[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
Re: digital imaging rfps
Mr. Myers,
a colleague of mine forwarded your posting on the Archives listserve about
wanting to set up an imaging facility at your institution.
Here at the Nebraska State Historical Society we have established a Digital
Imaging Laboratory to service not only the needs of the Society, but other
institutions as well. We are a full-service digital outsourcing lab located
in our Conservation Center. The lab is operated by museum trained personnel
and our three conservators are available for consultation should there be
any question about original material being damaged during the scanning
process.
The Lab is outfitted with a Scitex EverSmart Pro scanner and a PhaseOne FX
4x5 digital camera. The Scitex has a maximum uninterpolated resolution of
3,175 pixels per inch and the FX has a maximum file size of 380MB. Both of
these tools offer very high end scanning to ensure that the originals will
never have to be scanned again.
I understand your desire to have a digital imaging facility in-house.
Please consider us as an alternative to purchasing equipment and paying
staff time. The main reason to not open your own lab is the high cost of
maintaining state-of-the art equipment, not to mention training, and finding
technicians you trust to handle your one-of-a-kind material. It takes more
than a knowledge of computers and PhotoShop to properly handle originals
materials, and creating a good scan is not just letting the scanner's
automatic settings work for you.
If you do choose to open your own facility be sure to choose the right
equipment. In order to have a scanner that can do everything from glass
plates to photographic prints to manuscripts, you have to spend a lot of
money...upwards of $30,000 just for the scanner. Then you are limited by
the size of the scanner bed, so you'll need a digital camera, again very
high-end, that can digitally capture large materials.
The point to spending all this money, is of course, to scan the material
once, so you don't have to scan it again, so you can limit access to the
originals. That is very good planning, but will require a big investment in
equipment.
Setting up a digital imaging lab requires long-term commitment from your
institution. You have to think about upgrading equipment, file refreshment,
and permanent staff.
Good luck with your project. If you'd like more information about our lab
and our services, please give me a call or send an email.
Jill Marie Koelling
Curator of Photographs
Head, Digital Imaging
Nebraska State Historical Society
PO Box 82554
Lincoln, NE 68501-2554
402-471-4409
koelling@nebraskahistory.org
A posting from the Archives & Archivists LISTSERV List!
To subscribe or unsubscribe, send e-mail to listserv@listserv.muohio.edu
In body of message: SUB ARCHIVES firstname lastname
*or*: UNSUB ARCHIVES
To post a message, send e-mail to archives@listserv.muohio.edu
Or to do *anything* (and enjoy doing it!), use the web interface at
http://listserv.muohio.edu/archives/archives.html
Problems? Send e-mail to Robert F Schmidt <rschmidt@lib.muohio.edu>