MICROFILM SCANNING

Our Microfilm Scanning Services output fully-indexed digital files.

Northwest's leading Kodak Microfilm Service, since 1977.

By nature, Digital Formatting is a temporary medium.

Technology is tough to keep up with. Once believed permanent, CD’s, tapes, and Optical Disks are outdated. In addition to storage, the software languages - UNIX, DOS, Linux, and Windows 3.1/95/2000 - 7, and soon Windows 8 – require modifications, new processes, and new equipment.

Imagine what would happen if our spoken language changed 7 times in 100 years! Entire cultures would be lost by the loss of understanding between the generations.

Each software release affects the storage and operations of the computer, making it impossible to continue work as we previously knew it.

On the other hand, documents record our work, events and our actions. Documents are the photo albums of our businesses, schools, and cities. They never change, and remain constant. The retention period for over 50% of our documents is either PERMANENT, or exceeds 20 years.

Blueprints 30 years

Original Draftings Permanent

Building permits 20 years

Cash books 25 years

Labor contracts 6 years after termination

Appraisals Permanent

Legal Charters Permanent

Mortgages Permanent

Employee earnings Permanent

Pension plan claims Permanent

Water Rights Permanent

Consolidated Financial Statements Permanent

Do you know which records you will need in 20, 50, or 100 years? Microfilm is the answer.

Do you need to be sure it can never be edited or changed? Microfilm is the answer.

Documents are kept for legal reasons from 7 years and 100 years. Some documents, like engineering drawings for public use buildings and bridges are permanent documents. The life of an average document is 20 years.

For records with a life beyond 10 years, proper storage calls for diversifying the type of media used. This will guard against loss due to technology and ensuring existence beyond computer obsolescence.

If the risk of loss is substantial, it is important to plan for recovery in the event of catastrophic disaster. This would be the case from a terrorist attack from an elevated nuclear detonation. While the buildings would remain, an EMP attack would have the same effect of total destruction due to fire.

While limited in destructive force, electromagnetic pulse (EMP) will erase electronic documents and files, across entire computer hard drives. Data recovery is impossible.

Safe, microfilm is the answer to protect information from water loss, technology changes, and electro-magnetic pulse.

FreeDoc is the northwest's leading Kodak Microfilm Service, operating the largest Kodak development lab in Puget Sound.

As part of our process, FreeDoc can offer full recovery and protection, on permanent microfilm. To recover, we simply digitize the film. Using this process, FreeDoc scanned over 20 million images in 2010.

We have the capacity to scan and convert up to 1 million images per day.

• Books

• Pages

• Binders

• Engineering drawings

• Electronic images

• Data streams

• email