4 benefits of digitising historic microfiche and microfilm to include in your business case

Many organizations have been using microfiche and microfilm as a format for archiving purposes and long-term storage for many years. However, retrieving the information contained in them can be difficult, due to a number of reasons:

The difficult nature of the medium

The condition the files are in

How the files were filmed onto the microfiche

How the files should be organized

Having to adjust the files for density (i.e. light and dark frames)

On top of this, the machines needed to read microfiche and microfilm can break unexpectedly or simply wear out due to age. Spare parts can become incredibly expensive or are no longer available - likely due to not being supported by the OEM anymore. Therefore, companies need to consider scanning their archives stored on microfiche and microfilm into digital documents, in order to future-proof them into a format that can be more easily accessible.

Benefits of digitizing historical archives on microfiche and microfilm

Scanning Microfiche Online have been so widely used for a long time, so many companies feel that they are stuck with the process and that it isn’t possible to completely move away from it. However, technological advancements mean that it is now possible to digitize these documents and bring them up to date. There are a number of benefits to this digitization, including:

Reduced cost

Storing microfiche and microfilm and the cost of keeping the equipment needed to access them in order can be extremely costly, especially when they're old and replacement parts are expensive. By digitizing these documents, you can significantly reduce these costs. Because the files will be able to be accessed digitally, there is no need for complex, expensive equipment to read the files - they can be viewed as PDFs on everyday digital devices, such as a laptop, tablet or mobile phone.

Reduced risk

Storing physical microfiche and microfilm files manually can be extremely time-consuming and expensive, especially when you need to ensure the conditions are right for storing this type of medium. Microfiche and microfilm need to be stored in containers that will not damage the images or cause fading over time. Therefore it’s essential that the conditions are met if your historical archives are to last.. When these files are digitized, they can be encrypted and password-protected to ensure that only those with authority can access them. Additionally, it means you have a digital backup of your files stored on microfiche or film.

This means that organisations are less likely to encounter disasters such as irreversible damage or permanent loss, which ensures that historical archives are safe and future-proof.

Improved file access

With microfiche and microfilm files being in physical format, it means that anyone wanting to access them will have to locate and retrieve the right archive (providing they have been stored and indexed correctly). However, with digital versions of your archive, anyone needing to access a specific file will be able to no matter where they are, with a secure login to do so and without the need for specialized equipment.

More efficient storage

When organizations have a huge historical archive of microfiche and microfilm, not only is this extremely costly to maintain - it wastes valuable space - especially when you consider you need to be storing expensive readers as well. Digital files only take up virtual space and therefore don’t require a huge physical area to accommodate them. Once you have scanned and backed up files, the physical copies can be moved or disposed of to free up space which can then be used in a more efficient manner.