Phoenix Police Department Selects BMI Imaging’s Digital ReeL to Replace Microfilm Archive and Microfilm Reader Printers
Digital ReeL Microfilm Conversion Service Includes Application Designed for Microfilm, Microfiche and Aperture Card Digital Images
BMI Imaging Systems – Sunnyvale – July 18, 2009
News Facts
Phoenix Police Department (PHX PD) is a national leader when it comes to implementing many technological and procedural improvements. While obtaining its ISO 9001:2000 certification, PHX PD recognized that retrieving incident reports from its vast microfilm archive was a process that could be significantly improved by digitizing this archive.
After evaluating 8 potential microfilm scanning solutions, PHX PD selected BMI Imaging’s Digital ReeL for its conversion accuracy, image quality, ease of use and cost effectiveness.
5,500+ microfilm rolls representing over 15 million images dating back to 1970 were digitally converted; Digital ReeL used by up to 1,500 workstations; Digital ReeL integrated with existing content management system, EMC ApplicationXtender.
The Digital ReeL Conversion Service made an exact digital replica of each PHX PD microfilm roll so no images were lost during the conversion.
PHX PD also took advantage of Digital ReeL’s adjustable grayscale feature. As each image was converted, a photographic quality was added to the image so that users can adjust the brightness and contrast of an image until it is optimized.
Digital ReeL was priced less than 50% of a standard, microfilm conversion service.
PHX PD eliminated 3 reader printers and 3 microfilm cabinets, streamlining police record retrieval time.
Supporting Quotes
“We researched traditional film-to-digital imaging solutions, but found the products too expensive for our needs,” explains Judie Welch, Records and Identification Bureau Administrator at Phoenix Police Department. “Digital ReeL provides an exact digital replica of our microfilm archive and is accessible on our existing workstations. The price amazed us – 50% less than any other solution we looked at.”
“Typical conversion processes are prone to miss images and traditional bi-tonal scanning can result in poor image quality. If the images aren’t totally legible, then it generally requires the customer to keep the microfilm and reader printers in operation,” states Brad Penfold, Vice President of BMI Imaging Systems. “BMI designed Digital ReeL to enable customers to retire those old reader printers and re-capture the storage space”.
Buck Buchanon, Operations Supervisor in the Records and Identification Bureau states, “the quality of the adjustable grayscale images really raised our confidence level in the Digital ReeL solution. Because of the 100% accuracy and the quality, we will be able to safely eliminate our cabinets of microfilm and the 3 reader printers – a real plus that only Digital ReeL could deliver.”
About BMI Imaging’s Digital ReeL
Digital ReeL is both a service and a software application. Digital ReeL is a microfilm scanning and conversion service that includes software designed for viewing microfilm, microfiche and aperture card digital images. Digital ReeL is unique in the microfilm scanning industry for providing adjustable image enhancement to the end-user, allowing users to choose from multiple print settings. The Digital ReeL conversion service creates an exact digital replica of your microfilm, microfiche and aperture card records. The Digital ReeL application is available as software installed at the organization’s site or can be accessed from a workstation with a web browser. In addition, BMI offers Digital ReeL as a hosted service – users store their digitally converted images with BMI, accessing their images from the Digital ReeL Web interface.
About BMI Imaging
Since 1958, BMI Imaging Systems has been a leader in microfilm conversion, document imaging and document management solutions. BMI offers industry-leading scanning products from Canon and the ApplicationXtender document management product line from EMC. In addition, BMI has developed its own unique microform replacement software, Digital ReeL, which is available through resellers nationwide. Today, BMI staff consists of 80 employees, many who have been with BMI for decades. BMI converts an average of 3 million images per month and has an installed base of hundreds of content management solutions. BMI serves commercial and government agencies throughout the United States and has developed a customer list of more than 2,000 accounts. BMI is headquartered just outside San Francisco in Sunnyvale, California, with an additional production and sales facility in Sacramento, California.