Microfilm and Microfiche Viewers Key Terms

Boost your microform knowledge by learning microfilm and microfiche viewers key terms

Microfiche and microfilm media require specific technology to read and process stored data. To understand the technology, you need to know the equipment and the basics of the media itself. Microform encompasses both microfiche and microfilm; the former is compressed information on a slide, while the latter is compressed information on film strip.

Get to know more about the technology by learning microfilm and microfiche viewers key terms. Knowledge of microform viewer options aids in a more expert selection and usage of equipment. Types of equipment, standard parts of the machines, and the machine capabilities are included in this basic microfilm and microfiche information.

 

Carrier

A carrier is the device inside the reader that holds the film in place.
Try: Check out the definition for carrier along with several of the types of carriers at Australasian - Digital Microfilm Equipment - DME.

Hand mewer, hand-held viewer

A hand mewer is a hand-held microform viewer.
Try: Visit Microfilm-India.com for a hand mewer definition. For visual examples of hand-held viewers, see The Microfilm Shop.

Magnification, oversize, full-size, partial-size

The magnification of a microform reader refers to the size at which the data is viewable on the reader screen. Oversize magnification requires some scanning to gather all the document's information. Full-size information reproduces the information to size. Partial-size magnification shows the data at a smaller ratio than the original document.
Try: For more information on magnification and the various magnification choices, go to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.

Microform reader

A microform reader is a viewer that has the ability to read both film and fiche media.
Try: For more information on microform readers, check out The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology Library.

Optical character recognition, OCR

Optical Character Recognition (OCR) is a type of program that takes microfiche and microfilm media and converts it to a more usable text format.
Try: See JISC Digital Media for information on microform viewers and Optical character recognition technology.

Gamma correction

Most readers will offer a gamma correction feature which allows the user to alter the contrast of the image to make it easier to view.
Try: Creekside Digital has a glossary of several terms, including gamma correction, relating to the quality of microfilm viewing on the reader.

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