NUAMPS at 39 Megapixels

Northwestern University Advanced Media Production Studio (NUAMPS), a division of NUIT Academic Technologies (AT), announces the implementation of the new in-house, hi-resolution digitization system. The equipment and techniques involved represent NUAMPS’ latest move to bring the most modern and academically valuable digital tools to the Northwestern community.

With its newest resources, NUAMPS now has the ability to professionally digitize documents and objects, allowing NUAMPS staff to fully undertake all stages of hi-resolution photographic and archival projects completely in-house. Projects such as the digitization of the NU Library’s collection of African Posters, which might previously have required materials to be shipped to other cities, can now be handled locally. Additionally, because the lab serves the educational community, it was conceived and built specifically to meet the specialized needs of the documentation of scholarly and historical materials.

The system consists of a 4X5 camera with a 39 megapixel digital back, a camera support mechanism, photographic lighting, and a post-production workstation. From a single lens position, the lab’s system can capture an area of 20” X 12” at 600dpi or up to an area of 40” X 24” at 300dpi, and with a combined experience of over 50 years in image processing and correction, NUAMPS provides quality post-production work for the best possible product.

For two weeks in March, a seminar room in the Northwestern University Library was repurposed for a dedicated digitization lab. During this time NUAMPS digitized over seventy items which served as samples for numerous collections.