Microfiche scanning with format context

Name the fiche type before counting it

A common fiche sheet measures about 105 × 148 mm, but that size does not make every sheet alike. Source-document or step-and-repeat fiche records images photographed directly from documents. COM, or computer-output microfilm, records computer-generated output. Jacket fiche is a plastic carrier containing one or more channels of cut film strips; it is a filing form, not a fixed grid.

Ultrafiche refers to very high reduction, above 90:1 in Library of Congress guidance. Its layouts are not standardized, so a representative review is especially useful. Identifying the fiche header, polarity, reduction when known, image layout, and physical condition gives a stronger starting point than sheet count alone.

Treat headers, grids, and frames as evidence

The fiche heading can be an important finding aid, and the frame grid can support a stable reference such as row and column. Those relationships should be retained where they matter to a user. A jacket adds another layer: a frame may need to remain connected to its jacket, channel, strip, and visible label rather than be treated as an isolated page image.

Film quality, focus, density, scratches, curled sheets, shifted strips, and original reduction affect usable results. NEDCC notes that a poor-quality microfilm source produces a poor-quality scan. A sample can therefore inform the requested derivative, indexing detail, and OCR expectations without representing all fiche as identical.

Define retrieval at collection, fiche, and frame levels

For a collection, a project may use series, department, system, or date span. At fiche or jacket level, it may capture a header, fiche number, jacket number, format, sequence, and reduction. At frame level, a source-page number, row and column, account or case reference, report period, or other approved field can connect a user to a specific image.

OCR can help users search printed content, particularly on report-style output, but it does not replace fielded indexing when a record must be retrieved by a reliable identifier. Tiny characters, high reduction, complex columns, uneven density, damage, unusual fonts, and handwriting can limit text recognition.

Prepare a clear fiche project brief

Helpful starting information includes sheet, jacket, drawer, or box counts; visible headers; known grid patterns; any existing index; mixed formats; and the destination or retrieval question. Keep related fiche, jackets, labels, and existing order together during inventory. Record uncertainty rather than guessing a reduction ratio or film material from age alone.

National Microfilm can review scanning, indexing, OCR, and document-management delivery requirements around the collection you have. Requested fields, file roles, and the destination workflow are agreed for the project rather than inferred from the word microfiche.

Jacket fiche conversion: keep channels, strips and frames connected

A fiche jacket carries separate film strips inside channels. It should not be treated as an interchangeable grid of identical pages. Jacket identifiers, channel and strip positions, gaps and the frame sequence can be useful retrieval context. Confirm which relationships need to survive in the delivered files and metadata before deciding on sheet-level or frame-level grouping.

For COM and source-document fiche, the header and actual grid need their own review. Dense computer-output reports, variable strip arrangements and unusually high reduction can change the sample questions. Indexing fields are agreed from visible evidence or supplied finding aids; OCR is evaluated on representative material, not promised from a fiche type name.

Technical references:[1][4]

Common questions