The current effort to digitize the world's collection of type specimens is a lengthy process. It is estimated by Dr. Hausman of the Munich Butterfly and Moth Collection, that it takes roughly nine minutes to digitize a single specimen in the traditional way. This time-intensive technique yields roughly six specimens per hour. A full-time position could digitize roughly 12,000 specimens per year at a cost of $5 per specimen ($60,000 per year).
My team has come across a way to digitize (five photographs and label information) specimens at 30 per hour under normal conditions. This leads to roughly 60,000 specimens per year.
Currently, my team is utilizing a combination of techniques and DSLR cameras in order to produce high quality results down to 2mm specimens (1mm with cropping).
Due to our technique, we are able to photograph specimens for as little as $2 per specimen and digitize labels for $.50 per specimen. A 25,000 specimen project could be digitized for $62,500 and be completed in as little as 21 weeks. Contracts can be spread over a number of years to allow for budget constraints while giving you the best price.
We also offer other options such as interactive formats, slide digitization, and high resolution options.
It is important to note that these images have only been reduced in size. These images are captured using a 12 mega-pixel camera and various techniques to achieve a relatively deep depth of field. These images are single images and are not made of a composite of images. This technique allows for rapid digitization of specimens. This section shows our current ability to photograph small scale specimens. The line represents one millimeter. We also have the ability to reproduce slides.
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| The front view of a Urania ripheus head. The full view can be seen below. | This is the eye of a female Lamprima adolphinae. |
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These next photos simply show a standard set of images
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Here are examples of interactive formats. All interactive animations will have your organisation's logo on the loading screen
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5-row example, click and drag to view around and above the butterfly. |
Single row example, click and drag left or right to view around the treehopper. |
Detailed prices are as follows:
Cost per Specimen (5 still images)
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Contract size
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$5
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under 1000 specimens
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$4
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1001 to 10,000 specimens
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$3
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10,001 to 25,000 specimens
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$2
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over 25,000 specimens
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| Interactive Format (single row) | |
| $10 | under 2500 specimens |
| $8 | 2500 to 5000 specimens |
| $6 | over 5000 specimens |
| Interactive Format (5-row) | |
| $12 | under 2500 specimens |
| $10 | 2500 to 5000 specimens |
| $8 | over 5000 specimens |
Other services: |
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$0.50 |
digitization of label information in either RTF or Microsoft Word file |
$0.25 |
Other information added to image files (beides a scale, additional charges may apply) |
$2000 per 10,000 specimens or $2000 flat rate under 10,000 specimens (1,000 specimen minimum) |
Photography will be done with a 24.5 mega-pixel, 14-bit (better color rendition when printing) camera. |
$1 per slide |
Slides can be cropped to be rectangular or left uncropped |