital image. Your boss may be trying to respond to a bid which has microfilm scanning requirements and your office can perform all of the other tasks but not the microfilm portion. There are dozens of reasons why your boss came across the microfilm scanning opportunity.

Other Important Questions

Your boss probably wants to know if it is cheaper to buy a microfilm scanner and do it yourself vs outsourcing microfilm scanning. We can give you price ranges for both. Generally speaking, it is more inexpensive to subcontract microfilm conversions. Microfilm scanners are very expensive to buy or lease, and you have to figure in the cost to train and maintain. In many ways getting your own microfilm scanner is like setting up a new business. Regardless, we will give you numbers to work from so you can give them to your boss.

Your would probably be expected to know how much it costs to ship the microfilm back and forth. The best way to get an estimate for that is to fill a banker’s box with paper and weigh it, or look at previous UPS, Fed-Ex, or USPS shipments you’ve made and extrapolate.

Other questions include turnover time: how long does it take to finish a microfilm scanning project? What are the images delivered on: external hard drives, USB flash drives, DVDs, FTP transfer.

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Digitize Negatives Could Help The National Archives

The National Archives hold information military service, family information, a personal history questionnaire, affidavits of comrades-in-arms, relatives, neighbors and medical, just to name some. Many of these files are in some form of negative microfilm. To digitize negatives and create digital files from this information will require a microfilm scanning conversion. Why would you want to digitize negatives? Well, by doing so, you can create an digital system that could hols all the information on computers. Organizations like these would like to digitize negatives but have not done so, in many cases, for monetary reasons.

Digitize Negatives Would Turn Microfilm Into Digital Files

 

Historians also like to digitize negatives because they spend a great deal of time researching records in libraries and going through books. When we digitize negatives, we create a file that is much more accessible than a hardcopy book. We Like helping historians and other people that like to look for old records, like people looking for ancestor’s information. After we digitize negatives from microfiche cards of microfilm rolls, their work becomes much easier and they appreciate it so much that they let you know about it.

After we digitize negatives, the digital files that are created can be viewed on one computer or multiple computers at the same time, depending on the network setup. Another benefit to digitize negatives is that digital images can be e-mail and shared through the internet just like any other digital picture. This really helps people that are interested in working on the same project but are not in the same location. If you an interest to digitize negatives for your own work, microfilm scanning can really help you.

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Northwest Microfilm Scanning Services

Northwest microfilm scanning
Many states and regions around the United States, like the Northwest, may be engaged in a microfilm conversion project to digitize their microfilm records, or a microfiche conversion job.  Other cities in the Northwest that have not scanned microfilm or microfiche records will probably look at this possibility in the near future.

The end clients of these companies and the County, City, and State Governments in the Northwest may have great benefits from the microfilm conversion and microfiche scanning if performed by Generation Imaging. As an example, a government in the Northwest could have many millions of public records stored on microfiche. These records may need to be available to many users or have been mandated to be archived as a backup. Northwest companies may need to make sure that thousands of rolls of microfilm are inventoried in an efficient manner so that the microfilm can be located as needed.

It is also very important that in this case, companies or governments in the Northwest maintain a temperature control room to protect the microfilm from damage. In a case like this, they would also need to have staff available to manage the work related to this process.  Another step towards protecting the integrity of microfilm may require that the Northwest business or government create a duplicated of each microfilm roll for a backup. Any time a duplicated roll is made, it may represent additional cost.

Once all the records are digitized, Northwest companies that have microfilm may be able to take advantage of an automated system. A digital storage and  retrieval system may alleviate these Northwest microfilm bureaus  from the continued burden of maintaining an enormous library of microfilm rolls or microfiche cards.  A Northwest government agency may also be able to save customers time  and reduce their own cost with a digital system in place. You may have fast access to records from a digital retrieval system. It is possible to have fast view of record by searching though a computer and not have to deal with microfilm rolls again. A system like this can save Northwest businesses and government entities lots of money and also save time.

If you have a need to convert rolls of microfilm, microfiche cards, aperture cards, or other types of microfilm, to digital format, contact us for additional information. We can help you create your own digital storage and retrieval system if you use microfilm rolls or microfiche cards.

Although Generation Imaging is located in Hollywood, South Florida (between Miami and Fort Lauderdale) we provide microfilm scanning services from all over the United States, including Northwest microfilm scanning services, and around the world. If you have any reservations about sending microfilm or microfiche from the Northwestern part of the United States (Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, Southeast Alaska, Nevada, Northern Utah, Northern Colorado and California) contact us so we can alleviate your concerns.

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