Tag Archives: microfiche scanners

What is a Microfiche Scanning Company?

Not All Microfiche Scanning Companies are the Same

Is hard to believe that so many companies or governments still use microfiche cards for archiving. In our microfiche scanning company we transfer thousands of microfiche to digital formats all the time. It is good to know that a microfiche scanning company can transfer your microfiche to pdf, jpeg, or tiff images, and this is not very expensive if you find the right scanning company. We have helped hundred of companies and individuals that decided to transfer their archived data.

Scanning Company That Services All Your Imaging Needs

The microfiche scanning company you select to scan your microfiche cards will help you choose from the many options available for you digital scanning system. We help out customers from the very early stages of their microfiche conversion project. We believe that planning is extremely valuable for the scanning company and for the customer. Therefore, we take the time to test and inform customers at the very early stages. For example, our scanning company provides free test scanning for every project. This process gives a customer good feedback and assures that the communication good between the customer and the scanning company.

Experience and reliability are also good qualification of an efficient microfiche scanning company. You want to feel the work is guaranteed. Make sure that you can speak to your microfiche scanning company representative and the project manager. When you have a question or concern, getting quick response from your microfiche scanning company is essential.

Most micrographics companies sell hardware, software, or perform paper document scanning or microfilm services, or even sell microfiche scanners. It is rare to find a company which focuses on microfiche conversion specifically. CONTACT US

Signs You Should Invest in Microfiche Scanning

When Should You Convert Microfiche?

Okay, so you either work with microfiche in your office OR you have come across a project which requires microfiche conversion. What are the signs saying you should invest in microfiche scanning?

You Have Too Many Microfiche

It may be hard to organize and work with thousands of microfiche cards on a daily basis or even to deal with the occasional microfiche request. On one end of the coin, you may have gotten used to dealing with so many microfiche- and perhaps it is even job security- but if you want to make your life easier and save your organization money, you might as well bite the bullet now. In fact, you may be surprised how inexpensive a microfiche conversion is compared to the labor already invested.

scan microfiche

Your Microfiche is Decaying

Microfiche will get damaged from overuse, light, poor humidity, chemicals, water, cockroaches, and poor storage. If the microfiche starts to smell badly (like vinegar) you need to scan that microfiche as soon as possible or risk catastrophic loss. If you are not currently using standard microfiche preservation techniques, you are in trouble.

How to Perform Microfiche Scanning

If you or your organization has COM fiche, 35mm or 16mm microfiche jackets, step and repeat microfiche, or other types of microfiche, I’m sure you have wondered about how to digitize microfiche to PDF. The simplest way is to simply e-mail or call a scanning company like Generation Imaging to get a microfiche scanning quote.

Microfiche scanning requires specialized machinery called microfiche scanners, manufactured by such companies as Mekel, Sunrise, NextScan, and others. Microfiche scanners are not easy to set up and require microfiche scanner maintenance plans, experienced labor, and a whole network configuration. They also cost a ton of money.

Converting microfiche to digital images makes your life easier. Many microfilm government RFP bids require microfiche conversions as well, so if you come across a microfiche conversion job, feel free to contact this scanning company and see how you’d like to partner up. CONTACT US

Microfiche Scanning Costs: How much does converting microfiche cost?

How Much Does it Cost to Scan Microfiche?

The price of a microfiche scanning project varies from vendor to vendor, just like other free markets. However, you may be surprised just how much it varies and the reasons why they do.

Let us compare the public advertised prices from four microfiche conversion companies:

cost to scan microfiche

Company A’s microfiche scanning price

 

microfiche conversion quote

Company B’s microfiche scanning price

 

microfiche scanning cost

Company C’s microfiche scanning price

 

how much microfiche scan

Company D’s microfiche scanning price

Why Are There Price Differences in Microfiche Digitizing?

Let’s pretend you have a collection of 500 microfiche jackets, containing 45 images each, and want them to be scanned.

Company A: $600.75 to $1000 (says a card has 75 images, so looks like they could charge you price per card if you have 45 images)
Company B: $1,800
Company C: $3,000
Company D: $1,350

The sad part? Our company, Generation Imaging, is so much lower than these four prices that it makes us feel sad that so many people overpay. It makes us want to vomit.

Microfiche Scanner Speed

If a microfiche scanning service bureau has high-production scanners made by NextScan, Mekel, Sunrise, and a couple of others, they could convert more microfiche per hour than a cheaper scanner or reader printer. The high-end scanners cost tens of thousands of dollars and require expert technical skill to operate. The lower-end microfiche machines still could run you $10-$15,000 but the time it takes to scan one microfiche is time consuming. A microfiche machine like reader printer could be much slower, especially if you could only capture one frame at a time manually. There are also “mid-level” microfiche scanners which cost tends of thousands of dollars but do not have superior scanning speed like the above listed microfiche scanners.

Subcontracting or Commissions

Because microfiche scanning is such a niche market, many companies which advertise that service actually use a subcontractor to perform the work. There is nothing wrong with this, per se, however since the large company is the lead generator and assumes the risk of the transaction, they have to mark-up the microfiche scanning price, as capitalism dictates.

Similar to subcontracting, salespeople work on commissions. Whether it is an independent salesperson who sets up a website or one which works for a large company which advertises microfiche scanning but does not have microfiche scanners, they need to get their percentage.

