* Microfiche scanning

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janefrances
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Microfiche scanning

Post by janefrances »

Has anyone had any success with the above on a flatbed scanner? I have a lot of fiche that I would like to be able to burn to a CD.



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Valkrider
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Microfiche scanning

Post by Valkrider »

No luck with a flat bed scanner.

I have put mine on my fiche reader and then used my camera to photograph them and it has worked reasonably well. See small sample attached.

I have read that other people have had some success with both a film slide scanner and also a usb microscope that connects directly to a PC. Both these options require the cutting up of the fiche though.

Be aware that there may well be copyright restrictions attached to the source fiche.

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janefrances
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Microfiche scanning

Post by janefrances »

I would be happy with that too Valkrider, looks good to me, so took my camera and fiche down to my local family history centre and they allowed me to do this. I have had reasonable results. I used no flash and sat in the dark! lol[smile]
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gerrynuk
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Microfiche scanning

Post by gerrynuk »

Also looks good if you invert the colours:

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janefrances
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Microfiche scanning

Post by janefrances »

Mine came out a bit dark around the edges, and have had to lighten them up.

Looks like I will have to go back and do some of them again, any tips for the best results?

How did you invert the colours?
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gerrynuk
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Microfiche scanning

Post by gerrynuk »

janefrances said:
Mine came out a bit dark around the edges, and have had to lighten them up.

Looks like I will have to go back and do some of them again, any tips for the best results?

How did you invert the colours?
I used Picasa (free for Mac and PC). When you are in Edit mode click on the 4th Tab (Tool Tip is 'More fun and useful image processing') in the box on the left side of the screen and 'Invert Colours' is the second item in Row 3.
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tatewise
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Microfiche scanning

Post by tatewise »

In IrfanView use Image > Negative to invert colours.

Other Image options will help with lightening or improving contrast where needed.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Valkrider
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Microfiche scanning

Post by Valkrider »

The dark around the edges is something that happens with all fiche readers due to the lens and the bulb. There isn't much that you can do about it when you are taking the photo.

I found that the best results were with the camera on a tripod to ensure that the camera lens was in the same plane as the screen and it makes for fast repeatable shots. If your camera has a manual mode then set it appropriately, turn the flash off as you have found, shoot with the best quality images that your camera will take. If you can set the white balance on your camera set it to Tungsten.

There are many image editors Gimp, Photoshop, Photoshop Elements, Picasa, Irfan View and many more that will do the image inversion and some will allow you to lighten the dark corners too. If you have a lot of photos to process look at the automation features available in these programmes to repeat the same processing on all your photos.
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janefrances
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Microfiche scanning

Post by janefrances »

I went to my local family history centre again on Friday, reset my camera to Tungsten mode and tried again. I think the marriages came out quite well in terms of brightness and they were ok as I was just photographing the bottom half of the screen.

To get the whole screen in though I had to sit well back to get the whole page in for the burials. They didn't come out too well but they wasn't that good to start with.



Thanks to all for your help and tips. I managed to get rid of the darkness at the edges using a photo software editor.

[smile]
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Essexraptor
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Microfiche scanning

Post by Essexraptor »

I've actually found that Libaries sometimes provide a fiche photcopy service for newspapers etc.

I take notes of the info then get a photocopy request form from the desk.

Normally costs £1 a copy plus postage if your not local.

Recent request took 7 days with large A3 copies sent via post to my home address
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Alid19
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Re: Microfiche scanning

Post by Alid19 »

Hello,

I use a flatbed scanner to scan a microfiche, so please anyone tell me is there any problem with it or it will easily scan microfiche.???
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Valkrider
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Re: Microfiche scanning

Post by Valkrider »

I have found the resolution of my flatbed scanner to be insufficient for scanning fiche as the image is so small. YMMV.
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tatewise
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Re: Microfiche scanning

Post by tatewise »

Also, if the microfiche are mounted in a frame, similar to photography transparency slides, then they do not sit directly on the flatbed glass, and that upsets the optics. Our computer club uses a high resolution 6400 dpi Epsom V500 scanner with a slide attachment that holds the 35mm mounts and presumably adapts the optics.
Mike Tate ~ researching the Tate and Scott family history ~ tatewise ancestry
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Re: Microfiche scanning

Post by jimlad68 »

if you get a flatbed scanner such as Canon 9000F mark 2
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Canon-CanoScan ... 00BQ9Z00E/
or the Epsom V500 mentioned by Mike above (There are others like them and better):
These are designed to scan transparencies + slides etc, and they have a built in back light. They are not as good as dedicated slide copiers, BUT, you can scan larger negatives (you do not need to use the slide holder, but have to be careful where you place the negative as the 'high def' does not cover the whole machine). e.g. I use mine for my mum's old 3x2 inch kodak B&W negatives (approx 1940/50s) and considering it was a box camera gives some very good results.

But you need time, and lots of it! I also have a dedicated slide copier, but this is very very very slow, so unless it is something really important I use a Wolverine F2D Super https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wolverine-Digi ... B00RD8MDIE, lots of similar models which is basically a camera. But much quicker and considering the cost and speed satisfactory for many purposes.

Whatever method you use, there will probably be color etc corrections to be made, which can again be time consuming and frustrating, after many years I think I have a simplish solution which works most of the time if anyone is interested.
Jim Orrell - researching: see - but probably out of date https://gw.geneanet.org/jimlad68
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Valkrider
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Re: Microfiche scanning

Post by Valkrider »

contich1940 wrote:Hey Valkrider, But my flatbed scanner is very effective for delicate vintage photographs, papers and other documents which are fragile.
A microfiche is a very small photograph and a lot of flatbed scanners are not of high enough resolution to scan them readably.
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