The Crowley Company Releases 2.0 Software for Mekel Technology Microfilm, Microfiche Scanners

FREDERICK, Md., June 20, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- On Wednesday, June 19th, Patrick Crowley, president of The Crowley Company (Crowley), a worldwide leader in commercial scanning hardware and digitization services, announced the official release of next generation software for the industry-leading Mekel Technology production-level microfilm and microfiche scanners.

"Mekel 2.0, as we're calling this group of software upgrades, builds on the success of our FastFiche and Quantum software suites, both of which enable scan operators to easily digitize and process large microfilm and microfiche collections. The beauty of these programs is the combination of their simplicity – in many instances, it's load and go – and their complexity of editing and processing features available to capture even the most difficult film. Mekel 2.0 offers next-level options, particularly for microfiche scanning, and – most importantly – integrates with Windows 10."

MEKEL 2.0 FEATURES
An upgrade to Mekel 2.0 will offer the following features to Mekel Technology scanner owners:

• Serpentine scanning (MACH6 and MACH7 microfiche scanners): This feature allows the scanner to capture images with a serpentine ('S') movement versus horizontal or vertical row-by-row capture. This option decreases scan time by one second per row, increasing the Mekel's already impressive throughput by as much as 25%. Additionally, serpentine scanning requires less movement of the platen, thereby elongating the life of the hardware.
• OCR title naming (all models): The optical character recognition (OCR) function recognizes title bar (microfiche) or title image (microfilm) text. This text can then be used for automated file-naming prior to scanning, adding accuracy, convenience and additional time savings
• Optical character recognition (all models except MACH6): Operators have the option to process microfilm and microfiche images with OCR in QuantumProcess to create searchable .txt, .pdf and HOCR document files
• Enhanced aperture card capture (MACH7 model only): Optional top lamp enhances printed text on the face of aperture cards for full-card digitization (film image and card face/text)
• Windows 10: Mekel 2.0 has been designed to be fully supported in Windows 10 Professional (64-bit) and is adaptable for future Windows generations. Mekel 2.0 can also operate in Windows 7 and 8 Professional (64-bit).

All MACH-series scanners using QuantumScan, regardless of generation, are compatible with Crowley's IMAGEhost platform, an internet-accessible repository for digitized microfilm and microfiche in their original formats (ie: full roll or jacket).

MEKEL TECHNOLOGY FIRST ON MARKET
In 1987, Mekel Technology was the first company in the world to design, manufacture and market a production-level microfilm scanner. The firm's microfiche scanners followed in 1991 as the market's first commercial units. Mekel Technology was purchased by The Crowley Company in 2003.

"It's amazing to me," says Crowley, "that the Mekel scanner base design has remained essentially unchanged for four decades. As camera, lighting and software technologies have evolved, the newer technology has been easily incorporated into the Mekel architecture without requiring any major physical hardware updates. I believe this speaks to the quality and foresight of the original engineers, several of whom are still with us today."

He continues, "We have Mekel Technology scanners in the field that are nearly 20 years old and still performing well. Mekel 2.0 is simply a furthering of a product that has proven itself again and again among those tasked with digitizing large quantities of cultural heritage and business archives and records in microform, including our own conversion services division."

Mekel Technology scanners are utilized in service bureaus, libraries with large public and private collections, archives, utilities, financial institutions, engineering firms, government offices, courts and many other record-keeping organizations.

A Mekel 2.0 web demonstration can be scheduled by calling (240) 215-0224 or visiting http://www.thecrowleycompany.com.

View the Mekel Technology microfilm video or the microfiche video to see Mekel 2.0 in operation.

Brochure: MACH 5, 10, 12 microfilm scanners

Brochure: MACH 6, 7 microfiche scanners

Brochure: Quantum Suite

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ABOUT THE CROWLEY COMPANY

The Crowley Company (Crowley) is a world leader in digitization/ preservation technologies and provides an extensive number of digital document and microfilm conversion services to the public, private and government sectors. The company manufactures, distributes and services high-speed microfilm, microfiche, aperture card, book and document scanners, microfilm duplicators, film processors, micrographics equipment and 71MP cameras. Manufactured brands include Crowley, Mekel Technology and Wicks and Wilson. Crowley is the only firm in the industry that manufactures, uses, distributes and supports the scanners it designs, giving it an unmatched competitive edge.

SOURCE The Crowley Company