Inside NIRMA Magazine Summer 2018 - FINAL

THREE KEYS FOR
SUCCESSFUL IN-HOUSE
MICROFILM CONVERSION
By Matt Anderson, Vice President of Marketing, ST Imaging, nextScan
n the last NIRMA magazine issue, we discussed how you
can convert your microfilm collection in-house and the
benefits to performing that
archiving in your own facility.
Today we will explain the three
vitally important aspects of inhouse
conversion — speed,
accuracy and image quality. When all three aspects are
successful, you have a true digital copy of your essential
microfilm archives.
High-Speed Scanning
There are many microfilm scanners on the market that claim
to be high-speed, but how is that defined? For some, 100
pages per minute seems fast, but to others, that is merely
scratching the surface of the speed that is achievable. True
high-speed microfilm conversion scanners are capable of
scanning rolls of microfilm anywhere from 150ppm to
2,300ppm. The Eclipse from nextScan has been verified to
scan 2,300ppm, the fastest scanner available on the market.
That is over 20 times faster than some so-called high-speed
scanners. Thought of in another way, you could scan 20 rolls
of microfilm for everyone 1 roll on another scanner.
What value is speed without
accurate, high-quality scans? Not
only is speed critical to a successful
conversion program; the ability to
ensure that all images were captured and to create
impeccable digital scans is essential.
Accuracy and Quality Control
Looking at the empty spool on the scanner, you can see that
the roll of film has completed the scanning process. You have
successfully converted the entire roll of microfilm to digital,
or have you? Without a way to verify that all images were
positively identified, the digital copy of your roll of microfilm
will be compromised. Computers are fast but not always
perfect. There are a variety of reasons why images can be
missed in the scanning process. With nextScan’s NextStar
software, a user employs Ribbon Scanning to create a digital
copy of the entire roll of microfilm. Utilizing a line scan
sensor, nextScan scanners capture every single pixel, scanning
the surface of the microfilm from top to
bottom and end-to-end. If the software
detects any problems with the image or
density of the scans, it will notify the operator
who can then correct those problems without
having to perform a time consuming rescan.
The next critical step is to perform a quality
control function to ensure all the images on
the film have been identified and are ready for
export into your new digital archive. NextStar
makes this step easy by presenting a simple
grid of all the identified images on the roll.
Any break in the grid pattern is easy to spot
and inspect. If needed, the operator can
quickly select the missing image so it is ready
for output.
Easily audit your scan using nextScan’s NextStar software.
Captured images are displayed as a digital ribbon of individual
frames making for easy detection of any missed pages.
Be aware, there are many microfilm scanners
that claim to convert rolls of microfilm at a
high speed but do not supply any quality
control processes. Without such technology,
you cannot be confident that you will have
created a complete digital copy. One missing
Turn page to 3 Keys on page 24.
8 Summer 2018 NIRMA.org Inside NIRMA