Microfilmer
Encyclopedia
A microfilmer is a machine used by the document management industry to create microfilm. These machines are also often called "imagers" in the industry. A microfilmer is a camera
that is used to photograph
documents to create a more compact and permanent record of the original in the form of roll-film or microfiche. Once the information contained on a paper document has been recorded onto microfilm, the information can be viewed later on a microfilm reader or viewer, or reproduced in paper form on a microfilm reader-printer.
Banking and insurance companies often convert their paper records using microfilmers. Libraries often keep newspapers and magazines which have been converted to roll-film or microfiche form using microfilmers. Microfilmers are often used to preserve government records. Many companies have switched from microfilm to digital imaging systems, which offer more convenient computer retrieval of records.
Microfilmers come in two basic configurations: planetary and rotary. A planetary microfilmer takes a snapshot of a stationary document held on a flat surface. While the picture is being taken, the film and the document do not move. In a rotary microfilmer, both the document and the film are moving in sync with one another while the picture is being taken. This allows for quicker filming of the document. Planetary microfilmers typically offer higher image resolution than rotary filmers, and can more readily film larger documents, as well as odd-shaped documents, such as books.
In the 1951 film When Worlds Collide
, a roomful of planetary filmers and their operators are shown as they race against time to preserve crucial books for survivors of a doomed Earth.
Camera
A camera is a device that records and stores images. These images may be still photographs or moving images such as videos or movies. The term camera comes from the camera obscura , an early mechanism for projecting images...
that is used to photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
documents to create a more compact and permanent record of the original in the form of roll-film or microfiche. Once the information contained on a paper document has been recorded onto microfilm, the information can be viewed later on a microfilm reader or viewer, or reproduced in paper form on a microfilm reader-printer.
Banking and insurance companies often convert their paper records using microfilmers. Libraries often keep newspapers and magazines which have been converted to roll-film or microfiche form using microfilmers. Microfilmers are often used to preserve government records. Many companies have switched from microfilm to digital imaging systems, which offer more convenient computer retrieval of records.
Microfilmers come in two basic configurations: planetary and rotary. A planetary microfilmer takes a snapshot of a stationary document held on a flat surface. While the picture is being taken, the film and the document do not move. In a rotary microfilmer, both the document and the film are moving in sync with one another while the picture is being taken. This allows for quicker filming of the document. Planetary microfilmers typically offer higher image resolution than rotary filmers, and can more readily film larger documents, as well as odd-shaped documents, such as books.
In the 1951 film When Worlds Collide
When Worlds Collide (film)
When Worlds Collide is a 1951 science fiction film based on the 1933 novel co-written by Philip Gordon Wylie and Edwin Balmer. The film was shot in Technicolor, directed by Rudolph Maté and was the winner of the 1951 Academy Award for special effects....
, a roomful of planetary filmers and their operators are shown as they race against time to preserve crucial books for survivors of a doomed Earth.