Archiving documents to microfilm makes good sense for every organization, especially if preserving information is a priority. Documents vital to a company’s operation, public records or historical papers need to be retained permanently. Microfilming is the most economical way to safeguard information.
Why microfilm when the world has gone digital? Archiving documents digitally seems like a popular, simple and affordable method for storing information. But this approach does not come without some risk.
Because of the vulnerabilities with digital data, microfilm makes a wise backup choice. The best scenario for archiving documents is to deploy both digital and microfilm backups. Digital archives allow you to access information easily and quickly. And microfilm provides the much-needed staying-power for many types of information.
Advantages of Archiving Documents with Microfilm
Microfilming provides many benefits when you need to protect and preserve critical information. With a life expectancy of decades, you can be assured your records will be available whenever you need them. In addition, microfilming is very economical. In many cases, you’ll pay no more for a microfilm version of your documents than you would for a printed copy.
Other cost savings involve storage. Because you won’t need space intensive paper, you can eliminate physical space and filing cabinets.
When compared to digital archives, you’ll save on equipment costs. Digital hardware and software evolves quickly. By archiving documents using microfilm, you won’t be required to invest in expensive technology upgrades unless you want to maintain both types of backups.
Microfilm is a legally accepted format for records. If you need to maintain your information over long periods of time, microfilming is the best way to go.
In part two of this post we will discuss why digital data doesn't provide the best safety net. For more information on archiving documents, contact MES Hybrid today.