Articles | How Newspaper Archives are Converted to Digital Format

Everyday millions of Americans read newspapers as part of their morning ritual. This practice has been in place since the introduction of newspapers, and has provided the American public with news on a national and local scale. Despite its status as a reliable source of information, newspapers tend to be taken for granted. Though a significant portion of used newspapers makes its way to the recycling center, most used newspapers are either thrown away or used for other purposes. What most of us do not realize is that we are throwing away a valuable piece of history.

While it would be unreasonable for the average American to keep copies of used newspapers at home, large libraries and similar institutions have been maintaining newspaper archives for public use. Old and historical newspapers have been converted into microforms, the most common of which includes microfilms and microfiches. The information stored on microforms is viewed through specially designed viewing devices which display an image on a screen.

The development of microform imaging technology has provided organizations with an inexpensive yet compact method of archiving important documents. For example, a roll of microfilm can hold up to 1,000 images which correspond to 1,000 document pages. In the case of newspaper archives, a roll of microfilm can hold up to 1,000 newspaper pages. On the other hand, a microfiche sheet can accommodate about 100 images per sheet.

Early microforms produced up to the 1930s were printed on nitrate film. However, nitrate films were a fire hazard and were subsequently replaced with safer cellulose acetate films. Though acetate films were the safer alternative, nitrate films were cheaper to manufacture and more durable. When stored incorrectly, acetate films degrade quickly, destroying entire rolls in the process. In addition, acetate films were also vulnerable to tearing,

In view of these shortcomings , a more reliable and cost-effective means of preserving newspaper archives was needed. Advances in imaging technologies such as optical scanners, cameras, and projectors have made it possible to carry on the tradition of maintaining newspaper archives into the 21st century. The transition of microform images into digital format has enabled rapid conversion and distribution of information all over the world.

In a typical conversion setup, an optical scanner projects the microfilm into an array of charge-coupled devices which translate the data into a digital format. Since microforms are produced in different shapes and sizes, scanners have to be adjusted to accommodate a particular type of microform. After the data is digitized, specialized software converts the data into a standard image format. Once converted, the digital file can now be sent for archiving.

In terms of expenses, digitizing microfilm can be performed at the cost of around 15 cents per page. However, the cost could still go down since advanced equipment is becoming cheaper to produce. It is said that a large scale digitizing project involving millions of pages can reduce the production cost per page to a few pennies.