Scanning microfiche into my computer

[Nadie]

I have a pile of microfiche I want to scan onto my hard drive.
It's really just strips of BW 16mm film with a page of text shrunk into
each frame (white lettering on a black background).
Anyone have any idea how to tackle this? I don't think a normal
transparency scan will work because the text is so tiny it will
probably vanish among the pixels. My current theory is that
I might have to project each frame onto a screen and shoot it
with a digital camera. Any better ideas than this idiotic scheme
will be gratefully received....

[Chris Martin]

That's a pretty ambitious task...

Try photocopying it. If the photocopier can handle the resolution, then you
could photocopy it several times, magnifying it each time, until it's large
enough to be scanned and OCR'd. If that doesn't work, then your idea about
viewing it with the microfiche reader could work. Make sure you use a
high-res (640x480) digital camera. A normal camera would have a higher
resolution, you could take photos of it, then scan and OCR it.

[Paul]

Give the nice people at Hanimex / Fuji a call in Auckland. They have a
camera that can do what you want.

Cheers,
Paul.