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Micro -Film, -Fiche, and -Card Scanner

An overview of digitization equipment in the Freedman Center with step-by-step instructions.
a drawing of a yellow lightbulb The Freedman Center is being updated for the Fall 2025 semester. As the lab's location and layout is changing, these guides are in the process of being updated. If you need assistance with scanning and digitization during this transition period, stop by the lab during staffed lab hours for hands-on assistance or email FreedmanCenter@case.edu to make an appointment. 

Micro -Film, -Fiche, and -Card Scanner

This guide is a step-by-step tutorial for how to use a scanner that can digitize microfilm, microfiche, and microcards in the Freedman Center Technology Lab. 

blue arrow pointing to the right How to Use This Guide

Need Help? Guides support self-service equipment use. If you need additional help, you can:

If something is not working as expected, report the problem to Freedman Center staff.

blue arrow pointing to the right Equipment Overview

The Micro -Film, -Fiche, and -Card Scanner magnifies proportionally shrunk materials that are on microfilm reels, microfiche sheets, or microcards and scans the pages to PDF files. The scanner accepts both 32 mm and 16 mm Microfilm reels.

This scanner is a robot 🤖 that does most of the work for you. You will load your materials into the machine, then use the software to navigate them and determine what you want to read or digitize. 

User Manual: e-ImageData ScanPro 3500 

blue arrow pointing to the right What can this scanner digitize?

 

Microfilm looks like a film reel (except tiny!) and typically comes in a box indicating the reel’s contents. Both 32mm and 16mm film work in the scanner. As the film is transparent, the light shines from below the film. Both positive and negative film can be scanned.

 

 

 

 

 

Microfiche are flat transparent sheets of film, and the tops of each sheet contain the author, contents, and page number (often there are multiple microfiche to a set). Microfiche, like Microfilm, is always lit from below and both positive and negative film can be scanned.

 

 

 


 

Microcards are similar to microfiche except they are made of paper and opaque. To view, light must be positioned from above; brightness may need to be increased.

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