The Complexities & Economics of Digitizing Microfilm

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.2 Overview Millions of records were microfilmed over the years and those records can now be digitized for improved workflow, easier access, archiving, litigation, compliance and online hosting. Some of that film which was not properly processed or stored is now slowly disintegrating and has to be scanned for back up. Professional equipment and experienced personnel are required to properly scan these records.

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.3 Formats of Microfilm There are many formats of film based records, such as: Reels Fiche Slides Aperture cards X-rays Within these categories there are also many variables depending on cameras originally used as well as resolution, polarity, reduction and film type

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.4 Industry standards were originally established for the creation of filmed records which indicated requirements for : Consistency Chemical Residue Image Marks (blips) Density of Images Background Density Resolution Reduction Readings for these standards can be measured by an experienced microfilm laboratory. Microfilm Standards Resolution Chart

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.5 Microfilm Lab An experienced microfilm lab will take readings to determine if the film meets industry standards as well as verify if the film media is original or duplicate film. Image quality and resolution will also be defined.

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.6 Scanning Approach The film inspection and readings will aid an experienced lab to identify scanner settings which will ensure optimal image quality During this stage certain requirements are identified, such as : DPI (Dots Per Inch) Bitonal vs Grayscale Format - TIFF, PDF, JPG etc Single vs Multi-page Images

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.7 The Conversion Process The process of digitizing the film based documents can be quite complex, requiring experienced personnel and management as well as specialized professional equipment.

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.8 Conversion Complexities Not all conversion houses have the needed expertise or the high end professional equipment needed to analyze and digitize microfilm. Technology is rapidly evolving requiring new investments in high end equipment and training.

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.9 Indexing Another consideration is indexing, to allow for the digital files to be searched and retrieved. Options Include: Manual indexing of each record Indexing against an existing corporate Database or microfilm (CAR) database OCR to make the documents word searchable

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.10 Delivery & Upload The images and data can be formatted for uploaded into an imaging system The image can be named as per index field to facilitate search and retrieval via Windows File Manager and stored on PCs, or drives Images and data can be hosted online or on a network for access from various locations –

© 2009 Penny Imaging Exchange, Inc.11 Contact Phone: (631) x301 Company Videos Create a demo repository account: