We have two processes with different resolutions and size characteristics.
1. NanoFiche process
2. Totenpass process
Both of these processes of creating nano inscribed nickel wafers or plate begin with getting the archival data in the form of a PDF format or most common photo formats. They are first submitted through a portal and then organized and indexed sequentially. After file conversion and other preparation, the documents are recorded onto a glass wafer.
The Nanofiche process is created by modulating a laser beam in a spiral or concentric manner using a polar raster direct laser etch. This has a resolution of 300,000 dpi and records up to 28mm discs.
The Totenpass process records at 25,400 dpi and records up to a 300mm plate. This system also utilizes a laser beam but relies on a high resolution digital light panel to create the one micron pixels.
After the plates are recorded, they are processed to remove areas exposed by the lasers. They plates are then seeded to create a conductive layer for electroforming where nickel and gold molecules are deposited under very high current until a thick nickel plate forms.
A matrix process in electroforming creates “father” nickel master from the inscribed glass wafer. An intermediate “mother” and final ”son” then is generated from this nickel “father” master wafer. For mass production, polymer and resin copies can also be provided in lieu of nickel “sons.” We also have the ability to combine digital data (CD or DVD) and analog human readable formats on the same disc.
Why adopt our technology for permanent archival preservation?
– Nickel has a much longer life span than microfilm, up to thousands of years.
– Nickel is resistant to high temperatures, water damage, and electromagnetic disruption, eliminating the need for expensive control of temperature and humidity.
– No need for future migration of digital data, as long as a microscope (lenses) and light (sun) are available.
– High speed recording of analog data, preserving more documents in a much shorter time.
– High density, reducing precious storage space.
– No high energy cost to store mass amounts of information.
What file formats can I submit?
For analog information, customer documents or files should ideally be provided in PDF or TIFF format at the highest resolution possible. The analog files will then be converted and combined into larger files that can then be stitched together by an automated scanning process.
For digital information, customer documents or files to be stored should be provided in a DDP (Disc Description Protocol) format either as a CD or DVD format. For a hybrid digital/analog format, since the information compete for the same space on the wafer, there is a trade off on how much of each data can be stored.
What do you need from me?
The customer provides the archival material and is responsible for organizing the data, including arranging such data according to their own preferred indexing scheme. We would assist and recommend a filing system. For recovery there are several systems we can recommend and assist in the set up. Keyence and several other companies have systems that automate the scanning process and stitch the information together as well as parse the pages back into a PDF format.
A small number of pages printable in a large format or a large number of pages printable in nano scale can be etched utilizing the NanoFiche process. A letter sized page and hold up to 150,000 pages of text or photos. Since there are always trade offs in reduction to practice, larger fonts and larger texts will reduce the number of pages but will be easier to access and recover with lower resolution optical devices. In some cases, if the pages are large enough, an entire book can be recovered with a single high resolution digital camera image capturing all the pages. The pages can be parsed out by software codes, page by page, to get the entire book back within seconds.
Since the NanoRosetta process utilizes a round glass wafer to direct laser etch, the layout follows the contour of polar coordinates. To maximize the capacity of a disc, the pages are laid out from any direction left to right, top to down to fill the contour of a disc. Alternatively the pages can be laid out in blocks to correspond to any logical configuration that would facilitate ease of retrieval. For example a block can hold 2,000 pages of a book or annual publication. A group of such blocks can preserve an entire collection.
The Totenpass process produces card formats. Currently the two standard sizes are 54mm 86mm and 64mm x 128mm.
Prints at 80,000 pages per hour.
Wafer or Plate Size
NanoFiche creates discs for data storage up to 28mm on a polar recording system. On a 160mm wafer, we record 8 discs at a time or 16,000 pages in one recording.
Totenpass creates rectangular format and records in a Cartesian rasterizing process.
Turn Around Time
Depending on the size of the project, but most recordings can be turned around within 5 business days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Since NanoFiche and Totenpass effective resolutions are variable, the texts and photos can be very small or they can be as large as the original document. For mm sized text, a smart phone perhaps with the aid of optics can recover the information. For smaller texts, a microscope may be needed. There are scanning microscopes available that can scan systematically to retrieve the entire content and stitch them together. Optical Character Recognition systems can convert the texts and photos back into a PDF for digital viewing.
The dimensions are only limited to the metal cutting equipment. When nickel and gold are over 200 microns thick, it takes more power from the laser or punch and die system to cut them out. For same shapes, we make custom punch and die such as circles and rectangles of fixed sizes. For circles, we have a standard 12mm, 16mm, 19mm, and 28mm. For rectangular format we have 10mmx18mm, 54mmx86mm and 64mmx128mm. Other custom sizes and forms are programmed for laser cutting.
Yes, the medallions in jewelry can be worn and get wet. They can go as deep as you can dive and salt water is not an issue.
The technology allows for very small engraving into metals. However, for ease of recovery, we recommend making the photos and documents bigger. A round NanoFiche pendant can hold 25 million characters but would take a very high quality microscope to recover. Typically pendants are made with up to 20 photos or pages to resolve with human eyes.
For large jobs, we would work with you closely to make sure the files are organized sequentially for recording. Documents should flow like pages in a book. For smaller jobs, you can use our templates online to upload.