Wednesday 30 July 2014

What You Need To Know About Microfiche And Microfiche Scanners

By Paulette Mason


Microfiche or which is commonly known as microphotographs is a type of microform which is a term used to define a miniature copy of a file or a document. A microfiche is made of film, which is thin and small in size. Because of this attribute, microfiches are commonly used in large establishments to preserve documents without needing to expand their space. Today, there are several ways for you to digitalize it. One way, is by using microfiche scanners.

Today, even though more of our documents are now digitalized there are some advantage a fiche can do compared to the digital one. This includes, a potentially longer life span which is essential in storing important information that needs to be stored in a longer amount of time. Some libraries are still using this because of that characteristic.

Unlike digital formatted files, fiches cannot be observed by just looking at it with your eyes. You would not see anything if you do it that way. There are specific machines that need to be used for you to be able to see the content of a microfiche. This makes it a lot safer.

Today, optical scanners are now available. The scanner works like a printer which will scan in the fiche and transfer the scanned information to the computer. Once it is already scanned, it can be converted to a digital format for readability.

The most popular way of converting a fiche to a digital version is by converting it to PDF. Some formats, is compatible as well, like TIFF which is an image based format. The process of conversion will result in a multiple pages of PDF file.

Nowadays, modern computers need a certain kind of software to install for you to be able to use it in a way you want it to. In contrary, micro photographs have specific machines that only function to read micro images without installing software, updates and license keys. This makes it a lot more convenient to use than a computer.

All fiches are made with a polyester material in which the images or a document is printed. The material used is very stable and if kept in a controlled temperature can last up to 500 years. On the other hand, most CD ROMS nowadays can only last between 75 to 100 years, depending on the material it was made of.

Some organizations, like those organizations that has valuable documents that need to be preserved uses fiche to prevent loss or damage. This kind of data storage can be beneficial for the safeness of your data because of the special machines that it needs to have before it can be of use. In fact, this format can be a little interest of some thieves.

There are a lot of ways you can store your valuable documents, but ensuring that it is safe is the most important factor. If you consider using a digital format, then make sure it is all backed up and scanned thoroughly. Either way, if you prefer microfiches, then keep in a controlled environment, to ensure it will last.




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