Sounds like a "drum scanner" can.  They use them to digitize color slides
and other photographic materials.  ($40 a pop for scans at the service
bureau).

How many individual images are on a VW fiche? And what are the approx
physical dimensions of each image?

Brent Christensen
'89 GL Syncro Westy
Santa Barbara, CA

-----Original Message-----
From: Michael J. Sullivan [mailto:sullivan@OPENMARKET.COM]
Sent: Thursday, January 27, 2000 1:44 PM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Micro Fiche Reader

Dear Gang,

I have estimated that one would need a scanner capable of an OPTICAL
resolution of 4000x4000 samples per inch in order to render the data in a
VW microfiche (interpolated resolution need not apply). No ordinary flatbed
can do that!!! Only a few high-end scanners are capable of this.

Cheers,
MJS

>You'll need a very good scanner to do this. I tried on
>one that physically scanned to 1200x2400 (I believe) and
>extrapolated to 9600x9600. I had to view the image down
>at the pixel level and I am sorry to say that the extrapolation
>process was not good enough. I could kind of make out the
>diagrams, but the numbers and text were illegiable. I wish
>I had a jumbo reader...
>
>dave

Michael J. Sullivan

author "Make Your Scanner a Great Design & Production Tool"
web: http://www.hsdesign.com/scanning/book/book.html