Digital Image Standards

Digitisation is the process of converting information from a physical format into a digital one. There are two kinds of digitisation:

Image capture (e.g. using a camera, scanner or other capture device
Information capture (e.g. scanning a document to create electronic text)

The Collections Link website, sponsored by the Museums Documentation Association (MDA), has a very useful introduction to digitisation which includes information on why to digitise and the option of working with a digitisation bureau to produce digital images.

Below are links to a set of guidance notes on digitisation produced by the Strategic Commissioning programme 2004-2006 (supported by funding from the Department for Education and the Department for Culture, Media and Sport).

Further information and support can be found at the following websites:

TASI - Advice on all aspects of digital image work.
UKOLN - There is a section on handling and delivering digital resources but there is also very good information on other related areas.
AHDS - Good practice guides for digitisation arranged by subject matter.
MINERVA - Technical guidelines for digital cultural content creation programmes are based on the NOF-Digi guidelines and includes information on file formats, metadata etc.
e-Government - The Cabinet Office's site lays out the technical standards for e-Government. The standards are mandatory for new systems in central and local government.