Digital Formatting

Obviously, the ever-transforming world of computer technologies is a cause of concern when thinking about long-term archiving solutions. Keep in mind that we are not advocating that a digital image be considered a substitute for a physical artifact. However, digital technology – because of its ability to retain information indefinitely – is certainly a valid backup, and more and more businesses, schools, financial institutions, and government agencies are accepting validated digital copies of physical documents as sufficient to consummate a transaction. (Remember the paper facsimile?)

Although the various formats are still competing in the marketplace, there are a number of standards which have endured over the years (such as the formats endorsed by the Joint Photographers and Editors Group: JPG and GIF) which, because of their overwhelming presence, will always have to be dealt with regardless of where the road of technology will lead us in the future.

Once the information on the artifacts has been transformed into a digital format, the next step is selecting a storage medium which is at once complimentary to the format and works well with existing physical devices. Although these devices, too, continue to morph, the good news is their de facto acceptance by the user community allows them to be extraordinarily inexpensive and ultimately compatible with the subsequent waves of technology. (For example, one can purchase a high-speed CD-ROM ‘burner’ and a carousel of 100 discs for less than $150 today!)

As opposed to large boxes and file cabinets of fragile paper subject to all sorts of threatening elements, modern digital storage technologies offer low-cost, reliable, secure solutions which we would be happy to detail for you.