Cost of Labor for a Microfiche Conversion

A microfiche scanner operator’s salary varies from state to state (and country to country) and varies on scanner operator experience and technical skill. Larger projects require more operators, supervisors, and managers.

Greed or Ignorance

It is very possible that a document scanning company simply does not know what the current microfiche scanning prices are. They may not have done their market analysis or due diligence. More insidious, is that they do know the market but continue to charge high prices simply because…they can. Most people looking for microfiche scanning prices online will click on the first ad or website that comes up via Google search and not even check out the other websites to compare prices.

Be sure to contact Generation Imaging for a free microfiche scanning quote.

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What You Don’t Know About Buying a Used Microfiche Scanner

Looking to buy a cheap used microfiche scanner?

There are a handful of high grade technologically marvelous microfiche scanner manufactures. Because they put so much time and money into research and development costs in a competitive niche industry, they are very protective of their products. For the most part, the major microfiche scanners do not sell officially used equipment.
Yet third-party microfiche scanner sellers advertise discounted scanner prices and gave good marketing campaigns.
Before you buy a used microfiche scanner, consider these facts:

Software licenses are non-transferable

buy used microfiche scanner

Legally, microfiche scanning software is licensed to the original purchaser of the unit and is not transferable to the new owner without the software publisher’s expressed permission. It is possible that the software could no longer work should you purchase used equipment (and definitely forget about updates), and there will probably be an additional cost for a new software license.

Used Microfiche Scanners Are Bought “As Is”

When you buy a microfiche scanner “as is,” that purchase is from a private seller. If you agree to the “as is” terms, you may have little to no recourse under the law if something goes wrong or if the microfiche scanner turns out to not be what the seller says it was. To add insult to injury, you probably were already on the hook for shipping costs paid for all of half of the microfiche scanner at the point.
Caveat emptor is the principle that the buyer alone is responsible for checking the quality before the purchase is made.

Waiver of Rights for Technical Support

You will not be eligible for software updates, upgrades, or maintenance help. If you call the microfiche scanner manufacturer, you will not get technical help, equipment parts, or support. You will need to pay for a new service contract.

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Microfiche Scanning Cost: Ugly Truths

How much does it cost to scan microfiche?

How much does it cost to scan microfiche? What is the price to convert microfiche to digital images? The cost of microfiche scanning depends on the microfiche type. 

Step 1 is to identify the type of microfiche to be digitized.

Step 2 is to determine the estimated volume of the microfiche digital conversion.

  • COM fiche has around 208 to 270 frames and is computer generated.
  • Jacketed microfiche generally contain under 70 images per card (usually they have a few rows of 16mm film strips).
  • Step-and-repeat microfiche can fall under either fiche category depending on the image layout on the fiche card. The same can be said for rewritable microfiche.
  • 35mm microfiche jackets have a minimum fee per card since there are only 1 to 6 images on them.

Published Microfiche Scanning Prices

Taking a look at four microfiche scanning companies who advertise online, we get varied pricing structures:

cost to scan microfiche

Company A’s microfiche scanning price

 

microfiche conversion quote

Company B’s microfiche scanning price

 

microfiche scanning cost

Company C’s microfiche scanning price

 

how much microfiche scan

Company D’s microfiche scanning price

 

Let’s pretend you have a collection of 1000 35mm microfiche, containing 6 images each (ergo, 6000 images), and want them to be scanned. Granted the price lists seem a bit confusing, but this is the best we could interpret them to be:

Company A: $2,000
Company B: $1,800
Company C: Doesn’t say 35mm fiche, but let’s hope it’s less than $6,000
Company D: $2,160

Our microfiche scanning company, Generation Imaging, would be way under all of those prices.

Why is there such a variance in microfiche scanning costs?

Not Knowing the Microfiche Market

It is possible that a document scanning company simply does not know what the current microfiche scanning prices are because they are not focused on the microfiche industry. Many large corporations sell software, document scanning, or equipment sales. They may not have done their microfiche fiche scanning market analysis.

Middlemen

Microfiche scanning is a niche market, and many companies which advertise microfiche digitization services may use a subcontractor to perform the work. There is nothing wrong with this, however since the corporation  assumes the risk of the sale, they mark-up the microfiche scanning price. Salespeople work on commissions. An independent salesperson may set up a website which advertises microfiche scanning but may actually not have microfiche scanners. They get their commission, which increases your price.

Cost of Labor to Convert Microfiche

Worker salaries vary by jurisdiction and is based upon microfiche scanner operator experience and skill. Every project needs a client representative, microfiche preparer, microfiche scanning operator, quality control auditor, supervisor, manager, shipper, and accounts payable.

Microfiche Scanner Speed Times

If a microfiche scanning company has scanners made by respected manufacturers such as NextScan, Mekel, Sunrise, and a couple of others, they have the ability to convert more microfiche per hour than a lesser known scanner. The high production microfiche scanners cost tens of thousands of dollars and require expert technical skill to operate. The lower-end microfiche machines still could run you up to $15,000 but the time it takes to scan one microfiche is time consuming. A microfiche machine like reader printer is slower, especially if you are forced to save out one frame at a time manually. There are also “mid-level” microfiche scanners which cost tends of thousands of dollars but do not have superior scanning speed or quality enhancers. CONTACT US