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40 Years of Document Imaging

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1975, the Copyflo operator

Document Imaging 40 Years Later

I just celebrated my 40th anniversary in the document imaging business.  Now, I’m not looking for presents or cake (although each would be accepted with grace and aplomb) but rather I’m reflecting on the changes since those early days in this profession.

Back in 1975

Back in 1975 I hired on as a delivery driver but soon was moved indoors as a Copyflo operator.  The Copyflo machine was a huge contraption that produced a continuous roll of paper prints from roll microfilm.  Once the roll was complete a person (me!) would sit at a trimming board and slice each page to create single sheets of prints.  This required a dedicated room with ventilation as it got very hot.  Now days, anyone with a printer can create paper copies right from their desktop.

Another one of my early jobs was to travel around the Pacific Northwest with a portable microfilm camera, creating the film that would eventually be run on the Copyflo.  This camera broke down into two large cases and really was an engineering marvel created by the Kodak Company.  Now days if we need to capture images at a remote site we need to pack up a PC, monitor and scanner at a minimum.  I think in this case the old tech might actually be a better setup than the new tech, at least as far as portability is concerned.

My Prediction, 20 Years Ago

I remember talking with someone at a trade function a couple of decades ago and we were discussing the possibility of paper being digitized rather than captured onto an analog media such as microfilm.  I made the bold statement that this would someday be the norm but that it wouldn’t be “in my lifetime”.  Little did I know that I would be so wrong!  The acceptance of digital document imaging took off like a rocket shortly after my ill advised prediction and the only time we see microfilm is when a client wants us to digitize it.

From Microfilm to Digitization

Document imaging has made great strides over the 40 years and I’m curious and excited to see what the industry will come up with leading up to my 50 year anniversary.

Joe Bryant

General Manager

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