Digitization Lab

The RIT Libraries Digitization Lab works with you to create the best digital reproductions of materials for scholarship and other academic purposes using the highest standards in imaging (FADGI). The lab specializes in imaging cultural heritage objects, and priority is given to materials held by RIT Libraries, The Cary Collection, RIT Archives, other Special Collections on campus, and Cultural Heritage Partners of RIT to support their overarching mission to preserve collections and make them accessible.  Our services include digital processing, post-processing, and metadata enrichment. The RIT Libraries’ Digitization Lab also offers consultations on project scope and copyright.  Turnaround time for projects depends on scope, complexity, and student scheduling. We will provide an estimate for the completion of the project during the consultation stage or when the job is dropped off at the lab.

We have professional expertise in handling a wide range of materials, including but not limited to: video and audio tapes, photographic materials, transparencies, slides, blueprints, maps, illustrations, photo negatives, books, rare manuscripts, newspapers, realia, and similar print media. We prioritize making the content we digitized openly available by adding it to our online Digital Collections. 

Not all digitization projects are a good fit for the Digitization Lab, such as non-archival general scanning projects for administrative, personal, or classroom use.   All projects should be submitted to the lab through RIT Archives, The Cary Collection, or other special collections departments at RIT. If you have any questions regarding your project, please contact, Nick Paulus at njpwml@rit.edu to discuss your project and determine if the Digitization Lab is a good fit. 

Current Equipment

Imaging Equipment

• DT Heritage system
  • High-end digitization system based around a Phase One iXH 150mp camera. Used to image prints, posters, books, and more with high resolution and color accuracy.
• Epson Expression 12000XL and 13000XL flatbed scanners
  • Used to scan film and documents up to 12.2 by 17.2 inches in size.
• Kaiser RSD copy stand
  • Allows level overhead mounting of cameras for digitization. Also used with a Kaiser Slimlite Plano lightbox to copy slides and other transparencies
• Nikon D810 and D5500 cameras
  • Two flexible DSLRs that can be paired with a variety of lenses to photograph everything from 35mm slides to 3D objects.

Audio / Visual Equipment

• M-Disc Blu-ray drives
  • Used to play and copy files from CDs, DVDs, and Blu-ray discs
• Analog-to-digital capture cards are used to record playback from the following equipment:
  • Pyle Pt-659DU (audio cassette tapes)
  • JVC SR-VS30 (Professional DV and VHS tapes)
  • Sony DSR-20 (DV and MiniDV tapes)
  • Panasonic AJ-SD93 (DVCPro50 tapes)
  • JVC BR-S5000 (HiFi S-VHS tapes)
  • BTS PBC-2800 (Betacam SP tapes)
  • Sony VO-7600 (U-matic tapes, temporarily out of order)

Copyright Law

The copyright law of the United States (title 17, United States Code) governs the making of photocopies or other reproductions of copyrighted material. Under certain conditions specified in the law, libraries and archives are authorized to furnish a photocopy or other reproduction. One of the specific conditions is that the photocopy or reproduction is not to be “used for any purpose other than private study, scholarship, or research.” This institution has the right to refuse to accept a digitizing order if, in its judgment, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of copyright law.

For general guidance and advisement on copyright infringement, view the Fair Use & Copyright page and refer to Frances Andreu, the Scholarly Communications Librarian.