Transcription Services – From Handwritten Archives to Digital Clarity

Digitisation Background

Transcription Services

To complement our core digitisation offering, we also provide high-quality transcription services for documents that contain handwritten text. Working to your requirements, we will create keying rules to ensure that critical information in digital images can be surfaced through online searches. Our dedicated transcription teams can extract handwritten content either as part of a wider digitisation project, or from images that have already been digitised.

All transcribed output undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process to ensure that text has been accurately transcribed, and we routinely run transcribed data against our own in-house dictionaries to correct minor inaccuracies.

On average, we deliver close to three million transcribed records per month to our satisfied customers.

Transcription Process

For records that still only exist in their original paper form, the first step is to scan or photograph them to create a high-resolution digital version. This allows for easier access to the material and prevents further wear on the original documents. Where digital images already exist, as long as the digitisation quality is of sufficiently high standard, our teams can work on them directly. The latter has become increasingly common, as collection holders revisit past digitisation projects for which, at the time, the transcription element had looked too daunting. With recent advances in technology, processes and expertise like ours, this no longer need be the case.

In collaboration with our customers, the next step is to create project-specific keying rules. We never apply a generic template as each project has its own requirements and idiosyncrasies. Once the rules have been established, our team will provide samples for review and, where necessary, make modifications and resubmit. We believe this iterative benchmark sign-off process, where clarifications and questions are encouraged, provides the best means of ensuring high levels of accuracy from the outset.

Considerations For Transcription Keying Rules

  • Preserve the original formatting: For example whether to replicate indentations, line breaks, spacing and margins as they appear in the original document.
  • Preserve the original spelling: If the document contains archaic or non-standard spellings, should our teams transcribe them exactly as written?
  • Unusual spellings or abbreviations: Some words may be abbreviated or misspelled in ways that were common at the time. Do we keep them as they appear unless instructed otherwise?
  • Punctuation: Should we transcribe punctuation as found in the original text, even if it appears irregular or inconsistent? Furthermore, if the original document has unclear or missing punctuation (due to wear, fading, or damage), should we indicate uncertainty by using an agreed symbol?
  • Abbreviations and contractions: If the document contains common abbreviations, should we expand them or use standard transcription conventions? Similarly, if the document uses contractions (e.g., "I’d," "don’t"), should we replicate them as is or expand them?
  • Unusual characters and symbols: If there are symbols (e.g., ampersands, dashes, or special punctuation), should we reproduce them faithfully?
  • Show corrections as written: If the author has crossed out words, written over mistakes, or made marginal corrections, should we transcribe the original as is (and include the corrections)?

This list is by no means exhaustive. It is designed to provide a sense of what is involved and reassurance that, by drawing on our expertise together, your transcription project is in safe hands.

If you would like to know more, please contact us for a free consultation and quote.

Digitisation Background

Transcription Services

To complement our core digitisation offering, we also provide high-quality transcription services for documents that contain handwritten text. Working to your requirements, we will create keying rules to ensure that critical information in digital images can be surfaced through online searches. Our dedicated transcription teams can extract handwritten content either as part of a wider digitisation project, or from images that have already been digitised.

All transcribed output undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process to ensure that text has been accurately transcribed, and we routinely run transcribed data against our own in-house dictionaries to correct minor inaccuracies.

On average, we deliver close to three million transcribed records per month to our satisfied customers.

Transcription Process

For records that still only exist in their original paper form, the first step is to scan or photograph them to create a high-resolution digital version. This allows for easier access to the material and prevents further wear on the original documents. Where digital images already exist, as long as the digitisation quality is of sufficiently high standard, our teams can work on them directly. The latter has become increasingly common, as collection holders revisit past digitisation projects for which, at the time, the transcription element had looked too daunting. With recent advances in technology, processes and expertise like ours, this no longer need be the case.

In collaboration with our customers, the next step is to create project-specific keying rules. We never apply a generic template as each project has its own requirements and idiosyncrasies. Once the rules have been established, our team will provide samples for review and, where necessary, make modifications and resubmit. We believe this iterative benchmark sign-off process, where clarifications and questions are encouraged, provides the best means of ensuring high levels of accuracy from the outset.

