Microfilm reader

A Microfilm reader is a device used in projecting and magnifying images stored in microform to readable proportions. Microform includes flat film, microfilm, aperture cards, microfiche, and ultra fiche. Using open reels or cassettes, microfilm is often used as a way to store many documents in a small space. It has become increasingly prevalent in the development of films, as well as storage of archived newspapers. With the invention of microfilm, microfilm readers soon developed. With the increasing popularity of computers, microform has decreased in use. However, many library archives still remain in microform.

A modern Microfilm reader consists of

A reader printer was developed in the mid 20th century. This reader printer allowed for the viewer to see the microfilm, but also print what was shown in the reader. The first of these devices was produced in World War II for use with V-Mail.

At the beginning stages in the development of microfilm, microscopes were used to view the microform documents. Early microfilms were visible under a 100x microscope, and only very expensive ones at the time were used to view the microfilms. One of the earliest readers of microfilm was the Coddington Magnifier. Developed by Sir David Brewster, this magnifier was a “simple plano-convex lens of such thickness that the focus of its spherical curvature coincides with the flat surface of the lens. On June 21, 1859, the first patent for a microfilm was issued to Rene Dargon in France. (Patent No. 23, 115) This early reader was small and compact, so much so that it could be fit into a gentleman’s wristwatch. On March 28, 1860, Dargon received a British Patent for the same invention, and on August 13 he received a US Patent. (No. 33,031)

Though Dargon owned the first patent, this is not to say that other inventors did not alter the first patent to create their own versions of the reader. However, Dargon sought to corner the market, and in 1861 he brought suit against a French inventor Martinache, charging invasion of patent. The trial that ensued was a short but bitter fight. The end result was a loss to Dargon, who went on to quickly issue an appeal. The court held up on the lower court decision revoking Dargon’s original patent and thus taking away the monopoly Dargon sought. Dargon sought to corner the market yet again, this time in a different manner, buying the Martinache for the price of $6,000, a substantial amount for the time.

On July 18, 1861, M. Berthier, an employee of Dargon received a Patent on a new process. This new reader consisted of “cementing a thick glass plate to each end of a small block of optical glass. The entire assembly was then placed in a grinding jig which transformed the flat end-plates into convex lenses, each focused on the image borne by the opposite plate. The end result was a cylinder of glass whose rounded ends acted as lenses.”

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Wikipedia