Most microfilm scanners try to produce
images on the fly as the film passes through the machine. This leaves the
scanner only one opportunity to detect the views (process in which the machine
identifies individual views on a section of the film and segments them into
separate image files) and to perform other necessary intensive tasks such as
straightening, cropping, sharpening, etc. If there is a change in the film
density (difference between the lightest and darkest images), an image may be
cut in half due to a misfire in the view detection process, or even be entirely
missed.
To be able to remedy this type of error,
it is necessary to be able to identify a missed view (which is not an easy task
with a reel comprising thousands of images), to locate it physically on the
reel (even less easy task), re-digitize it correctly and then insert / replace
it manually in the original batch of images. It is a very time consuming and
expensive process, which is why most providers do not offer it. As far as the Digitization
Services are concerned, this is important.
The
Capturing of the Microfilms
By capturing each microfilm reel in
'continuous tape', that is to say by including all the empty spaces between the
views on the film as well as the views themselves, we can perform a detection
of the views as often as necessary , and thus perfectly capture each view
present on the reel. View frames can even be redrawn by the operator, just by
dragging them with a mouse.
Quality
control and image enhancement
Their operators spend the majority of
their time checking the quality and adapting the images before they are
produced (not after), in order to avoid any corrections being made to the final
images. We check the quality of each image and, if there is a need to make
corrections, they are made immediately. A final quality control confirms that
all of the above steps have been completed correctly. In addition, their SRP
system has on-board quality control functions, like all scanners used. Their
Quality Supervisor is automatically notified by the SRP system in the event of
a quality problem.
Last
Words
We also apply automatic and manual image
enhancement functions: automatic white balance, manual or automatic image
rotation, cropping / cropping (e.g. removing black edges), automatic framing,
splitting of 2 adjacent images out of 2 pages, automatic straightening to
eliminate the tilting of an image which prevents it from being perfectly framed
on the page or screen, conservation / deletion of backer boards or blip counter
digits, etc. Important detail, the SRP image enhancement module uses a 16-core
server dedicated exclusively to image processing after scanning, and performs a
series of complex algorithmic image enhancement functions.
