Your most burning PastPort questions, answered.
Digital preservation requires more than simply scanning pages. Scanning presents two options – quickly scan a low resolution image or spend a significant amount of time scanning to a high resolution format. Generally both formats end up as unmanaged assets on a server or external hard drive. Flatbed scanners also introduce image processing which does not allow for a true representation of the physical material. For more information see our History Saving Fundamentals.
Much like scanners, the iPhone camera will never give you a true representation of the actual condition of the material you are imaging. The iPhone camera overcomes image capture shortcomings by introducing an entire suite of image processing. This impacts color accuracy, over-sharpening and each item will be imaged differently based on the material presented to the camera.
No. You do need your iPhone to be connected to a wifi connection so that you can utilize PastPort mobile app to create digital preservation TIFF files and transfer them via the Internet directly into your account where you can bulk ingest, catalog, and tag them.
PastPort can not support any model prior to the iPhone 7. The camera sensors on older iPhones are too small to support PastPort’s archival quality imaging.
A preservation or digitization grant is a great way to secure a PastPort for your organization. HistoryIT offers discounts for three- and five-year licenses. During that period, your organization can work to fit the license into your budget.
A HistoryIT account is required to use PastPort for digital preservation imaging, as well as the bulk ingesting, cataloging, and tagging of your individual items. For any reason, at any time, you may stop using your HistoryIT account and download all of your images and metadata for no cost. You also have the option of of paying a minimal fee to “park” your account and come back to it later. HistoryIT is committed to saving history, not holding your collections hostage. If you have concerns about your account, give us a call and we will work something out.
Currently, the PastPort app is only available for iOS in the App Store. While it is available for anyone to download, you will need a HistoryIT software license. An Android version of the app is currently in development.
