Eliminate Outdated MicroFilm and MicroFiche Readers

A lot of microfiche libraries are decades old and typically created at various different quality standards, and possibly even stored in poor conditions and viewed so many times that the fiche is damaged. If this is the case for you microfiche then you will need to make sure you work with a professional company that has experience managing the challenging elements of maintaining image quality of these valuable films.

Today every format of microfilm can be converted to a digital format (Microfiche, jacketed fiche, 16mm and 35mm microfilm, COM, 105 mm Step & Repeat Microfiche and aperture cards) allowing you to search for an image, and even grant multiple user access to images. No more pulling out the microfilm reader and sloughing through films, with microfilm conversion and storage you can go to any computer on the company network and retrieve the image you need in minutes.

There are even more advantages to converting this old technology to a new digital format.

1. You can now e-mail and fax an image with the touch of a few buttons
2. You can convert them to a PDF document for easy portability
3. Massively reduce the time it currently takes to retrieve an image
4. View images from a web browser, so your staff does not need proprietary software

Microfiche wasn't perfect, but it was a great way to store a lot of data that normally does not get used a lot without large storage cabinets. Libraries and medical offices have used this technology for years to maintain files with minimal physical storage space (a single microfiche could archive the equivalent of 20,000 books, that would fit in a cabinet about 1.5x0.5x2 meters), but it is still limiting in how difficult it can be to access and find the one or two documents you need because the data is not indexed, or catalogued with a search function.

Microfiche and microfilm can be viewed using a reader that projects the image large enough to read, or even a magnifying glass. But how many of us have either of these resources readily available, what we all do have access to is a computer. With the invent of large, reliable hard drives it is even more efficient to convert these old images to searchable documents and make them more readily available to the staff that needs access or even the community, in the case of libraries. Granted there a lot more companies using this technology than just medical offices and libraries, but you get the idea. There are now options that will make the data currently stored on microfilm or microfiche more accessible.

By converting this media to a digital format you open up the ability to search for the information you need by using standard search terms like you currently use in, say, Google. No more attempting to look at tiny images or lost microfiche cards (or tapes), find the document you need and print it, e-mail it or fax it!

Digital Solutions, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Long Island, NY and was founded in 2001. The company provides professional document conversion and management for small business through enterprise level businesses. For more information, visit www.digitalstorageinc.com