On the 24th & 25th of October Paul Negus – Managing Director of Genus, attended the “Microfilming in the Digital Era” conference held at The Russian National Public Library for Science and Technology (GPNTB) Moscow, to present his speech entitled “Microfilm in 2017 -Back to the Future 2!”. The overall theme of the conference was to discuss and summarise the future of Microfilming with examples from both federal agencies and leading industry experts. Among the speakers were such authorities as The Russian Federal Archive Agency, The Federal State Unitary Enterprise & The Research Institute of Standardisation and Unification, the affiliated Tula Research Institute of Reprographics and “DIMI Center” – the exclusive Russian reseller for Genus and Fujifilm – and one of the organisers of the event.
During plenary meetings and roundtable discussions the speakers & attendees discussed the following:
- The current position of microfilming in Russia & abroad
- Modern technologies for creating insurance documentation funds, by using digital copies;
- Application features for the creation of insurance documentation funds in the industry, library and archive services.
- An overview of the current microfilming equipment and consumables available in the market;
Opened by the Deputy Head of The Russian Archive Agency Mr. O. Naumov, the Head of GPNTB Mr. Y. Shrayberg, and the General Director of LLC “DIMI-CENTER” Mr. S. Timirgaliev. Over 80 people attended in person with a following 39 joining the online video conference and a further 36 on the second day.
Presentations and speeches from the day included:
Mr. S. Timirgaliev – general director of LLC “DIMI-CENTER – Is there a future for microfilming?
Mr. I. Lyaschuk – head of the projects & Mr. K. Serookiy product-manager of LLC Philax – Modern technologies of digital data preservation
Mr. Y. Breslav. (LLC «NPP “Tasma”»). Modern state of production of silver halide photographic materials at LLC «NPP “Tasma”»
Mr. P. Zavalishin (affiliated Tula Research Institute of Reprographics). Modern insurance fund of documentation and digital technologies
Mr. B. Abramov (LLC “DIMI-CENTER”). Microfilming, electronic copies and Archive-writers (COM-systems), the comparison of technologies
Mr. Paul Negus (Genus, UK). Present-day experience of microfilming technologies for preservation of information worldwide
Mr. Alexander Sander (Zeutschel, Germany). Analogue and digital microfilming
Mr. Roman Schonfeld (MICROBOX, Germany) The future of microfilming from the producer’s point of view
Mr. Y. Belenkiy (LLC «ARGENTUM DIGITAL») Technologies of digital microfilming in Russia
This conference was an excellent opportunity for some of the big players in the microfilm industry to discuss where microfilm technology currently is and what type of equipment and solutions are available to microfilm users.
The article by Paul Negus is detailed here: Microfilm in 2017 – Back to the Future 2!
Paul considers this document very much a starting point for creating a white paper on the current position of the microfilm industry in the next 6 months. He would warmly welcome input from other microfilm specialists and consultants. So please feel free to share your experiences of microfilm equipment, microfilm usage, current microfilm projects, microfilm standards and new microfilm technology. Then, with your permission, Paul will compile this information into a white paper that will be available to everybody for free distribution.
Please leave your responses in the comments box below.
Hi Paul, Western Micrographics (& Imaging Systems) has been in the Microfilm Business since 1971. We have Both a Film Based Service Bureau (with scanning) & Equipment Sales Office (wholesale & retail). Current Trends we see-
1. Microfilm Primarily remains Active and Film still Produced by, or for- City, County, State, & Federal Govt. Libraries and some Business’s have Microfilm Collections that are not Economical to Digitize- and still use/retrieve. Most use Modern digital Reader/Scanner/Printers.
2. Microfilm Based Service Bureaus are Rare (and fewer every year) Most have gone out of business, or to Document Scanning & Doc Mgmt Systems Sales(some of these do offer microfilm scanning) Competition in Film Scanning (and even with the Scanner Manufacturers) is Very High.
3. Microfilm Equipment- Very little new equipment being made, especially analog. Parts and supplies for older equip can be a problem. Used/Reconditioned market is fairly strong here, primarily because there are only a few competitors. Digital Reader Printers, archive Writers, and Production Film Scanners are our biggest sellers.
The European Manufactures have a small Presence here (Primarily avail. thru Crowley)
4. Microfilm Professionals- Most have Retired or Passed away, sometimes creating a knowledge void in the remaining Microfilm Users, especially in Govt. (I started Microfilm when I was only 16, so am still around – now 63)
First let me declare my interest. My early career was in publishing, initially with The Economist and subsequently with the International Publishing Corporation which was a giant conglomerate formed from the leading magazine and technical publishing houses in the UK.
I was moved to the R&D division of IPC which was charged at looking at the future potential for the Group and the exploitation of new technology for information distribution and management. This included my being appointed as the Director and General Manager of a company producing a European version of a large American microfilm-based catalogue file which provided engineers with data sheets for components approved for use in the US defence industry.
The system used 16mm camera microfilm and involved diazo duplication at volumes that exceeded the capacity of existing UK service facilities, so we adopted in-house production and I had to acquire experience in creating, duplicating and preserving microforms.
Other experiments at IPC included high speed photo-typesetting using laser technology. This was closely linked to COM although the end product was a full-sized paper master instead of a microform. As an independent mind unconnected with any manufacturer I was invited by BSI to chair a new committee to produce standards for COM and I eventually took over the Chair of the committees responsible for all BSI and ISO micrographic standards.
In his excellent draft, Paul Negus has drawn attention to these standards and I think that they are possibly the most important factor in securing a future place for microfilm in archiving. Virtually every aspect of micrographics is covered by standards and – most importantly – they are respected and closely adhered to by all manufacturers of equipment and supplies. The result is that roll microfilm produced in the 1930’s is still fully compatible with modern film scanners and fiche image formats are sufficiently regulated to permit automated scanning. This is not the case for digital files.
I formed my consultancy – G G Baker & Associates – in 1968 to provide impartial advice to users and suppliers of micrographics and soon became something of a specialist in COM, both from the equipment side where I assisted in the design of an early 16mm COM recorder but also on the user side where I advised many clients – including a large number of vehicle manufacturers who were designing systems for parts and service literature distribution on microfiche.
Paul has rightly mentioned COM as a major current component in micrographic applications because it is an economic, rapid and widely available method of converting digital data to film. An increasing amount of material for secure archiving will arrive in digital format and the future for COM seems secure.
The conversion of paper to film used to be via cameras and this is still the case for specialised requirements, but there are now virtually no rotary cameras on the market because paper to film conversion is increasingly a two-stage process. Sophisticated high-speed document scanners are widely available to digitise and assist in indexing large paper files which are used until they qualify to be archived. It is then a simple matter to use COM to convert them to film.
I mention the indexing of the files because this is a vital part of file conversion. A digital index can be searched by multiple parameters. Microfilm is usually retrievable only via limited options and many systems offer a single method of search. This is a subject which must be considered.
Although it is limited to the UK, my website at http://www.microfilmtoday.info contains data sheets for most available equipment, UK service providers and a list of current standards together with an extensive basic introduction to micrographics. It is free to all with no need to register and it is surprisingly active. Rumours regarding the death of micrographics are greatly exaggerated!
In conclusion, I support the current proposals and wish Paul every success in his efforts.
Gerald Baker