It’s Been Quite A Week: Scanners, Trade Shows, Giveaways, Authors and Features

This has been one of those weeks where Monday felt like Thursday and today feels like…well…next week. It’s been a whirlwind.

May I share what we’ve been up to so that you can enjoy the journey with us? Along the way you’ll find some terrific purchasing opportunities and a great read.

Scanners

UScan+ Universal Film Scanner Line Updated

The popular UScan+ line of microfilm reader printers, winner of a 2018 Modern Library Award, has been updated with new models and even more attractive pricing. The line, manufactured by The Crowley Company, now includes the UScan+ with 10MP active pixel sensor array and the UScan+ HD and HD LTE models which both feature an 18MP active pixel sensor array. Starting at just $4,000, these versatile scanners are popular in research rooms where staff and patrons use them to quickly locate text and images from microfilm, microfiche, aperture cards and photo negatives – virtually any form of microfilm (which is why we often call the UScan+ a microform scanner). Someone documenting their family history, for instance, might use the UScan+ to search microfilmed birth records. Once they’ve found their records, the images can be saved digitally in any of today’s popular formats (PNG, JPEG, TIFF, PDF, etc.) and sent to USB, email, Dropbox or other virtual outlets. No need for paper, notepads, book-laden backpacks and the like!

ODS Book and Document Scanner to Incorporate Scannx Software

You can find the details in today’s press release. In short, this is big news. Company president, Christopher Crowley, boils it down to this: “This integration not only gives the ODS scanner added capabilities, it allows the ODS to be integrated with any other brand scanner in a library or corporation utilizing the same software. Paired with the initial low cost of the ODS scanner, its high-resolution output and the Scannx ease-of-use, this is a big win – especially for those tasked with watching the pennies while still having to provide staff and patrons top-of-the-line technology.”

Trade Shows

The ALA conferences – Midwinter and Annual – are two of our best opportunities each year to meet with some of our favorite clients – librarians. In many cases, a librarian has to be technology savvy, an archivist, a program specialist, a bibliophile, a social worker and so much more. At Crowley, we particular embrace the techie, book lover and historian sides as we work closely with librarians across the world to digitize their special collections with either our digitization services or archive-quality scanning equipment. We also support the digitization needs of their patrons with easy-to-use walk-up book, document and microfilm scanners. So this week we’ve packed up our gear and are heading to Denver to shake (hands), rattle (the competition) and roll (demo those scanners!).

Giveaways and Show Specials

We don’t do this often (as in only once before in my decade tenure with Crowley), but we’re loving the ODS scanner so much that we want to share it with the (library) world. Each day of the conference – Friday, Saturday and Sunday – attendees can enter to win an ODS book scanner for their institution (shipping included).

The ODS book and document scanner accommodates A3+ (20.4” x 16.5”) material sizes. With easy installation – take it out of the box, fit the neck to the bed, plug it in – and a simple touchpanel interface, walk-up patrons can digitize loose, spiral and bound documents and photographs quickly and with excellent image clarity. The customizable interface allows librarians to set up scanning options that are specific to their patron base. As with the UScan+, the digital images can be saved digitally to a multitude of file formats and output options. Using the ODS instead of a traditional copier saves book spines, toner costs, paper and perhaps most importantly – staff time (no training required, no toner to replace, no jams to fix).

On top of the giveaways, Crowley is also sweetening the purchasing pot with the following show specials:

• Mix and Match Scanner Special: Buy one ODS Touchpanel or UScan+ HD scanner for $7,000 and get another of either model for free. A $16,000 retail value, this special exceeds even a “BOGO” (buy one, get one) offer.
• Free Hosting Software: Crowley’s microfilm and microfiche hosting solution, IMAGEhost, allows clients to host their digitized microfilm and microfiche online for easy access from any internet-connected portal – phone, tablet, labtop or desktop. Think of it as a virtual digital reader printer. The images, using the Mekel Technology QuantumScan software, are scanned at a discount (as they do not have to be processed to archival preservation standards) and then uploaded to the IMAGEhost platform. End-users see and search the microfilm or microfiche records in their original format, just as if they were viewing the actual roll or fiche strip. Selected images can be downloaded or saved digitally in all traditional electronic formats. For a limited time only, the IMAGEhost software will be free with the purchase of scanning and installation/training, Additionally, hosting options are available which make IMAGEhost an even more attractive solution: organizations with their own IT infrastructure for hosting can do so and smaller organizations, which may not have the significant IT investment to host images online, can take advantage of the IMAGEhost hosting solution. This is not a “one size fits all” solution but one which offers institutions with collections and records ample options to securely share online in-house or with the public.

For a full look at the scanners on-hand and the contest and show special details, look here.

Authors in our Booth (#1921); Authors on the Stage

There is little more exciting to someone attending a library or book conference (including ourselves) than meeting an author. On Saturday and Sunday, New York Times bestselling author Margaret Coel will grace the Crowley booth to sign and give away 30 copies each day of her latest novel and the last in her critically-acclaimed Wind River Mystery series, “Winter’s Child.”

Crowley’s marketing associate, Hannah Clawson, has the privilege of organizing and moderating “How The West Was Writ,” a panel of four western-based authors, including Coel. The authors come from vastly different backgrounds and will discuss how their diverse heritages and love for the West shape their individual works. The panel will appear on the show floor PopTop Stage Sunday at 2 p.m.

Read here for panel details. 

Full-length Feature

A little bonus was dropped in our inbox amid the crazy of the week. A Google Alert brought this interesting and informative Columbia Journalism Review feature story on our friend Tom Tryniski. You might remember him from our 2014 blog post. At the time, Tom had scanned more than 26 MILLION microfilmed newspapers pages using a Wicks and Wilson microfilm scanner. Just three short years later, he’s doubled his output and attracted enough attention to warrant this highly entertaining news story. It’s primarily about his digitization efforts (which are largely pro bono) but peppered with enough insight into his daily life that it makes one want to drive to Fulton, NY and sit in a certain diner to catch a glimpse. An ordinary man doing an extraordinary thing with his scanner by his side.

All in all, an eventful week and I appreciate your stepping into it with me. As always, if we can partner on your digitization solutions with either conversion services or scanners, please don’t hesitate to call (240) 215-0224 or visit our website: www.thecrowleycompany.com. If today’s not the day you need us, we’ve been here for nearly forty years and plan to be here for the next forty. You’ve got our number 😉

Cheri Baker, Crowley’s former Director of Communications, has retired but retains her love for writing and all things Crowley. With a career that spans newspaper, agency and corporate communications, her goal remains to dig behind the scenes and tell the story - whatever it may be. Find Cheri Baker on LinkedIn+