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Published: Wednesday, 04 March 2015 16:06

You may have heard of it, you might even own some but let's take a look at microfilm, what it stores and what alternatives you can use.

To understand microfilm, we must first understand what the term means. Microfilm means either;

A Microfilm- (noun) A small piece of film containing minuscule images (microphotographs) of documents which cannot be viewed by the naked eye, only by specialist microfilm readers.

or...
To Microfilm-(verb) The process of converting documents to small scale images to store on a microfilm to save storage space.

A Brief History of Microfilm

Microfilm have been around since the early 1900s and the first recorded use of them was in the 1920s by a city banker from New York named George McCarthy. He used his 'checkograph machine' to make 'permanent copies of all bank records.' Since then, they have played a vital role in history from their use in the Franco-Prussian war and World War II to it's adoption by libraries across the UK to store historical archives.

Uses of Microfilm

Microfilm have been used to store documents in a more compact and space saving way for companies that need to store documents with a long file retention period. They can store anything from newspapers and engineering drawings to smaller documents like cheques and betting slips. Rare documents are also stored on microfilm to preserve them from the damage that paper storage is susceptible to.

Alternatives to Microfilm

While microfilm do offer some benefits for document storage, there is an alternative method which offers a great deal more. By scanning, updating and digitising microfilm, organisations have found a useful way to modernise the storage of important documents. Microfilm scanning can save organisations the time, money and space involved in retrieving files from microfilm and make documents more flexible to view, edit and share.

The Future of Microfilm

Due to the expense of microfilm usage, particularly buying microfilm readers, and the rise in popularity of digital methods, microfilm is gradually becoming obsolete. More and more organisations are turning to microfilm scanning to reap the cost and space saving benefits, while safeguarding their archives through digital storage.

How Pearl Scan Can Help

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer a bespoke yet cost effective microfilm scanning service that is perfect for updating your document storage method. We can provide you with fully digitised and OCR processed documents in a range of formats to suit your preferences. We have even recently invested in a new microfilm scanner to help us provide the best possible service for our clients for microfilm scanning London, microfilm scanning Manchester and microfilm scanning across the UK. If you would like some more information about the microfilm scanning services we offer, feel free to check out some of our other articles or get in touch today for a free, no obligation quote for your scanning project.

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Published: Wednesday, 04 March 2015 16:05

Scanning library archives previously stored on microfiche can open up a wide range of possibilities.

What is stored on library archive microfiche?

Microfiche can hold archives of a wide range of documents and formats. Here are a small selection of the kinds of things you can find on library's microfiche.

• Newspaper archives
• Books
• Magazines
• Manuscripts
• Historical Maps

Importance of Digitising Historical Documents Stored on Microfiche

Digitising historical documents stored on microfiche is important for the future of this information. Scanning can help libraries to unlock history and future-proof it for years to come. In the past, once a document became damaged, the information contained would be lost forever but through the conversion process, libraries can ensure that their historical archives won't be lost or destroyed forever. It's important the UK as well as the rest of the world to preserve their history, to understand what the past was like and how greatly it differs from the present.

Benefits of Digitising Microfiche

Digitising microfiche can bring libraries, historians and the general public lots of benefits that physical storage simply cannot provide.

- ACCESS- Digital archives can be made available online for interested parties and can reach audiences previously impossible when the only way to view them was on a microfiche reader.

- FUTURE-PROOF- As I've mentioned above, digitising documents provides a more reliable storage method for important archives to be stored in for future use.

- SECURITY- Digitised archives can be encrypted and password protected with the files backed up to ensure their safety and security against loss, theft and damage.

- SPACE SAVING- Digital documents take up only virtual space meaning libraries can free up much needed space by removing the need to store microfiche and cumbersome microfiche readers.

- COST SAVING- Cost savings come in a number of different ways including less storage costs, no need for maintenance and replacement of expensive microfiche readers and eliminating the need to produce colour microfiche.

These benefits, especially the cost saving ones, offer major advantages libraries as most of them are funded by councils who are always looking for ways to reduce costs. This could potentially be the most effective way for them to save money without costing people their jobs.

Digitising Library Archives With Microfiche Scanning

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer a microfiche scanning service perfect for organisations looking to digitise their archives. We have helped to digitise a number of archives and historical documents providing future-proofed and easily accessible digital documents to be found and enjoyed by larger audiences. Our OCR scanning and conversion service can also make digital files easily searchable on databases. For more information about our microfiche scanning services, take a look at our website and blogs or get in touch today for a free, no obligation quote for your microfiche scanning project.