Digital capture equipment

Capture devices used

The Library makes use of a variety of digital capture devices, including flat bed scanners, film/slide scanners, microfilm/microfiche scanners and digital cameras.

Type of device Devices used
Digital cameras
  • x1 Canon 1D mkIII - small format camera
  • x2 Canon 1Ds mkIII - small format camera
  • x1 PhaseOne P65+ - medium format capture back mounted on PhaseOne camera
  • x1 Betterlight Super 10K-HS scanback - large format scanback mounted on a Sinar P2 large format camera
  • x2 Sinar eVolution 75H - medium format capture back mounted on a Sinar P3 camera
Film & slide scanners
  • x1 Hasselblad Flextight X1 film scanner
  • x1 Nikon SuperCool Scan 4000ED 35mm/IX240 film scanner
Flat bed scanners
  • x2 Creo iQsmart1 - colour, up to A3 (transmissive + reflective)
  • x1 Creo iQsmart2 - colour, up to A3 (transmissive + reflective)
  • x2 Creo iQsmart3 - colour, up to A3 (transmissive + reflective)
  • Ricoh IS330DC – used to scan print publications for Copies Direct orders
Overhead scanners
  • SMA 21 –used to scan print publications for Copies Direct orders
Microfilm/microfiche scanners

Guidelines for selection of capture device

The nature of the material to be digitised, particularly its condition and construction, determines the type of equipment used for digital capture. All collections are surveyed prior to digitisation and minimal handling during the digital capture process is preferred.

The following general guidelines apply to the selection of the digital capture device.
Flat bed scanners are used for items less than A3 in size (420x297 mm), such as:

  • printed music: unbound sheet music
  • printed material, including single sheets (e.g. handbills, newspapers, posters), ephemera (e.g. brochures, tickets), single section pamphlets or other bound items that can be opened with ease
  • manuscripts: single sheets in pencil or ink (e.g. letters), small printed items
  • maps in good condition
  • artworks on paper
  • hand and mechanically produced prints in black ink with no added colour or extreme relief (e.g. engravings, etchings, lithographs)
  • pen and ink drawings without watercolour or gouache additions (e.g. cartoons)
  • photographic material: film negatives, transparencies, microforms, glass negatives and lantern slides, B&W and colour gelatin silver prints, albumen prints

Film/slide scanners are used for:

  • strip films, negatives and transparencies
  • mounted slides

Digital cameras are used for:

  • fragile items
  • oil paintings
  • most original artworks on paper (e.g. watercolours, drawings)
  • artwork with loose, friable media (e.g. pastels, charcoal, crayons, soft pencil)
  • watercolours with thick paint, gouache or glazes
  • loose pages, sheets from albums of printed items
  • items larger than A3 or oversize (e.g. posters)
  • bound volumes: books, albums, printed music, atlases
  • maps: large or fragile maps, river maps, maps with colour
  • manuscripts: bound diaries, letter books, folded items, large items
  • documents on parchment and vellum
  • photographic items: oversize B&W and colour prints, historic process photographs (e.g. daguerreotypes, ambrotypes), platinum prints and other non-silver prints, glass negatives and lantern slides (if not possible to scan on a flat bed scanner)
  • three dimensional material: textiles, sculpture, objects, wax seals and realia

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