The August issue had an article on Pixelion (Aix-en-Provence, France), a company produces software for image processing. (Check the web site for more information.)
There was also an article on "des microformes de haute densite pour un archivage perenne" (microforms of high density for a perennial filing). The photos in the article were intriguing. Since my French is not that good, I checked online for information on the company mentioned and found this text:
La société ARnanO est l’une des dernières start up créée par le laboratoire français LETI (Laboratoire d’Electronique et de Technologie de l’Information) , avec la vocation de développer les produits avancés permettant la gravure de graphismes ou de textes infiniment petits et inaltérables.A rough translation is:
The company is one ARnanO recent start-ups created by the French laboratory LETI (Laboratory of Electronics and Information Technology), with the aim to develop advanced products to burn graphics or text and infinitely small and unalterable.It looks like the micro-images are stored in very high density on a "wafer" that is 200 mm in diameter.
Also in the August issue was an article on NanoArk (Rochester, NY), which is using waferfiche(TM) for long-term storage. The NanoArk web site says:
In the Waferfiche(TM) technology, data is stored in such a way that it is visible to the human eye with or without magnification. The data from print, digital or any other media is converted to images as a first step. These images, with the help of photolithography tools and fabrication techniques are then imprinted and etched on silicon wafers. The use of silicon makes the information temporarily resistant to high temperatures (up to 400°C) and water, ensuring longevity, which is very useful in preserving documents. In this technique, since the stored data is not processed or digitized before storing, the data is stored for long periods without any loss of data over time. The added advantage of the new technique is retrieval of the data can be as simple and straightforward as magnifying the image on the silicon wafers thereby eliminating the need for a computer. This feature enables archival of data in a technology free environment. Also depending upon the semiconductor fabrication technique used (smallest feature size in the order of 200 nm, 100nm, 90 nm or below), nano-scale images can be imprinted thereby making it possible to store large amount of data on a single silicon wafer.I suspect -- but could be wrong -- that ARnanO and NanoArk are working on similar solutions for long-term storage of information. We know that microforms are the best solution for long-term preservation of information. These wafers seem to allow for much more information to be stored and on a medium that is less susceptible to environmental changes.
Finally, in the September issue is an article on book scanners produced by Metis Systems. The company has two book scanner: DRS 5070 and DRS A1 Plus. From what I can tell, the operator must turn the pages. They also make a large format scanner (DRS 2AO).
For those of you in Europe, who perhaps have read these articles OR are familiar with the companies mentioned, please leave a comment if you can provide more information. Thank you!
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