Tag: microfilm scanning

September 3, 2011

Best Florida Microfilm Scanning Company?

The word “best” may sound presumptuous, arrogant, or condescending, but I assure you that is not our intention to be cocky when titling this post “Best Florida Microfilm Scanning Company?”. In fact I left the question mark in there for you to find out yourself. One definition of best is “of the most excellent, effective, or desirable type or quality”. As you can see I’m not comparing Generation Imaging to other Florida microfilm scanning companies, I am simply stating confidence in the services that Generation Imaging provides. It’s OK to be confident, right?

Damian Hospital and Dan Gandul- G.I. Partners, LLC- have a small business mentality which focuses on customer satisfaction, low prices, high quality, meeting deadlines, and giving advice when necessary. There are indeed many Florida microfilm scanning bureaus, some are large corporations, some are small, some focus on other industries, and some work out of their garage. There is even one company online that offers “Florida microfilm scanning” services, but it is actually based in California. That’s a nice little hook. Also, thanks to the beauty of the internet anyone can set up a storefront and claim to offer Florida microfilm scanning services without actually owning any micrographics equipment.

We all have to make a living, so I don’t begrudge anyone exercising their freedom of speech, but I just wanted you to know that G.I. Partners, LLC is a legit Florida microfilm scanning business located in Florida.

Generation Imaging treats a client with one roll film the same as a multimillion dollar company with 20,000 reels. Communication is an important component of choosing a Florida microfilm scanning business, and you can be rest assured that G.I. will get all of the necessary specifications for your conversion project. After G.I. gets all of your requirements, once the digitization process begins, we will keep you abreast of any issues that may arise and when we are nearing completion of our agreed due date.

You can read some Generation Imaging testimonials if you are still unsure about G.I. being a viable solution for your Florida microfilm scanning needs.

August 31, 2011

Genealogical Research Aided By Microfilm Scanning

While the vast majority of information now days is digital, an overwhelming amount of historical information still resides on older formats. Microfilm scanning is the process of converting microfilm rolls or microfiche cards to digital formats. Microfilm scanning can be easily achieved by a vendor, but you should make sure the vendor is qualified. To perform an efficient and safe microfilm scanning conversion project, you need to have the right equipment and expertise.

Many people are not aware of the advances in microfilm scanning. I read about people all the time, that needed to look up some information from a library, and they found the information searching through roll of microfilm. If microfilm scanning had been used, the search would have change the entire processes for the better. Since many of these organizations do not make any money and depend on government funding, it is difficult for them to invest in a microfilm scanning project.

Recently, some help from the government has enable many libraries to begin microfilm scanning their rolls of microfilm. The fact that funding is becoming available will make life easier for many of us. Researchers, students, and others will benefit from the end results. Microfilm scanning makes sense and is not expensive. When you weigh the benefits, microfilm scanning is by far a reasonable solution for libraries and other organizations.

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.