Considerations For Transcription Keying Rules

  • Preserve the original formatting: For example whether to replicate indentations, line breaks, spacing and margins as they appear in the original document.
  • Preserve the original spelling: If the document contains archaic or non-standard spellings, should our teams transcribe them exactly as written?
  • Unusual spellings or abbreviations: Some words may be abbreviated or misspelled in ways that were common at the time. Do we keep them as they appear unless instructed otherwise?
  • Punctuation: Should we transcribe punctuation as found in the original text, even if it appears irregular or inconsistent? Furthermore, if the original document has unclear or missing punctuation (due to wear, fading, or damage), should we indicate uncertainty by using an agreed symbol?
  • Abbreviations and contractions: If the document contains common abbreviations, should we expand them or use standard transcription conventions? Similarly, if the document uses contractions (e.g., "I’d," "don’t"), should we replicate them as is or expand them?
  • Unusual characters and symbols: If there are symbols (e.g., ampersands, dashes, or special punctuation), should we reproduce them faithfully?
  • Show corrections as written: If the author has crossed out words, written over mistakes, or made marginal corrections, should we transcribe the original as is (and include the corrections)?

This list is by no means exhaustive. It is designed to provide a sense of what is involved and reassurance that, by drawing on our expertise together, your transcription project is in safe hands.

If you would like to know more, please contact us for a free consultation and quote.

Digitisation Background

Transcription Services

To complement our core digitisation offering, we also provide high-quality transcription services for documents that contain handwritten text. Working to your requirements, we will create keying rules to ensure that critical information in digital images can be surfaced through online searches. Our dedicated transcription teams can extract handwritten content either as part of a wider digitisation project, or from images that have already been digitised.

All transcribed output undergoes a rigorous quality assurance process to ensure that text has been accurately transcribed, and we routinely run transcribed data against our own in-house dictionaries to correct minor inaccuracies.

On average, we deliver close to three million transcribed records per month to our satisfied customers.

Transcription Process

For records that still only exist in their original paper form, the first step is to scan or photograph them to create a high-resolution digital version. This allows for easier access to the material and prevents further wear on the original documents. Where digital images already exist, as long as the digitisation quality is of sufficiently high standard, our teams can work on them directly. The latter has become increasingly common, as collection holders revisit past digitisation projects for which, at the time, the transcription element had looked too daunting. With recent advances in technology, processes and expertise like ours, this no longer need be the case.

In collaboration with our customers, the next step is to create project-specific keying rules. We never apply a generic template as each project has its own requirements and idiosyncrasies. Once the rules have been established, our team will provide samples for review and, where necessary, make modifications and resubmit. We believe this iterative benchmark sign-off process, where clarifications and questions are encouraged, provides the best means of ensuring high levels of accuracy from the outset.

Considerations For Transcription Keying Rules

  • Preserve the original formatting: For example whether to replicate indentations, line breaks, spacing and margins as they appear in the original document.
  • Preserve the original spelling: If the document contains archaic or non-standard spellings, should our teams transcribe them exactly as written?
  • Unusual spellings or abbreviations: Some words may be abbreviated or misspelled in ways that were common at the time. Do we keep them as they appear unless instructed otherwise?
  • Punctuation: Should we transcribe punctuation as found in the original text, even if it appears irregular or inconsistent? Furthermore, if the original document has unclear or missing punctuation (due to wear, fading, or damage), should we indicate uncertainty by using an agreed symbol?
  • Abbreviations and contractions: If the document contains common abbreviations, should we expand them or use standard transcription conventions? Similarly, if the document uses contractions (e.g., "I’d," "don’t"), should we replicate them as is or expand them?
  • Unusual characters and symbols: If there are symbols (e.g., ampersands, dashes, or special punctuation), should we reproduce them faithfully?
  • Show corrections as written: If the author has crossed out words, written over mistakes, or made marginal corrections, should we transcribe the original as is (and include the corrections)?

This list is by no means exhaustive. It is designed to provide a sense of what is involved and reassurance that, by drawing on our expertise together, your transcription project is in safe hands.

If you would like to know more, please contact us for a free consultation and quote.