We have a problem, because a large number of microfilms we have just
received are wound onto the reels in a manner incompatible with our Regma
microfilm reader-printer.  This means that when you load the film, you are
viewing the page from the wrong side, so it comes out as a mirror image of
what it should be.  The reels are the type which can only be put on the
machine one way round.  This type of reel has a hole through the middle
which is circular at one end, and at the other end is square with a
further smaller square added at one corner.  It is the round end which
cannot be put onto the machine.

There are two solutions.  We can remove the prism from the reader-printer,
which reverses the image, but this means that it is no longer possible to
rotate the image on screen.  The other solution is to hack away at the
round end of the hole, removing the plastic so that it becomes the same
shape as the other end and can thus be put on the machine.

Neither of these solutions is wholly satisfactory.  I have contacted the
publisher of the film, and they were very surprised that we thought the
reels had been wound incorrectly.  Upon further investigation, some
earlier films received from this publisher turned out to be that way round
too.  Films we have received from another commercial microfilm publisher
are compatible with our machine, despite being on the same type of reel
which can only be loaded one way round. 

Either a standard exists for how microfilms are meant to be loaded, in
which case one of these publishers is wrong, or these is no standard,
which would be rather silly.

Does anyone know whether there is a standard, and where it might be
described?

I will describe the way the reels which *do* work correctly on our machine
are wound:

If you hold the reel so that the side which is pushed onto the microfilm
reader's spindle is away from you (so the circular end of the hole is
towards you, if the reel is of that design), then the film when unwound
slightly will come off the top of the reel to the right.  In other words,
following the film, you would find it describes a spiral going clockwise
as you move outwards from the centre of the reel.  If you then look down
at the images on the film, you would find that the text is all backwards.

I hope someone can provide a reference to the appropriate standard.  If
there is no published standard, I would be glad to know whether the above
description matches up with how other libraries' microfilm readers work.

Thank you!

Matthew Phillips
Assistant Librarian
Christ Church Library
Oxford




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