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Microfilm Archive Digitisation

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microfilm archives
Digitising microfilm archives is becoming common practice in today's digital age. Museums, libraries and even local councils are doing it so let's take a closer look...

Importance of Archives

Archives are extremely important in today's society for the preservation or our history and heritage. Some people dedicate their entire lives to learning about our pasts and the history of the world and without archives this would never be possible. The concept of archiving has been around for thousands of years but back in the third and second millennia BC, they didn't have any option besides stone tablets to store the information on. Nowadays more and more people are converting old archives to a digital format because it seems to hold a superiority over the manual methods of old.

Why Go Digital?

Scanning microfilm archives can bring a large number of benefits including;

  • Cost Savings
  • Time Savings
  • Space Savings
  • Publicity and Reputation Boosts
  • Improved Security

But there are two main benefits that are particularly appealing and those are preservation and improved access. Storing archives digitally preserves the condition of the document from damage that can be caused by handling physical documents. It also ensures that, should the original microfilm be lost or destroyed, there will always be a digital copy of it. This is especially useful if it is historically important document as you will be able to safeguard the history contained in it.

A digital archive can also improve the accessibility of the materials previously only available by viewing rolls of microfilm. This is particularly useful for libraries and museums wishing to give public access to materials without the hassle and document safety worry of exhibiting the originals. Digitised archives can also be put online to be viewed by people all over the world making this access much quicker and wide-spread than keeping microfilm in a box gathering dust.microfilming old

Who Can Benefit?

Everyone who currently stores microfilm in hard copy archives can benefit from its digitisation. This includes businesses, academic institutions, governments, churches, media organisations and non-profit organisations because, as you can see from above, the benefits can be seen in a wide range of areas meaning that one organisation may see one benefit while another may see a different one. The main thing is that there's a benefit out there for everyone.

Archive Digitisation Services

Here at Pearl Scan, we provide a fully bespoke archives digitisation service for companies, organisations and individuals wanting to preserve files originally stored on microfilm. We have recently purchased a new scanner to ensure our clients get the highest quality scans in a very quick turnaround and all of our services are accredited to ISO quality and security standards. We can scan 16mm microfilm, 35mm microfilm and microfilm cartridges containing anything from HR records and contracts to architectural plans, blueprints and maps and convert them to digital images in PDF, TIFF or JPEG format.

If you would like some more information about how we scan microfilm or our specialist archives digitisation, give us a call or browse our website and blogs for some more interesting content.

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Document Scanning by Pearl Scan


The Scan-do Peopletm

For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923         London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

What Can The Digitisation of X-Rays Do For The NHS?

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Not a day goes by without the NHS being in the news from one 'crisis' to the next. Back in 2013, Jeremy Hunt stated that the NHS would be paperless by 2018 including the digitisation of x-rays so how exactly will that help?

X-Ray Scanning

X-Ray scanning is a fairly recent innovation so not a lot of people are aware of the benefits it can bring but let's just think about it for a moment. Society has been moving towards total digitisation for a long time now so it just makes sense to move medical processes in that direction too. The worst thing that could happen is for the NHS to be left in the stone age in terms of treating patients from this digital society especially when a simple change like scanning x-rays can bring all of these benefits and more...

Productivity

X-ray scanning brings with it the ability to search and retrieve x-rays instantly in a digital system rather than wasting time looking for the physical version. This feature alone can transform radiology departments and even the working days of individual doctors and nurses who can get their tasks completed quicker. So, digital x-rays can speed up processes without risking the lives of patients which leads me onto the next benefit.

Patient Waiting Timesx ray scanning

Last year, patient waiting times on the NHS were described as 'a national disgrace' and since then, there has been a great deal of focus on how things can be improved. With digital x-rays, processes can be completed quicker meaning more patients can be seen in a shorter space of time so patients waiting for x-ray diagnosis will have shorter waiting times.

Off-Site Diagnosis

The flexibility of digital x-rays means that when a second opinion or diagnosis is needed from a specialist who is off-site, the digital file can be sent to them instantly. They won't need to waste time and money traveling to a specific location when the file can be accessed from any device. This ability for a quick diagnosis could also potentially save lives.

Space

Aside from the boosts to efficiency and productivity, having x-rays scanned and converted to digital files will also help the NHS to free up some valuable and much needed space. Once the digital files have been created and backed up, there will no longer be a need to store the hundreds upon thousands of x-rays in patient records, on-site. This space can be better utilised in hospitals, GP surgeries and private healthcare organisations.

Image Quality

During the digitisation process, images can be scanned at very high resolution giving the image greater quality than the hard copy would have offered originally. This could enable healthcare professionals to notice and diagnose elements they would have missed on the original x-ray.

