Documents -

There are two ways to copy documents: photocopies and digital. I work in both. Below are detailed descriptions of my outputs which you can read, but also feel free to email me at bigwood@rcn.com or call me at (202) 319-9150 to discuss your project.

Photocopying:

There are several photocopiers at the National Archives, but this does not necessarily mean that photocopying is the fastest or easiest means of producing copies. Many documents require the removal of staples, clasps and other attachments, and these can be done only by staff. Some documents are very fragile and require a lot of care. Sometimes there are other researchers lined up to use the photocopy machines which means that they can only be used five minutes at a time. Photocopies almost always lack the color and nuance of the originals.  Color photography or flatbed scanning is far more desirable.

Photocopies can be sent as hard copies through USPS, UPS, DHL or FedEx or I can digitize them later at home and email them to you as PDFs or JPGs.

 Digital copying:

Most clients prefer that I copy documents in a digital format that can be transferred over the Internet.  In this case, I find requested documents and photograph them with a high-resolution camera on a copy stand with lights.¹

Upon return home in the evening, these images are posted on a website for the client to peruse at leisure.  In this manner, the client can give me feedback on the direction of the research before I return to the Archives, usually the next day. To ensure privacy, the images are posted to "hidden URL" website so that only those possessing the correct Internet address can view and download them. 

I can also digitize documents using a scanner attached to a laptop. However, using a flatbed scanner (the only ones allowed) takes longer than photography using a camera stand and lights.  

There are several possible outputs available.  These, from least to most expensive include:

1)  Simple Website containing responsive documents.  Each image on each page of the website is downloadable from the website to your computer as a JPG that can be printed out on any size paper on any printer. No renaming of documents - images are labeled with the name given by the camera. This website is kept active for at least two weeks.  This work usually takes me a little more than an hour to complete with less than 200 individual images.

2)  Simple Website plus Searchable* Unadjusted PDF.  This is a Simple Website (above) plus the images are converted into a single PDF file which is "text recognized,"² which means that you can search fore specific words within it. The PDF can be sent to the client via e-mail or downloaded from the website or sent via regular mail or carrier as a CD or DVD.  The PDF format is the easiest to print out on a normal color printer. The documents contained in the PDF are in the order they were found and are not chronologically ordered. This work usually takes me two hours.

3)  Labeled and Adjusted Website.  Each document is labeled and appears in chronological order followed by a short descriptor and images are color-corrected and sharpened.  This work usually takes me under three hours.

4)  Labeled and Adjusted Website plus Searchable* adjusted PDF.  This is the best and usually takes me under three hours to complete.  It is the easiest to work with as all of the documents can be found in chronological order.  In the case of the PDF, documents

Final Product as a CD or DVD. Clients usually request that I burn a CD or DVD of the the digitized documents as a website; medium-sized JPGs for printing; small-sized JPGs; and often PDF files.  I usually charge a little extra for burning the original RAW files because these can require more than one DVD and take some time to burn.

Rates:

I charge $290.00 per seven-hour day.  If the work requires additional time at home, this will have to be negotiated.  All copying media, such as photocopy paper, CDs, DVDs and Mini-DVs are paid for by the client.

Please note that the commercial cost of converting documents into digital media is much higher than I charge.  A well-known US chain that specializes in both shipping and office supplies/printing charges 99 cents for each B & W  page converted to digital media (which you must supply).  The price per color page is $2.99 per page. 

¹ Images can be photographed using Nikon Image Authentication software with integrated GPS information which provides irrefutable legal proof (certification) of exactly when and where the image was taken.

²  Searchable text-recognized PDF files are created after the image has been converted into a PDF file using an OCR (optical character recognition) program.  Such files are searchable by many search engines, such as Windows Desktop Search and Google Desktop Search or the search tool that in included with Adobe Acrobat Reader.  This means that you can search for a particular word in one or several documents at a time. These search tools do not work with handwriting and can be imprecise, especially with old documents written with manual typewriters.