Author: G.I. Partners

August 30, 2011

Scanning Microfilm Helps Researchers and Writers

A recent news story from Summerside (Prince Edward Island, Canada) revealed how a 74-year old former Air Force navigator searched through old newspapers and microfilm in a small back room at MacNaught History Centre and Archives.

Larry Gray is writing his fifth history book:

“I am very much a believer that history is very important. It’s very important to know where we’ve been and how did we get where we are now.”

Generation Imaging agrees, and that’s why we consider scanning microfilm is an important service to society. Scanning microfilm to create digital images has many benefits for historians, researchers, and writers. Images can be named by newspaper date and retrieved quickly. Better yet, images can be OCR’ed, so the user can type a word and have all the pages come up in the collection that have that word.

Microfilm scanning saves time. Scanning microfilm saves space. Roll film conversion is efficient. 35mm reel conversions allow easier ways to copy.

Although libraries are working on skeleton budgets, perhaps local governments and concerned citizens could raise money to see the benefit of scanning microfilm to create digital images.

Believe it or not scanning microfilm is not as expensive as one would think- it’s only a couple of cents per image. When you consider the relative low cost involved, ask yourself what should the price tag be to preserve history? Think of the positive impact roll film conversions have on society. Why do you think Google has taken upon itself to convert newspaper and magazine roll film to digital images online?

August 29, 2011

Scanning Microfilm Is Our Specialty

Scanning microfilm is a niche industry. Generation Imaging’s founders have been scanning microfilm for decades and can attest to all of the different types of roll film, how a project can start off easy enough but “changes” due to various types of issues, such as film density, film degradation, different reduction ratios, and of course G.I. has the ability to recognize and fix roll film scanners if something goes wrong.

Many companies who have an opportunity or need to convert a sizable roll film project first consider buying microfilm scanners. After they are hit with the price tag for a new machine: $65,000+ assorted fees, they may consider used equipment (cross your fingers on those holding up with no warranty) or less expensive scanners (which naturally output inferior quality). Then they may search for microfilm scanning services. There are many microfilm scanning companies out there, or at least there seems to be.

Here’s a little secret: many so-called microfilm scanning companies online are actually storefronts and middle-men. Others harvest your personal data and sell it. Others may engage in questionable labor practices. If you’d like to go direct for wholesale prices, please contact Generation Imaging for a microfilm scanning cost estimate.

Scanning microfilm at Generation Imaging isn’t just “work”, it’s been a major part of our lives and it’s our career and hobby. We are not fly-by nights, not part of a get rich scheme, do not run some scam, and will not subcontract services.

We assure you that if your organization is seriously considering investing in expensive scanners for a large project, that you should not underestimate everything that could go wrong for such a project. Scanning microfilm for the first time can be a nightmare. Founders Damian Hospital and Dan Gandul know all the ins-and-outs of scanning microfilm and will not waste your time or money on rescanning entire projects or apologizing for not having a quality control system. Generation Imaging will perform the process of scanning microfilm right the first time.

Generation Imaging: microfilm scanning experts

Training, labor, maintenance, network, software, and experience are all factors that go into scanning microfilm. Don’t get too cocky thinking you can pull this off from scratch. You can calculate the numbers yourself to determine the profit margins for scanning microfilm. Just be sure to include all of the x-factors that the machine vendors don’t tell you: rescans, machine breakdowns, software bugs, server problems, accidental deletions, labor issues, quality control standards, and bumps in the scanning microfilm workflow process.

As far as other companies go, instead of believing the hype from them or us, why not give us a chance like other new clients did (see testimonials): ask us for a microfilm scanning quote and send us a sample.

August 29, 2011

Microfilm Scanning Helps Library Online Services

Microfilm Scanning has been very helpful for updating library records and historical information. Many institutions around the nation have performed microfilm scanning to make it possible for users to access information online. Compare to traditional microfilm readers to view the information, the ability to go on a computer and look for the information online is a tremendous help.

The way microfilm scanning transfers genealogical information and other type of information from microfiche to a digital format is possible with advanced microfilm scanning equipment. The type of information that is contained in the microfilm is usually not a limiting factor. We can convert newspaper images, book images, pictures, magazines, and just about any other type of information that was previously placed on microfilm.

Post microfilm scanning, the data converted is transferred to jpeg files or some other type of format needed. These files are then joined into a retrieval system that allows users to search for the information they are looking for. The microfilm scanning quality is not only dependent on the quality of the microfilm scanning equipment, but also on the skills of the operator.

Further into the future, we should be able to have access to many of the records that libraries still have in hard copy or microfiche format and microfilm scanning is one part of the solution.

August 25, 2011

Microfiche To Digital Plus OCR

Recent trends in the Microfiche to Digital imaging has included an additional process called OCR. This process adds significant value to a microfiche to digital conversion because of the increased functionality of the final product. OCR refers to the Optical Character Recognition and involves the process of reading information from an image after the microfiche to digital conversion has taken place. The software that is designed to perform the OCR then creates a text layer of the information it gathers from the image.

After the microfilm to digital and the OCR process has completed, you should be able to work with the file just as if the image had been created using a text editor. This means that the microfiche to digital process creates a picture of the image and the OCR creates a text version of the same image. The benefits from this conversion are immense. For example, if you where interested in finding information about a person listed in the document, you could do an automated search and a text editor would locate the name for you. This would not be possible without an efficient microfiche to digital conversion.

Consider the following, Last year, a historian approached us for a microfiche to digital conversion. He had been working with a local library gathering information from old newspaper that had been microfilmed years earlier. Without a microfilm to digital conversion, he was limited to viewing a frame at a time on a viewer and looking for information by reading off the screen. Needless to say, he was wasting lots of time. After performing a microfiche to digital and OCR process, he was able to work from his own computer and perform searches instantly.

August 25, 2011

Convert Microfiche to PDF

Thanks to the beauty of the internet, it has never been easier to finding a solution to convert microfiche to PDF. Damian Hospital and Dan Gandul have decades of experience with microfiche scanning and through the use of the internet can reach out to more people who need to convert microfiche to digital image (PDF, TIFF, or JPEG). Generation Imaging provides wholesale pricing and very low flat rate fees if you just have a handful of fiche or even for just one card.

Some potential clients are hesitant to send out their fiche in the mail, but Generation Imaging has never had a shipping mishap and your media is secure at G.I.’s office in Florida. Generation Imaging prides itself on meeting deadlines and its internal quality control methods. If you want to convert microfiche to PDF, you can rest assured your fiche are in capable hands. You can join other satisfied clients: Generation Imaging Testimonials.

The cost to convert microfiche to PDF, TIFF, or JPEG depends on the volume (number of cards + number of frames on the cards) and if there are any indexing parameters or image enhancements/processing (such as OCR- Object Character Recognition).

Generation Imaging does not engage in any “bait and switch” tactics, scanning subcontracting, overhype our capabilities to convert microfiche, or lies about due dates. If anything changes during the scanning process (like if the fiche wasn’t as described or some fiche were of a lower quality than the initial test) you would be notified immediately.

The final product can be of any format or filing system you’d like. When we convert microfiche, we can create single page images or multi-page images. Images can be scanned at any DPI resolution. Folders can be named however you’d like.