Alfred's Capabilities:
Alfred is one of our older machines and is a favorite of library staff. He has been very reliable, but we must cherish every minute that we have with him. Parts are no longer available for Alfred, so once one needs to be replaced, Alfred will probably finally get his chance to rest and retire in style.
If you have worked with Alfred before, you might remember that we need to feed his printer one page at a time, otherwise it gets cranky! Alfred also has a hard time loading microfilm sometimes, especially if it is a little crinkly at the end. Make sure that your roll of film is looking good before loading otherwise, Alfred might shoot the film out towards his right side rather than accept it!
The power switch can be found on the front, left side at the base of the machine.
Note that the machine includes a guide for how to load the film.
The microfilm available at Ort Library is 35mm. However, if you have 16mm film, you will need to adjust the take-up reel to accommodate this. (If using 35mm film, just double-check that the size is set to 35mm if you are having difficulty loading the film.) The size adjustment wheel can be found on the lower right side of the machine.
The spindle for the microfilm reel has a bump. This should line up with the notch on the center of the microfilm reel.
Make sure that the film is loaded with the film coming down from the top of the reel rather than up from the bottom. Push the reel as far back on the spindle as it will go.
Slide the film under the first roller and about halfway under the glass.
When the film is loaded halfway under the glass, press and hold the blue lever by pushing and holding it to the left.
Troubleshooting – Sometimes the film does not load properly and comes out the right side rather than around the take-up reel. When this happens, slide the film back to the halfway mark and try again. (If you are comfortable doing so, bring the film beyond the glass plate and begin wrapping it around the take-up reel.) If this continues to be a problem, there may be a problem with the microfilm itself or the machine. Ask for help if this occurs.
The film will need to be moved back underneath the lens. You can move the whole film carrier by gripping the silver handles on either side, and pushing forward or pulling toward you.
You also might need to move the film this way while viewing to see other parts of the image on the screen.
Advancing the film
The knob on the attached controller lets you advance the reel of film forward and backward.
Clockwise – moves forward
Counter-clockwise moves back
The further that the knob is turned to the right or left, the faster the film will move
Turn the knob on the attached control pad to the left to reverse/rewind the film. The farther it is turned to the left, the faster the film will rewind.
Pull film from spindle. Return to box, and place film on the reshelving cart when finished.
To view microfiche, the reel carrier needs to be pushed all the way to the back of the machine. It needs to be pushed far enough toward the back of the machine so that you can pull the microfiche carrier (circled) toward you and then to the right and under the lens
Pull the microfiche handle out until the cover-glass raises. Slide the microfiche under the glass and push it back under the lens. (It might take some trial & error to get the microfiche positioned correctly.)
Move through the microfiche sheet by shifting it side-to-side and front-to-back using the silver handle.
Remove the microfiche by pulling the carrier toward you until the glass plate raises, and then remove the film.>
When finished using the fiche, please change the machine back to the reel set-up since this is how it is most often used. Move the microfilm carrier all of the way to the left and then towards the back. Hold the film carrier on both sides and pull it toward you so that it appears at the front of the machine.
The knob to the bottom, right of the screen can be used for:
Select the button to the left to change the knob's function.
The printer attached to this scanner is only able to handle one sheet of 8.5x11” paper at a time. Load a single sheet sideways into the front of the printer before printing each image as shown in this photo
The control for printing is the green button (circled) that appears on both the machine and the control pad.
The outline on the screen will help you determine what will be printed. This is difficult to see on the photo below, but the machine defaults to the area in the center for the printed image.
Additional adjustments can be made for printing using the options under the screen. Printouts can be:
Please do not return microfilm to the drawer. Place it on the designated cart. Thank you!
