Archiving Documents: Is Microfilm Dead?

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Archiving Documents

• Is Microfilm Dead?

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Archiving Documents
What is Microfilm?
When it comes to archiving documents, many terms
are used
microform, microfilm, microfiche, microcards,
etc.
Whats the difference among these terms?
Microform is the umbrella term under which the
other terms fall. Microforms are miniature
reproductions of documents made from photographic
techniques.
Three types of microforms exist microfilm,
microfiche and microcards.

• Microfilm is used for archiving documents on
  reels of tape.

• Microfiche produces films on flat sheets.

• Microcards are just like microfiche, but the film
  is on cardboard.

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Archiving Documents
What is Microfilm?
When it comes to archiving documents, many terms
are used
microform, microfilm, microfiche, microcards,
etc.

•  All types of microforms reduce images to a
  fraction of their original size.

• The images are typically negatives that must be
  viewed through special reader machines.

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Archiving Documents
Why is Microfilm Used for Archiving Documents?

• The main reason for archiving documents on
  microfilm is the huge amount of storage capacity.
  In other words, you can get a lot of images on a
  single roll of film.

• Countless organizations turned to microfilm for
  archiving documents.
• Some early examples include the NY Times,
  the Library of Congress, the Harvard
  University Library and the American Library
  Association.

• Archiving documents to microfilm protects them
  for decades. Some experts cite images will last
  even a century if properly stored. Microfilm
  doesnt fade or deteriorate. Its also hardy
  enough to not be easily destroyed.

• Try tearing a piece of microfilm by hand or
  writing on it -- its just impossible! Fire
  and shredders are microfilms only its real
  enemies.

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Archiving Documents
How the Reader Works

• When archiving documents to microfilm, they are
  produced on a machine that works much like a
  photocopier.
• - You take a picture, scale it
  down and print it.
• - The images are printed on
  special black and white film.

• To read images after archiving documents on
  microfilm, you need to use a special reader. -
  In many cases, you can actually see the images on
  film with your naked eye.

• The readers act like microscopes to enlarge the
  images on the microfilm.
• - The reading machines look like computer
  screens.
• - The microfilm is fed through the machine and
  projected to the screen.

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Archiving Documents
Is Archiving Documents on Microfilm Gone the Way
of the Dinosaur?

• The digital age has brought about new methods for
  archiving massive amounts of data.

• Microfilming for archiving has become less
  common.

- Digital scanning makes them easier to store and
index. - Digital information can also be
shared by multiple users.

• Archiving on microfilm still has its place.

- This trend will continue as new technologies
evolve and others become obsolete.

• Microfilming, time-tested for over a century,
  will most likely still be around for the next
  century.

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About the Author

• Kevin D'Arcy is VP of Sales and Marketing for MES
  Hybrid Document Systems, Ontario's leading
  document scanning and document management
  supplier.
• For more information about Archiving Documents,
  visit http//www.mesltd.ca.