What You Need To Know When Scanning Micoforms

When you want greater accessibility to information held within microfilm and microfiche, scanning is a great option. The following mini-class will teach you some of the key variants that will affect scanning costs and requirements.

Microfilm

16mm vs. 35mm Width

16 mm is commonly used for preserving A4 or legal-size documents, whereas 35 mm is more suitable for larger documents, maps, and engineering drawings.

100 ft vs. 215 ft Length

215ft film typically captures twice the volume of images compared to 100ft. You can identify if you have a 100ft or 215ft reel using the "feel test." 100ft film is thicker providing a sturdier feel compared to a 215ft reel which is thinner and flimsier.

Simplex vs Duplex

Simplex images have one captured image per frame. Duplex images are in double format, meaning each frame has two images, one on top of the other.

Number of Images Captured

The table below shows the range of images you can anticipate on the various combinations of microfilm.

Blip Mark vs No Blip Mark

Blip marks on microfilm serve as indicators for the beginning and end of each document. These marks enable software to segment the microfilm into distinct digital documents. If blip marks are absent a human will be required to review each image to ensure accurate digitisation of your records.

Microfiche

Source Doc

Source Doc microfiche contains one document or a small set of related documents on a single sheet. The quality of this microfiche relies on the photographer's ability to maintain sharp focus and steady positioning.

COMfiche

Short for computer output microfiche, is a format used to store digital information on microfiche such as payroll information, school results, rate notices, etc. Due to their capacity to store large volumes of images, each COMfiche can be more expensive to digitise than other microfiche formats.

Jackets

Transparent holders containing channels into which strips of 16 or 35mm microfilm, or a combination of microfilm and microfiche, are inserted, these jackets can become brittle causing them to break and the film to fall out. Manual intervention is then required to rectify the situation.

Conclusion

When stored correctly Microfilm and Microfiche are ideal for long-term storage. Common reasons our customers get us to scan the images include deterioration from not being stored correctly and the increasing cost of maintaining viewing equipment. The cost of scanning microforms can vary widely depending on labour required to prepare the film for scanning the number of images being captured.