How important is it really to scan your microfilm records? And How is this process ever going to pay for the microfilm conversion cost? These and many other question are asked by organizations all the time. Generation Imaging is a scanning company that has been scanning microfilm for years. The experts that make up the core of this scanning company have combined 30 years plus of experience helping organizations bring their microfilm scanning need to a successful completions.

More that just a scanning company, we see ourselves as advisers. When you contact our scanning company, you will meet a team ready to help you understand all you need to know about your microfilm scanning project. The importance of your scanning project is determined by your needs. Your consideration to data conservation, efficient data utilization and customer services are just some issues our scanning company looks at to determine the importance of your microfilm conversion needs. Scanning companies may not always get involved with this, but at Generation Imaging, our scanning company goes this extra step and it has proven very beneficial to our customers.

Typically, the savings associated with a  scanning project is subject to real utilization, and the value is shared with other benefits. The experts at our scanning company can look closely at some  of this factors and estimated the break even point. In Many cases your project begins to pay back soon after completion because our scanning company is very competitive with price. Our scanning company will offer you some of the lowest microfilm scanning cost ever.

Microfilm conversion is pretty much a catch all phrase that describes transferring roll film to digital image, such as PDF, TIFF, JPEG, or PNG. Most people visualize roll film as being like small versions of movie film in a mini-spool. Although the bulk of roll film is indeed like that, reels can also be enclosed in plastic cartridges.

There are a few kinds of 16mm roll film cartridges. Some are completely enclosed in a hard plastic, and are held together by screws and a snap mechanism. These were perhaps made famous by 3M, although other companies have produced and continue to sell these hard plastic film cartridges. Completely enclosed, they provide better protection from air, pests, and shipping.

Other 16mm cartridges are made of a lighter plastic and are open, and were created to be inserted into a large roll film shelf.

Generation Imaging has the capability to perform the microfilm conversion of 16mm cartridges.  Let us know if you have any file format and naming preferences. Otherwise, we will digitize the cartridges using standard microfilm conversion parameters, such as 200DPI bi-tonal TIFFs.

Generation Imaging has expert microfilm conversion scanner operators with the experience and technical know-how to convert roll film to digital images in a timely manner.

Most of the time it is more cost-effective to send G.I. your cartridges instead of purchasing a microfilm scanner. If you prefer to deal locally, and are located outside of South Florida, you may be disappointed in the quality of the final product and microfilm conversion pricing you are offered, so give Generation Imaging a try.

Microfilm is widely used for storing all sorts of information. Records scanning, on the other hand, can digitize the microfilm and create digital files. Records scanning opens the door for many opportunities. Is is a wise decision many of our customers make when they decide to the records scanning way, specially if records scanning will replace a heavily used microfilm system. In fact, the more in-demand a microfilm system is, the easier it becomes to justify a records scanning process.

Not many microfilm retrieval system can compare to a digital retrieval system that is generated from a records scanning process. One case that records scanning made a huge impact on customer service and also made a great impact within the organization, was a project we worked on years ago for a New York organization. The microfilm system they replace by records scanning procedures allowed them to evacuated over 100,000 square feet of prime Manhattan real estate. Additionally, labor was reduced considerably because the records scanning process generated all digital and completely automated retrieval system. No need for inventory of microfilm and no need for paper printing of files from the microfilm.

Perhaps the best of all is the ability to update a digital system. Records scanning is a one time process that takes microfilm to digital. After records scanning all new data that arrives in a digital format can be incorporated into the system with great ease. More than that, it is possible to organize and index files from a records scanning system easier that a traditional microfilm system.

Computer Output Microfilm is by far the most difficult 16mm roll film to digitize to images because the computer generated images do not have standard frame breaks most of the time. Unlike traditional 16mm roll film, Computer Output Microfilm has a super thin border (or no border!) or may have bits of data that is accidentally detected as a frame border. Most of the time, any roll film scanner (regardless if it saves one image at a time or saves the entire reel as a ribbon) will totally skip over Computer Output Microfilm sections or cut frames.

