Archives I researchers stop in and try out our newest piece of scanning equipment

In the winter and early spring we had trials of the ScanPro 2000, the Alos Z-Scan, and the ST 200X.

Now is your chance to try out our newest piece of scanning equipment. The ST ViewScan is hot off the production line and will be in the Microfilm Research Room of the National Archives Building in Washington D.C. for the next few weeks. Try it out and be sure to fill out a survey to let us know what you think!

More information about the ST ViewScan can be found at http://www.stimaging.com/ViewScan/index.html.

3 thoughts on “Archives I researchers stop in and try out our newest piece of scanning equipment

  1. Hello,

    I am writing from the University of Auckland Library in New Zealand and have a question regarding the trails you have conducted on these m/form machines.

    We are looking at replacing our current hardware with either the ScanPro 2000 or the ST ViewScan; would it be possible for you to share some of the feedback you have had on those two products? Both units are very new to NZ and hearing comment from people who have had them in use would be very helpful.

    Thanks very much

    1. Hello, William –

      Thank you very much for your question and your interest! We are more than willing to share information.

      Based on completed surveys, researchers prefer e-Image Data’s ScanPro 2000 to S-T Imaging’s ST ViewScan. During our first trial of the Scan-Pro we had problems with the connection of the cable to the FireWire card. We would lose connections every day, multiple times per day. During the second trial of the Scan-Pro we have had no problems. We are not sure what caused the connection problems during the first trial. It may have been a faulty cable or the use of old equipment. For the second trial we asked the vendor to bring in their own computer. Of the 14 survey responses all but one was positive. Researchers acknowledged that the machine takes time to learn but they really liked using the machine once they understood the program. The “Spot-Edit” function was a hit with both staff and researchers. The only downside is the lack of an “Undo” function.

      Unfortunately, we did not get many surveys back for the ST View Scan. Researchers agreed that the machine was good, but they preferred the Scan-Pro. One researcher, who used the machine for about a week, told us that the machine would freeze and she would lose all of her scanned images. We also had a problem saving images, but that was fixed by saving the images as a different file type.

      I hope this was helpful. I would enjoy hearing your researcher comments as well! If you have further questions you can e-mail me at Rebecca.Crawford@nara.gov.

      – Rebecca Crawford

  2. Please tell me how I can get more information on the capabilities of these scanners. The link on your posting does not work for me; it results in an obscure error message.

    Do these scanners enable a researcher to get a Word-like electronic file of text from a microfilm frame?

    Thanks.

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