Microfilm Scanning and Conversion
At Data Storage Centers, we are professionals in gathering, transporting, and converting microfiche jackets, microfilm rolls, COM fiche, and aperture cards. Our team is available to assist in safeguarding every record with microfilm scanning and conversion services. Organizations that house microfilm rolls will need to assess how the microfilm is stored, at what rate it deteriorates, and if it needs to be more easily accessible.
What is Microfiche?
Microfiche is a sheet of film containing rows of images. The most common we see is roll film cut into strips and placed in a jacket or sleeve. The size and number of images per jacket vary. Additionally, the film may be positive, negative, or mixed within a jacket. All of these factors affect the cost of conversion.
What is Roll Film?
Roll film is microfilm either in an open reel or in a cassette. Roll film typically comes in lengths of 100′ for 35mm film, 130′ for 16mm film and 215′ for 16mm film. Roll film may also may be single stream, images side by side, or dual stream, images stacked two up on the film. Then image to the right is an example of dual stream 16mm roll film.
What is COM Fiche?
COM Fiche or Computer Output Microfilm is microfilm that is generated from a mainframe data stream or print file. Typically, COM fiche is a series images produced at a 24X or 48X reduction ratio. The sample to the right is a COM fiche produced at 48X reduction.
What is an Aperture Card?
An aperture card is a type of punched card with a cut-out window into a chip of microfilm is mounted. Such a card is used for archiving or for making multiple inexpensive copies of a document for ease of distribution. Think of an Aperture card as a type of punch card that has a cutout with a piece of 35mm microfilm in it. The Aperture card has a row at the top that identifies the content and often is punched with Hollerith or machine-readable data.
Microfilm Conversion
Safeguard Against Microfilm Deterioration
When microfiche or microfilm is not stored properly, the acetate chemicals in the film can begin to break down. At that point, the film will begin to worsen exponentially.
Embrittlement is when microfilm loses its elasticity, becoming brittle, and begins to flake or completely fall apart. Another symptom of deterioration is redox, orange or red spots, which form on the film when silver oxidizes because the microfilm has been contaminated by air, moisture, or dust.
If your administrative staff notices any of these symptoms, especially on microfiche, it’s paramount to act quickly to address the situation. By working with Data Storage Centers, businesses can safely store information in climate-controlled environments with proper preservation practices.
Quick Access To Sensitive Information
Valuable team members will not need to waste time when the record request comes in. Locating the microfilm rule, loading it on the reader printer, searching for each section, and then also having to provide the aperture card or film will no longer be necessary. Tedious record searching is a thing of the past. Our OCR technology makes every piece of information easily searchable. Document images can be converted to PDF, TIFF, or several other formats. Our technology is capable of capturing images at the highest quality, no matter how much microfiche or microfilm you have.
Meeting Your Needs
We take pride in meeting the needs of companies in the metro Phoenix area with microfilm scanning services. Partner with Data Storage Centers today to protect your critical records and streamline access to the information your team needs most. Whether you fill out our secure form below or call us directly, we can help find a solution to fit your business needs.