X-Ray Scanning Services

We can scan medical x-rays, dental x-rays, veterinary x-rays and MRI x-rays for healthcare organisations looking to reap the excellent benefits mentioned above. We have already completed a number of successful projects and we are always looking for more organisations we can help. X-rays ranging from 14"x17" right down to 44mm can be scanned and converted to any format you need including PDF, DICOM and JPG. We can even provide you with our specially designed image retrieval software, Halogen, if you don't already have a bulk document management system in place. So, if this sounds like the perfect solution for you, give us a call so we can discuss your requirements and provide you with a free, no obligation quote for your scanning project.

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Document Scanning by Pearl Scan


The Scan-do Peopletm

For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923         London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

Scan Photos and Let Your Memories Travel the World

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Digitising old photos, slides and negatives can enable you to show them to people, family and friends all over the world and it doesn't have to be as hard work as you think.

Scanning Photos

The first ever scanner was built in 1957 believe it or not but the process of scanning photos has only become commonplace in the past 20-30 years as digital cameras have replaced analogue versions. People scan their photos for a wide range of reasons including to preserve them and to organise them in a better way. Digitising images from photos, slides and negatives lets you store them in a safe way that is also cost effective and space saving. As well as the safe and secure benefit of scanned photos, a large number of people are now digitising their photos to share them with family, friends and, well, anyone really.

How People Are Sharing Their Photosnegative scanning services

In this increasingly digital society, there are now a huge range of ways people can share their digital images;

Email

Arguably one of the first ways digital images were sent, email has become one of the primary methods of communication for people separated from friends or family.

Social Media

The world of social media is now huge with the big players like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest attracting millions of visitors daily. A lot of us enjoy putting photos on our social media profiles of the memories we're making but also of past memories with #TBT (Throw Back Thursday) being an incredibly popular hashtag on a number of these site. Without the ability to scan photos, this trend would never exist.

Websites

A lot of people who use websites (and blogs) to promote personal brands and projects benefit from the ability to have digitised photos available for uploading. One of the biggest websites to benefit though is ancestry.com which relies on it's users to upload photos from family archives of relatives and ancestors to build family trees and networks.

CDs & DVDs

CDs & DVDs have become the photo albums of the digital world. Instead of boxes of albums gathering dust and taking up space in the attic, people can now store thousands of photos in a small pile of CDs.

Photo, Slide and Negative Scanning

Our services at Pearl Scan are there to help digitise archives of old photos, negatives and slides to enable people to share them in the ways mentioned above. Each photo, negative and slide scanning project is tailored to suit the needs of the different clients we help. We have seen our clients enjoy a wide range of benefits from having the images digitised and sometimes enhanced for better quality. For more information about how we scan slides, negatives and photographs at our secure scanning bureau, give us a call and request your free quote.

Request a Quote  |   Contact Us   |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Document Scanning by Pearl Scan


The Scan-do Peopletm

For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923         London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

Accreditations and Certifications

Accreditations and certifications

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Why choose us

  • Experience >

    We have over a decade of experience providing scanning services for some of the most reputable companies in the UK including blue chip companies and organisations as well as small businesses and private individuals. Some of our past clients have included NHS, local government, Manchester Metropolitan University, The University of Manchester, Aviva, BBC, Sky, Metropolitan Police, Environment Agency and many more.
  • Scalability >

    We have the infrastructure to support small-to-large, quick-to-long term scanning projects and with a capacity to scan 10 million images per month. This scalability provides a great deal of flexibility with the services we offer meaning we can tailor all of our services to suit the needs of each client and we will always try our best to accommodate any request.
  • Audited >

    We are backed up by external quality and security audits. Our operations have been audited and approved by many NHS, Local Authorities, Private blue chip companies and we pride ourselves on the high levels of quality and security we provide to each and every one of our clients.
  • Accreditations >

    We hold a number of ISO accreditations including ISO 9001 (Quality Management System), ISO 27001 (Information Management System) and EMS 14001 (Environment Management System) and Data Protection 1998. We are also a member of the Information and Records Management Society as well as being supporters of Investors in People and a member of The Skills Pledge.
  • Innovation >

    Our scanning bureau is fully equipped with state-of-the-art dedicated scanning hardware catering for a wide range of document types and sizes making us a one-stop service for your scanning and digital conversion cycle. We upgrade our scanners to keep in line with the latest scanning technology and ensure we are providing the best possible scanning service at all times.
  • Security >

    We operate from a custom built scanning bureau focussed on security, safety, confidentiality and scalability. The main building is monitored by Red Care security systems and has 24 hours internal and external CCTV. We are more than happy for you to come and visit our premises so we can show you how safe your documents are with us.
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