Microfilm scanning from Generation Imaging

Hi, and welcome to Generation Imaging’s microfilm scanning blog. We hope to provide educational resources for microfilm scanning, microfilm scanners, roll film conversion processing, archiving microfilm, microfilm RFP bids, and much more.

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Converting microfilm to digital image is a niche industry- but, as they say, it’s a living. For the people that manage and operate Generation Imaging- it is a FUN living, have been in the microfilm digitizing industry since the early 1990’s, and know every little detail about microfilm.

So../what is microfilm and why is microfilm important? Microfilm is generally measured 16mm or 35mm across, and are hopefully stored in reel spools or 3M or Kodak cartridges. I say hopefully because sometimes we have seen unspooled roll film, which needs to be reeled. Microfilm is used for archiving, research purposes, and some organizations use microfilm to look up insurance records, school records, medical records, or government records. Microfilm are created by reducing paper documents into image frames with a specialized microfilm camera.

The process of microfilm scanning converts microfilm to digital images, like  TIFFs, PDFs, JPEGS, or other file formats- and the images can be black-and-white (bi-tonal) or grayscale. The benefits of converting microfilm to PDF or other format are obvious- no more manually searching old microfilm in a microfilm viewer. You can also make an unlimited number of digital copies, have the images indexed, uploaded to systems or the Internet, modify them, print them out, and you eliminate the need to waste valuable space storing microfilm.

A microfilm scanning company should have the experience and technical know-how to transfer microfilm to TIFF. In the new economy, a microfilm scanning company should also have the best price- to be competitive microfilm scanning companies have been reducing the cost of microfilm to encourage and stimulate the economy.