Fiche
and Microfiche
'Microfilm' is a generic word describing several types of photographic negatives, of which the Fiche and Microfiche are used for storing small images of pages, drawings, photographs, etc. These, and all other types of film, can be scanned successfully.
For
text and lineart, scanning at one bit depth is required to achieve a
resolution at final image size of 200 ppi. For black and white photographs,
scanning in greyscales is required normally at eight bit depth resulting
in 256 shades of grey and again, a resolution of 200 ppi and final image
size.
Fiche
A
Fiche is a large film negative made of slightly thicker material compared
to 35mm rolled film. It may stores six images of a similar size to a 35mm
negative (actually 30mm x 40/45mm) or sixty images 10mm x 15mm size. They
can also have a mixture of the image sizes. The mixture may be three images
at 35mm and thirty six images at 10mm x 15mm size. The mixed image type
is often used for storing pages of text and larger drawings together.
Microfiche
A
'Microfiche' is generally taken to be a version of a 'Fiche' where images
are a lot smaller and more numerous. They can contain many small images
from around 60 to over 250 per card. They are commonly used for storing,
correspondence, instruction manuals, parts lists, reference libraries
etc. The images are often A4 page size or smaller pages.
©
2001 Hamilton Ltd - issue 30/10/01