Microfilm Digitization: 4 Hacks To Streamline Your Project

What we’re going to give you in this article are four hacks to improve and streamline your microfilm digitization project. These tips and hacks will make it a much simpler, more efficient, and smoother project for you and your scanning partner. Pay attention, as these are the things you want to do to ensure your project is as easy-peasy as it can be.

Pre-Project Preparation Prevents Poor Performance

First hack: pre-project preparation prevents poor performance.

Before you kick off your project, make sure everyone involved knows what to expect. Check your microfilm for any problems like deterioration or a vinegar smell, which can be signs of damage. If you notice issues like tears or flaking, inform your scanning partner about these conditions.

Game pieces on black board with yellow strategy path

Understand the different types of microfilm you have so you can effectively communicate that to your partner. Though your project hasn’t begun yet, knowing whether you have a 100-foot or 215-foot microfilm, and whether it’s simplex or duplex, is crucial. These details affect both the project’s scope and cost. If you’re unsure, make sure the company you’re considering working with asks the right questions to gather this information. Ask yourself: do they have all the details they need to provide an accurate scope and price for the project?

You’ve picked your scanning partner, and you’re set to kick off the project. Now comes the crucial step of getting the microfilm to their facility, whether they’re picking it up or you’re shipping it over. In this phase, packing plays a pivotal role. If you’re handling it, be sure to pack similar types of documents together, labeling the boxes for streamlined organization and processing.

We’ll paint a picture. Say you work in a University Registrar’s Office with 5,000 rolls of microfilm. Besides Student Records, you’re pulling in film from other departments like HR and Finance, holding personnel and financial records. You’ve got about 3,000 rolls of Student Records, and 1,000 rolls each of HR and Finance records. When packing, it’s vital not to mix everything haphazardly—keep Student Records, Finance, and HR records in separate boxes. Clearly label each box, so when your partner receives them, they can easily identify what’s inside. “Ah, here are the HR records; these go to this department.” They won’t need to sift through each roll to guess its type. While they can attempt to sort things out, preparing and labeling your boxes ahead makes the process so much smoother.

This also means having your batches sorted and ready when needed. For a smaller project, like a few hundred rolls, you can send them all at once. But if you have 5,000 rolls and only want to process 1,000 at a time, you shouldn’t send everything at once. Instead, send a batch of 1,000 rolls, which is about 10 boxes, one batch at a time. If there are certain records you frequently access, prioritize scanning these first. Prepare the first 10 boxes of these active records for scanning. Make sure that when the first batch is done, you have the next batch of 10 boxes ready to go. This way, there’s no delay between sending batches for scanning.

Keep Indexing As Simple As Possible

Second hack: keep indexing as simple as possible.

Here’s a game-changing tip for microfilm scanning: simplicity in indexing can save you time and money. It’s tempting to get overly detailed with indexing and file naming, but keeping it straightforward is one of the most effective ways to ensure your microfilm project remains easy to manage and budget-friendly.

Start by mimicking your current data retrieval process. Picture this: you have 200 microfilm rolls stored away. When you’re searching for data, you typically check the cabinet labels, which might be organized alphabetically, like A through J. If you’re looking for a last name like Barry, you’d go to the section labeled A through J, locate the roll marked with B through C, and then dig into that roll. When you digitize, aim for a similar approach with a roll-level index—focus on the roll itself and the images within. It might mean capturing the name from the roll label and storing it in a corresponding digital folder, maybe as a PDF per roll.

Whatever system you choose, it should quicken the search process significantly, as you eliminate the hassle of loading and spinning physical microfilm. You might even benefit from OCR text search capabilities, significantly speeding up your digital searches. Unless it’s crucial to index or name individual files like a three-page document called “Barry” or a five-page document called “Christensen,” keep it simple by indexing at the roll level. You can always enhance the indexing details later if necessary. Try this approach without initially committing budget to extensive indexing until you’re sure it’s needed. Start simple, save some cash, and see how it goes. Chances are, it’ll streamline your workflow beautifully.

Let’s break this down: A typical 100-foot microfilm roll holds about 2,500 images. If you’ve got 200 of these rolls, that’s a total of 500,000 images. Now, imagine you’re only accessing around 5% of those over several years. That’s roughly 25,000 images you’re actually looking at, leaving 475,000 untouched.

So, why spend time and money on detailed indexing for all 95% of those images when you don’t really use them? Instead, index at the roll level. Utilize tools like OCR (Optical Character Recognition) to quickly find what you need by searching within the roll. This approach saves both time and resources since you won’t need every image at your fingertips.

Choose The Right Tool For The Job

The next hack: choose the right tool for the job.

Now, we’re a little biased, but we believe we have the best tool for microfilm records, which is Digital ReeL. It’s our secure, hosted application that was originally built for microfilm. Of course, it now encompasses other things like microfiche, aperture cards, paper files, books, digital media, and so on and so forth.

Do you have poor image quality on your microfilm? If so, try our grayscale image enhancement tool. It helps improve image quality, considering the old saying: beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Microfilm can look different due to various lighting and material quality, so you might have images that are lighter, darker, or out of focus on the same roll. If you ask to optimize these images, everyone might have a different idea of what that means.

Instead of spending a lot on fixing images you might not need, use our tool. If an image seems too dark, adjust it to make it brighter or increase the contrast to match your preference. Export it, and you’re done. The tool lets you personalize the grayscale enhancement to suit your taste, as someone else might like the same image darker or brighter. That’s the advantage of digital optimization with this tool.

