Microfilm Format And Storage

Microfilm storage has to be special. It has a long life expectancy but it must be kept in temperature and humidity controlled environment and left in special sealed containers. Only working copies should be used for retrieval purposes. No more than five working copies should be made from the master copy. Additional working copies should be made from a working copy.

One can see a lot of variations also. Some companies keep their masters in an air-conditioned room, but few businesses follow all the requirements for a long life expectancy. Many companies don't even keep their master copies in a controlled environment at all more frequently the only original is used as the working copy. These errors in usage make the lifespan of microfilm much shorter. So age depends on its storage.

Microform formats such as film, aperture cards, and microfiche were the considered to be the most efficient way to archive documents during the early part of the 20th century. The process enabled companies to store data in a form that is as much as 25 times smaller than the original document. This made it possible to store and index entire libraries in a fraction of the space required by the original documents.

The emergence of digital image formats and the continually lowering costs of data storage, however, have rendered microfilm obsolete. It's now entirely possible to store a microfilm library in a device that can fit in the palm of one's hand.

Digitizing microfilm archives carries a number of advantages that organizations can leverage in order to enhance operations and workflow. Efficient and cost-effective data backup and recovery, easy retrieval, and significantly reduced storage overhead costs are just some of the benefits that can be gained from modernizing microform libraries.

Most people dislike microfilm, primarily because retrieval is time consuming and poor image quality makes the documents difficult to read. Document Scanning requires physical proximity to the film viewing equipment. Searching for a particular document on microfiche may require scanning 50 or more pages.

When using a company to complete microfilm scanning, make sure to check out some of their previous work by requesting samples, preferably of your own fiche and also go and see the bureau in action if you are located closely if you are still unsure. If they are a serious company, they will happily allow you to come along and see the process of document scanning.

Microfilm conversion is simply the logical way forward as is converting all documents into digital formats. It has become more than a mere luxury and is now essential for a lot of companies for the sake of their efficiency, time and costs.

Microfilm Scanning, Processing, Microfilm Conversion and plotting all are available now.