Ensuring that the materials you are digitising are safe and handled correctly throughout the process is crucial and should be accounted for before starting the imaging process. Always check handling guidelines with the institution or individual providing the materials. The National Archives Digitisation Guide has comprehensive handling guidelines for digitisation.
Digitise Documents
The image capture of materials – taking photographs of them – is the part of digitisation that most people think of when they hear the word, and we will focus on that process here. Digitisation projects come in all shapes and forms, from specially dedicated imaging studios in galleries, libraries, archives and museums (GLAMs) to small camera set-ups by individuals. Although projects vary, there are many general principles that apply to all.
If you intend to take photos of items in GLAM collections during a visit, make sure you have followed the institution’s terms regarding imaging the item(s) and that your intended use of the images conforms with their terms and copyright. If you are digitising materials that you own yourself or that are not held by an institution, you will still need to consider copyright before proceeding; familiarise yourself with this in the ‘Establishing Permissions and Copyright’ section.
Some researchers prefer to use pre-existing scan and deliver services offered by GLAM institutions, in which case you can skip to the next pathway section. If you have a digitisation project in mind but do not have the equipment or time to undertake the project yourself, contact the institution in possession of the materials to assist with your project. For researchers working with collections at the University of Edinburgh, the Library’s Cultural Heritage Digitisation Service can provide further digitisation advice.
Conservation of Objects & Handling
Equipment Selection
The equipment you use to digitise your material will be dependent on what you have access to, and your needs for the material once it is digitised. It also depends on how much time and labour is available to you since image capture can be time consuming. There are many different types of equipment used in digitisation, and for image capture the choice comes down to scanners or cameras.
Scanners
Scanners work by scanning across your document and a sensor captures colour information from your materials.
- Flatbed scanners are designed to image flat material such as photographs, negatives and slides.
- Book Scanners are used to digitise bound and unbound materials. A v-shaped cradle can be used to support bound books and a v-shaped glass plate can lowered onto it during digitisation. Unbound materials can be laid on a flat surface and scanned with these types of scanners, with a flat glass plate.
- Feed scanners are for stable, non-unique items that you may already have multiple copies of, including modern materials.
The University of Edinburgh’s uCreate MakerSpace on the first floor of the Main Library has flatbed scanners that are available for use for the university community. It is also soon to have a book scanner and feed scanner available for self-service digitisation. The Information Services website has a list of scanners and guidance documents for the MakerSpace.
Cameras
Cameras take an instant capture of the imaging area, and offer more flexibility than scanners and allow the imaging of non-flat items not suitable for scanners. Although influenced by your camera and lens choices, better quality images with a higher level of detail can be expected from good standard cameras as they can shoot in raw. A raw file is uncompressed data, so it retains a large amount of detail from the photo, which can then be edited or compressed.
- Point and shoot cameras are fixed-lens digital cameras that are generally accessible to buy and may be used for personal research purposes.
- Digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) cameras use mirrors in the body to reflect light into the viewfinder. Lenses can be changed on DSLRs, unlike point and shoot cameras which gives them versatility.
- Medium format cameras house a larger sensor than DSLRs, with a larger dynamic range which improves tone and colour accuracy and offers a better depth of field. The larger sensor takes in more light and give more space between pixels.
- Smartphone cameras are improving and can be a suitable option for personal research use, although the image quality will be lower than other camera types
Making Your Choice
Choose your imaging equipment based on the materials you are digitising and what is available to you.
-
For personal research use a point and shoot or smartphone camera may be your best or only options.
-
If you need high quality images for an exhibition or digital edition, then advanced technology such as scanners or high spec cameras will be necessary, like medium format cameras. This equipment is expensive so you may need to work with a Cultural Heritage institution with a digitisation facility to undertake this kind of work.
-
Consider the materials you are digitising and handling considerations in relation to your equipment.
-
Appraise your time scale: do you have the time to digitise materials? How will the capture technology change the time the process takes? How long can you spend on each page/document/volume?
Image Quality and Colour Standards
Colour standards are important for a variety of reasons:
-
Allows for easier collaboration within your institution
-
Creates consistency across equipment and across institutions
-
Facilitates efficient quality control monitoring
If you are undertaking a digitisation project, you might want to consider using these image quality and colour standards too. Institutions often use internationally-recognised guidelines like the ones produced by FADGI or Metamorfoze. Even if you are working on a smaller-scale project, these can be good places to get a sense of the expectations.
There is currently no upcoming CDCS training scheduled on this topic. Please check again later or look at the other resources.
There is currently no CDCS past training material on this topic. Please check again later or look at the other resources.