I have found an easy way to convert microfiches of parish registers etc. to files that can be viewed on a PC. I thought I would share my experience as it has taken me a while to work out how to do it! You cannot do it easily or well with an ordinary scanner, but it works well with a high resolution scanner that has the option of scanning negatives and transparencies and provides light from above. I use an Epson Perfection V700, which costs just over 300 pounds in the UK, but the V500 which costs about 175 pounds is probably as good. The fiches do not fit any of the supplied negative holders, but they can be placed directly on the platen. I use the "Epson Scan" software which comes with the scanner. I scan for "B/W negative file" at 8-bit grey scale and 6400 dpi. I save as jpeg at compression level 16 to make the files reasonably small. The quality is still very good. I write the files to a DVD for storage. Some programs have difficulties with files over 30,000 pixels in any direction (e.g. many versions of Adobe Photoshop), so I only scan a strip of about 6 pages on the microfiche to each file. This gives about 12 files for each microfiche. The Epson Scan software allows multiple selections from a microfiche that are then scanned automatically in turn and the series of files is automatically numbered. The scanning process then takes about 8 minutes per microfiche because of the high resolution, but you can do something else meanwhile. The advantages are: - I do not need a microfiche reader - I can have backups - Images can be enhanced considerably to increase legibility - If your eyesight is poor you can enlarge as necessary - The image contrast is very much better than on most microfiche readers - I can select and print out relevant material such as parish register entries - When microfiche readers die out in a few years time you will still be able to read the microfiches! Genealogical societies could convert their microfiches to DVDs this way. Remember to observe relevant copyright rules! William

Scripsit William Kirk: > it works well with a high resolution scanner that has the option of > scanning negatives and transparencies and provides light from > above.I use an Epson Perfection V700, which costs just over 300 > pounds in the UK You *can* obtain quite useful results with a considerably cheaper scanner. I have made very legible scans using a CanoScan 4200F. It only scans up to 3200 ppi, but it's often adequate. -- Regards Lars Erik Bryld