Microfiche or microfilms were once quite convenient forms for storing large amounts of data.
However some of the disadvantages associated with the use of this document format have made many organizations want to convert them into digital form.
A specialized microfiche scanning company can convert the data stored in microfilms into various kinds of editable and digital formats.
Microfiche is basically a thin card manufactured from transparent film that is used to store large volumes of data in compressed or miniature form.
The film is diminutive in size which ensures easy storage.
"For" and "Against" Microfiche Storage The ability to store mammoth volumes of data including files, volumes of reference books, architectural plans, and so on, without requiring additional physical storage space is one of the major reasons organizations still store data in microfilms.
Microfiche also has the ability to last long.
However, the need for expensive and outdated machinery to access or use the data means companies can no longer rely on such documents, particularly if they need to be shared or accessed often.
Types of Microfiche Documents The kinds of microfiche or microfilms that are commonly used include 16mm microfiche and microfilm reel, 35mm microfiche and microfilm reel, microfilm cartridges or cassettes, the combi microfiche, the COM microfiche which is used mainly in the corporate sector, and the aperture card.
Microfiche conversion companies use advanced automated scanners that can scan the data faster, more accurately and more cost-effectively, facilitating the tracking of large volumes of data to track.
Microfiche Data Conversion Formats These advanced microfilm scanning machines can generate really high quality scans in various kinds of digital formats including JPEG, PDF, GIF, LZW, uncompressed bitmap, and more for easy storage, depending on the requirements of the client.
There are also scanners that can scan at a resolution of 600 dpi.
OCRScanning For Text Recognition and Editing While these are all electronic image formats that cannot be text edited once scanned, microfiche scanning services also involve conversion to editable formats through OCR scanning.
OCR refers to Optical Character Recognition, a scanning system by which characters in the text are recognized.
Microfiche data scanned through the OCR method can be converted to Word, Excel, Microsoft Access, HTML, XML, ASCII text, PDF, CSV or other formats that enable users to edit the data originally stored in the microfilms.
However, OCR accuracy can be affected by factors such as skewed text, shaded background, faded printing, unrecognized fonts, broken up letters and other such issues in the original microfiche document.
High quality scanners employed by scanning companies get the job done better.
Scanning and Conversion of Aperture Cards Aperture cards are also a kind of microform document and can be scanned and converted to various formats, the most common among them being the PDF and TIFF image formats.
The aperture cards that can be scanned and converted by an experienced microfiche scanning company include Hollerith and non-Hollerith punched cards as well as Diazo aperture cards.
Aperture cards can store architectural plans, technical diagrams, graphs, and so on.
A single card can accommodate one 35mm transparency microfilm slide.
Once scanned, aperture cards can be shared, printed or viewed with the help of text search.
Microfilm or microfiche scanning is not a hurdle at all, thanks to the technology used by reliable document scanning companies.