If the Computer Output Microfilm contains a 100% consistent, fixes, and thick frame order or blip marker, it is possible for a 16mm roll film scanner to detect images properly. In addition to having the correct micrographics equipment, it is very important to have experienced scanner operators. Let’s put it this way: if you have no experience with scanning Computer Output Microfilm, you will be totally lost and will need to pay the scanner manufacturer to come to your office and do it for you. They will only help you if you have a maintenance plan. In other words, you may be out of luck or it may cost you thousands of dollars to scan a few rolls of Computer Output Microfilm .

Generation Imaging has created a tried and true method to detect troublesome COM reels. Our scanner operators have been performing this method since the 1990s. It requires a knowledge of mathematics, detection algorithms, and attention to detail. It also requires post-processing: manually clipping strips. This method assures that all frames have been detected.

Another pres house turns to digitize negatives in an effort to convert old newspaper from microfilm to digital. Old newspapers that were microfilmed years ago, are practically useless now days. It is very time consuming and difficult to use now days. When you digitize negatives, you turn microfilm into a picture file that can can be stored digitally. There are many additional advantages to digitize negatives and as technology moves forward, the gains are even better.

Many other organizations will also digitize negatives from microfilm in the near future. The cost to digitize negatives is very low and there are way too many benefits not to do it. Another example is school records on microfilm. To digitize negatives from microfilm containing students records for example, requires a similar process. In most cases, the student names are identified so that when we digitize the negatives into digital files, the file is named the same. This makes it very easy to locate records from any student, right from a computer.

Preserving old information for future generations is a high priority for many. Some government funding available for this purpose is helping to digitize negatives from microfilm. We realize the value of old information and when we digitize negatives of old formats, we help preserve history. With the help of advanced microfilm scanning tools, we can digitize negatives from microfilm very efficiently now days.

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.

Generation Imaging can handle all types of microfilm conversion, no matter how large or how small. There are many microfilm bureaus out there, so find out the capabilities of a microfilm scanning bureau and how much time they need to accomplish your microfilm scanning project, as well as an upfront cost analysis. Find out significant information that will help you in the process. Be as prepared as you can and ask about all you need to know. Generation Imaging is a scanning bureau that you can partner with to get your projects completed.

There are different types of microfilm but not all microfilm scanning bureaus are capable of dealing with all types of microfilm conversion. A microfilm scanning bureau that has completed comparable jobs to yours may be better prepared to take care of your needs as well.  Generation Imaging’s staff has processed thousands of projects. If you know what equipment is needed to perform your microfilm conversion, you can ask if they have those types of resources. Some equipment is better than others and there may be quality differences in the results as well.

Some microfilm scanning bureaus invest in better equipment and upgrade the systems to use the latest scanning technology. Other microfilm scanning bureaus may be using older system less capable of producing top quality microfilm scanning.

Roll film contains identifiers that can help reduce cost during post scanning.  This microfilm company can let you know how this information can save you money.  Blips are marks besides documents on the microfilm that often represent significant page breaks or document sets. The microfilm scanning bureau should be able to use these marks on the microfilm or microfiche and group the digital records for you. It is vital for the microfilm scanning bureau to have experienced personnel to make full use of these equipment capabilities.

Other types of automated image identification may include Optical Character Recognition or OCR. A microfilm scanning bureau that has all of these tools may be of great help for your microfilm conversion needs. If your microfilm scanning bureau does not have all of the tools required, you will need to find a partner who can. You may be able to achieve better quality and a better price from a scanning company that has all of the advanced tools.

This microfilm scanning bureau will supply you with image processing options that will help your microfilm scanning project become a winner. Ask your microfilm scanning bureau about files types, file formats, and how they may affect the quality of images . A microfilm scanning bureau should present samples for you to confirm the resulting quality and formats, and Generation Imaging does that.