Photochrom Prints

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Digitizing the Photochrom Collection

Scans of prints in the Photochrom Collection have somewhat different qualities because they were made at different times. The online digital images, even at lower resolutions, play an important preservation role as surrogates that reduce handling of the original pictures. A digital image of each print displays in each bibliographic record. Clicking on this image leads to the high-quality master file and additional derivative files.

Views of Europe and the Middle East

In 2001, Prints & Photographs Division staff members digitized the prints of Russia using an overhead Phase One digital camera in the ITS Scan Center. In 2001-2002, Prints & Photographs Division staff digitized the prints for other countries by using a local flatbed scanner. These images were scanned at 400 pixels per inch producing master TIFF format images with approximately 3,500 pixels on the long side.

Views of North America

In 2008, CSC of Chantilly, Virginia, scanned the photochrom prints that show the United States, Canada, Cuba, and the Bahamas. They used an overhead Sinar 54 digital camera to scan the photochroms at 800 pixles per inch producing master TIFF format images with approximately 7,000 pixels on the long side.  
The specifications for the master and derivative files are:

Uncompressed Archival Images

Compressed Service Images

Thumbnail Images