Dear Remko, As Dianne mentioned, the color bars are extremely important parts of digitizing a collection, particularly when you are dealing with older photographs that may vary in condition. The CWM recently digitized over 6,800 official photographs from the First World War, most of which had been stuck in albums for decades. The decision was made to remove them from the deteriorating condition of the albums themselves, and we were left with every kind of problem from color fade to cracking. We went ahead with careful scanning nonetheless and always used a color bar in that process.
Even though this initiative was funded in support of our latest online project, the now digital photos selected from this collection for use in the module were then cropped to remove the color bar for the shows version of the captured image. I insisted on ensuring the primary archival function of the artifact was prominent over the one-time "show" requirement, regardless of the extra resources required to accomplish it, and it has served us well. Not only is the show a great success, showing 261 of the beautiful images, but our Image Reproduction Services reports requests for other images from the collection, and because they have the Master digital to work with, color bar and all, they can accommodate the broadest range of requests without having to manipulate the original, fragile, image again. My suggestion would be not to short change yourself on future use, take the time now to ensure it is done for years to come. Regards, Genevieve -----Original Message----- From: mcn-l-bounces at mcn.edu [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of Jansonius, Remko (Vizcaya) Sent: Tuesday, October 14, 2008 5:04 PM To: mcn-l at mcn.edu Subject: [MCN-L] photography, digitization, and a color/grey card? Dear Colleagues, We are about to digitize a collection of photo albums containing 1910s/20s photographs; while they are black and white, many have discolored and turned sepia over the years. Since these are fragile, bound volumes we will be doing this through photography rather than scanning. Would you say it is necessary or advisable or standard practice to use a color card or a grey card during this process? As always, I greatly appreciate y'all's input! Sincerely, Remko Jansonius Collections and Archives Manager Vizcaya Museum and Gardens Miami, FL _______________________________________________ You are currently subscribed to mcn-l, the listserv of the Museum Computer Network (http://www.mcn.edu) To post to this list, send messages to: mcn-l at mcn.edu To unsubscribe or change mcn-l delivery options visit: http://toronto.mediatrope.com/mailman/listinfo/mcn-l
