There was a time when aperture cards were the pinnacle of document organization.
There was a time when aperture cards were the pinnacle of document organization. For many years, they were the best way to archive important documents, especially large format items like blueprints. These days, however, they are a dinosaur of document management methods and quickly becoming obsolete. While the format material itself remains usable for centuries, the technology to access the information stored on them is becoming harder to come by. If your business has ever used aperture cards to store important information, the time to arrange for aperture card scanning is now so that you secure easy access to that information for the future.
How Do I Recognize Aperture Cards?
Aperture cards are relatively easy to recognize. They are punch cards with a cutout window that holds microfilm. The cards themselves have machine-readable data and often also have handwritten information. The microfilm is usually an image of the document with machine-read data and handwritten information. Aperture cards are most often found in engineering, architecture, or other fields with large-scale drawings that need to be saved. They are designed to last for over 500 years and to be human-readable, but the complete data isn’t retrievable without a machine to read them. Digital document management options offer a much more user-friendly way to store and protect documents, including large format images. Aperture card conversion will allow you to capture the data on your aperture cards and store it digitally to be easily retrievable.
How Does Conversion Work?
Conversion from an aperture card to a digital file is a relatively simple process if you have the right tools. Most document management companies can help you transition from paper to paperless for all of your documents, including aperture cards. In most cases, the handwritten information on the aperture cards will become the indexing information. If you wait too long to convert your files, you could risk losing them – aperture cards are a very long-lasting form of document storage, but only if you take care of them.
What Do I Do With The Cards?
There’s nothing wrong with keeping the aperture cards as a backup to your digital documents, as long as you take proper care of them. Having the digital version of the file also makes it easy to keep the aperture cards safe since you can access the digital version quickly, and you don’t have to touch the cards more than necessary.
Have Questions? Micro Records is Here to Help
If you have more questions about document management software, Micro Records is here to help you with all of your needs. We can help your business to transition to a paperless way of life with outstanding e-forms and technology. For more information about how we can help you implement your new document management software, visit us online or give us a call at 877-410-SCAN. For more tips, tricks, and to see what we have been working on, be sure to follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and YouTube.