Digitisation Services
What we are: Specialist digital consultants for the cultural sector with a forte for working with awkward format media including very fragile glass plate negatives, medium-format negatives, old photographic prints, newspaper cuttings and other extremely perishable items.
Digitisation services in brief:
- Top grade scanners for project use;
- Glass-plate negatives and lantern slides our forte;
- Assist with funding applications & project budgeting;
- Development of project briefs from media preparedness, workflow, work environment to resulting archive databases and public access materials
Most recent and ongoing projects:
- Sudan archive - digitisation of glass-plate negatives;
- Bentley Beetham, Everest 1924 - digitisation of glass-plate negatives
What Our Clients Say
"M G H Consultants provided a prompt and efficient service on material in the Sudan Archive at Durham University Library, producing high resolution digital copies of archival images held in a variety of formats. We would have no hesitation in using their services again and would recommend them to anyone working in the Heritage sector." (Sheila Hingley, Head of Heritage Collections, Durham University Library)
Many of the projects we work on involve not only the digitisation but follow through to interpretation panels, public access websites, printed catalogues and a variety of other media and services that will bring a project to fruition. We are able to provide all of the post-scanning services mentioned above. If we don’t mention it, please enquire as it is difficult to list everything we can do for you.
M G H Consultants have undergone training and passed accreditation through the Museums Libraries and Archives Council North East for their pilot Digitial Information Services for the Cultural Sector programme. Training was carried out by Kings Digital Consultancy Services.
Our Equipment
We use top of the range equipment that includes 2 x Nikon Coolscan 9000 ED Film Scanners and an Epson Perfection v700 flatbed scanner.
Safety of Your Images
Throughout the period of digitisation your original images will spend a minimum amount of time away from secure storage. We store your originals in a 1 – 1.5 hour fire retardant, lockable safe.
We always use either lint-free gloves or powder free latex gloves when handling your materials (unless instructed to use an alternative). We work in a ‘clear room’ – meaning certain items are not allowed in, such as food and drink and certain types of clothing that are prone to loosing fabric particles etc.
We carry General Products Liability Insurance, underwritten through Hiscox to a level of £2,000,000.00 per occurrence. We also carry professional indemnity and public liability insurances.
Where control of environmental variables is of the uppermost importance we will come to you ensuring that all materials are taken from environmentally controlled conditions for only the shortest necessary time and reducing risks associated with carriage to and from your offices / institution and ours.
Storage of Your Digital Master Images
All images will be written to Archival Gold with Scratch Armour DVDs. These DVDs are archival standards and we include them free of charge.
