This product fulfills fee requests by researchers for hard copy microfilm publications.

Textual Median - B&W [TXT-R1] Reproduction Master Files for Microfilm Publications beginning with the M, P. C, A or T prefix ONLY

OR

Hard copy microfilm legacy printing master

Polyester-based silver gelatin type film that conforms to ANSI/NAPM IT9.1—1996 for LE 500 film

• This product has identical technical product specifications as the Microfilm Preservation product.
• This product is not retained after delivery to customer.
• This product satisfies researcher requests for hard copy microfilm.
• Hard copy microfilm printing masters are no longer produced by NARA. This use is replaced by the digital reproduction master product.
• Microfilm Publications beginning with the M, P. C, A or T prefix can also be output to an optical disc.
• Microfilm Publications beginning with the DN prefix can be output to an optical disc only. See Fee Request Optical Disc product for details.
• Microfilm produced conforms to NARA CFR1230 and the appropriate related ANSI standards described within.

• Microfilm products conform to the NARA CFR1230 SubPart C: Microfilm Standard
• Film Processing
  • Black and White Film
    • B&W processing is conducted in-house.
  • Methylene blue testing (implementation underway)
    • ISO 18917 1999 compliance: Methylene blue testing to measure residual thiosulfate and its decomposition products is of use in appraising the adequacy of washing and therefore the permanence of the silver image on photographic films, plates and papers. Inadequate washing can cause a loss in image density and the formation of stain in low-density areas.

While the capture process for most original photograph, text-based and object/artifact original source material record types is file-based and results in digital products, there are limited options for hard copy outputs. The first is aerial photonegative prints. While digital capture specifications are established for aerial photo negatives and film positives, this workflow remains an analog-to-analog film duplication process at this time. The lab expects to transition to analog-to-digital workflow in the future. A second area is microfilm. Polyester-based silver gelatin microfilm is generated from digital preservation master files for text and cartographic collections captured in the Photographic Imaging, Microfilm and Textual Preservation Lab and then stored off-site in a climate controlled limited access vault. In addition, polyester-based silver gelatin microfilm copies are available for the Microfilm Publications beginning with the M, P. C or T prefix. Third, there is a very limited option to produce facsimile prints from digital files for specifically identified purposes only.

Currently, the digital distribution copy options are generally the same for all still images regardless of the format of the original source material.