Do you have a lot of microfilm data? If so, our Global Text Search tool can help you find what you need in seconds, whether you have 5,000 rolls or 100,000 rolls. Here’s the idea: you might not know exactly where your information is, but you know what you’re looking for. Maybe it’s a name, a student record, a health report, or a criminal file. Instead of wading through endless lists like in a traditional file system, you can use our tool, provided your microfilm is scanned with OCR technology. Just type in the search term, like “report 123456,” and you’ll see exactly where it appears across your entire collection, along with which roll it’s on and its location in your dataset. This eliminates the time-consuming search process. If the tool doesn’t find it due to OCR quality issues or missing data, you can always go back to the traditional method of locating the roll and searching by year or dataset. But, using Global Text Search is likely to save you loads of time and effort by taking you directly to the data you need.

Need a solution for hosting data? Let’s face it, setting up your own hosting solution can be quite the challenge. You’ll need servers, ample storage, robust security measures, and a dedicated team to keep everything running smoothly. It’s a lot to juggle. But, if your goal is to have a seamless record system that’s effortlessly accessible, whether from remote locations or specific IPs, and you’re lacking the resources to set it all up—worry not. Our comprehensive digital system includes two data centers—a primary and a co-located one, strategically placed apart. We’ve got all the infrastructure ready to host your data, so you can dodge the logistical headaches of maintenance, upgrades, and security measures. You’ll still have peace of mind about data safety, but without the burden of being at the helm. Let us take that off your plate, allowing you to zero in on what truly matters: accessing the data you need to excel at your tasks.

Anxious about potential data loss? That’s where Digital ReeL steps in. Beyond just storing your data, we offer backups, disaster recovery, and redundant hosting via our co-located data center. Should one center face a hiccup—say, a power outage or a disaster—our dynamic load-balancing kicks in, seamlessly rerouting your access to the alternative center. This setup ensures smooth operations, meaning you don’t need to fret over disruptions at your site. Whether it’s a catastrophe at your office or a snag near one of ours, our dual-center approach keeps everything balanced and your operations uninterrupted.

Choose A Reliable Microfilm Scanning Company

Last hack: choose a reliable microfilm scanning company.

The operative word here is, of course, reliable, and understanding what that really means is important.

First up, you need to find a company that knows your industry and the types of materials you’re dealing with. Can a microfilm scanning company have success without specific industry experience? Sure. But it’s helpful if they do because they understand the nuances.

So, if you’re a university registrar, have they worked with registrars before? For police departments, have they tackled similar projects? Or if you’re dealing with accounting records, have they handled that kind of data? It’s not mandatory, but having that industry insight can make things smoother, as they’ll be familiar with the language and types of records involved.

Now, touch on material types. Yes, it’s microfilm—but think beyond the medium to the content. Are we talking student records, police reports, legal documents, or land records? Does the company not only grasp your industry but also the specific type of materials on your microfilm? Choosing someone who gets the intricacies of your particular data can lead to better advice and smoother sailing than someone who just says, “Microfilm is all the same.” Sure, it’s microfilm, but the details matter, and the right partner will respect those details.

When thinking about experience, first check how long a company has been in business. A company being around for many years doesn’t automatically mean they offer the best service, but it often shows stability. For instance, if a company has lasted for 20 years, it probably isn’t terrible. However, a newer company might still be good—they may just lack the experience of an older company.

Also, look at how many projects they’ve completed. As Indiana Jones says in Raiders of the Lost Ark, “It’s not the years, it’s the mileage.” This means that you should consider both the years they’ve been in business and the number of projects they’ve handled. For example, a ten-year-old company with ten projects might be less appealing than a two-year-old company with fifty projects. The key is to evaluate both how long and how much experience they have

Next up, think about how the scanning company treats you from your first contact. Did they reply quickly when you reached out on their website? What is their communication style? Are they clear and friendly? Do they help you understand the process, or are they just trying to sell you something? When you ask questions, are their answers quick and useful? If they transfer you to someone else, is it smooth or confusing? Do you talk to the same person each time, or are you passed around to different people? Do you feel like a priority, or just another customer? It’s important for them to be transparent and keep you informed. If communication isn’t strong at the start, it may not get better later.

Finally, pay attention to security. Your records are important and should be protected whether they contain sensitive information or not. Look into how the scanning company keeps things secure, both physically and digitally. Are their facilities safe, and who can access the materials? Also, consider digital security: how do they protect your documents during scanning, and if online, what security is in place? Who can see this data? It’s crucial to know these details.

Hand using keycard to enter secure building

To make sure they meet standards, ask for proof of their security checks. For example, at BMI, we follow strict security rules and have yearly evaluations. We also have a third-party SOC 2 Type II audit, where an independent group checks our practices. Audits ensure the company is keeping your records safe, which is essential.

In Closing

By incorporating these four hacks into your microfilm digitization project, you’re setting the stage for a streamlined and more manageable experience. Whether it’s carefully preparing before you start, simplifying indexing, choosing the appropriate tools, or partnering with a reliable scanning company, these strategies will aid in transforming what might seem like a daunting task into a smooth process.

Next Steps

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Microfilm Digitization Hacks: 4 Ways To Streamline Your Project