Tag Archives: social security number

What’s On Your Permanent Record From School?

microfiche school record

“This is going on your permanent record!”

I scan microfiche for a living. I have seen all types of microfiche containing various documents. Such examples include medical records, land records, police records, building blueprints, sewer maps, aerial photographs, military personal records, National Archives, registers, newspapers, accounting and payroll records, marriage licenses, court transcripts, and countless other types of documents. In fact, almost anything that was created on paper documents has made it to microfiche at one point.

permanent record

Where Are Your Permanent Records, Anyway?

If you have ever wondering if your school permanent record really existed, I could vouch that it does. The majority of schools keep them on hard paper which look like folders, like a thin cardboard. Alternatives include microfilm reels or microfiche. The last couple of decades if schools allocate funds in their budget, they can have the paper, microfilm, and microfiche scanned to digital image, indexed by student name. Once digitized, the school can store the PDFs or TIFFs on their computers and/or server. Depending on state law, the paper, microfilm, or microfiche can be shredded or incinerated to save space in the school. So your permanent record will live on with the potential of unlimited copies- truly permanent (until the end of civilization, at least).

permanent record

What is On Your Permanent Records?

Depending on the local laws, your permanent record has your biographical information, such as name, date of birth, social security number, place of birth, parent’s names and telephone numbers, photo, date of registering and leaving, teachers’s names, grades, and standardized test results. There have been fear-mongering articles about data collection of pregnancies, mental health, and economic status, but I have not seen those on school permanent records. I have seen psych evaluations and write-ups, but not in school permanent records.

convert microfiche

What About The Bad Stuff?

That’s all I’ve seen in decades of converting school records to digital images. If you were expelled, obviously that would have been noted because you it meant you were transferred out to another school. If you were suspended, a note is made. However, if you had detention, were disciplined, yelled out, had a parent come up to settle an issue, talked during a firedrill, or other standard childhood mischief, don’t worry about it. In fact, for the most part only you have legal access to these records anyway.

So if a teacher or principal ever threatened you by saying your misbehavior was placed in your permanent record, it was just a threat of punishment. 99% of the information contained in your school permanent records are your boring contact information, grades, and test scores, which you need to transfer to another school or apply to a college/university.

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What is Computer Output Microfilm (COM fiche)?

What is Computer Output Microfilm (COM)?

Computer Output Microfilm (COM) is a system that converts stored data directly to microfilm or microfiche. I know around ten people who used to sell Bell & Howell Computer Output Microfilm systems as far back as the 1960s to the 1980s. It almost seems to be a prerequisite for salespeople in the micrographics industry from that era.

com fiche

COM recorder

Computer Output Microfilm systems are still used today, mostly by organizations who need to store payroll, accounting, insurance, inventory, or employee data. Yet because most of these organizations have outputted the Computer Output Microfilm to microfiche, they have to manually search for a record and use a reader printer to save out a particular file.

computer output microfilm

Old diagram of COM creation (microfilm)

 

A more feasible option is to convert Computer Output Microfilm to digital image via Generation Imaging’s microfiche scanning services. Generation Imaging specializes in microfiche to PDF, TIFF, or JPEG conversions.

Using high quality/high production microfiche scanners, we convert the COM microfiche to digital. Generation Imaging provides this COM fiche scanning service to end users as well as other service bureau’s. Clients can choose from Adobe PDF format, Group 4 TIFF (tagged image file format), or greyscale JPEGs. PDFs and TIFFs can be wrapped in a multi-page file. Generation Imaging offers an optional OCR (optical character recognition) image processing and other indexing services (by folder or filename).

The end result of this entire process is a digital image which you could easily search the file containing records by name, account number, date, and/or social security number. Obviously this saves time and efficiency.

computer output media

COM Fiche

Definitions of COM

1. Computer Output Microfilm: microfilm containing data, which is created by a recorder from computer generated electrical signals.
2. Computer Output Microfilmer: a recorder which converts data from a computer into language and records it on microfilm.
3. Computer Output Microfilming: a method of converting data from a computer into language onto microfilm.

You can substitute “microfilm” with “microfiche“.

Do you have microfiche to convert to pdf or digital image?

If so, please contact us today for a free microfiche scanning quote. Let us digitize microfiche for you. Generation Imaging has wholesale scanning prices, and is run by a specialized experienced team. With over 30 years of experience, we have seen all types  of microfiche. We have top notch customer service and a quick turnaround. CONTACT US