Digitization System for Museum Materials / Request for Information

The purpose of this request for information is to find answers to questions and price estimates for the procurement of digitization equipment and software by the Finnish Heritage Agency. This request for information aims at obtaining information on digitization equipment and solutions that meet the needs of the Finnish Heritage Agency, in order to enable an appropriate call for tenders to be made. This document is not a procurement announcement or a call for tenders, but a detailed market survey, i.e. a request for information. The procurement unit does not commit itself to the purchase of digitization equipment. Decisions to launch a possible procurement process will be taken after the market survey. The procurement unit for any procurement process may be different from that of the Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency mentioned in this request for information.

The purpose of this request for information is to find answers to questions and price estimates for the procurement of digitization equipment and software by the Finnish Heritage Agency. This request for information aims at obtaining information on digitization equipment and solutions that meet the needs of the Finnish Heritage Agency, in order to enable an appropriate call for tenders to be made. This document is not a procurement announcement or a call for tenders, but a detailed market survey, i.e. a request for information. The procurement unit does not commit itself to the purchase of digitization equipment. Decisions to launch a possible procurement process will be taken after the market survey. The procurement unit for any procurement process may be different from that of the Picture Collections of the Finnish Heritage Agency mentioned in this request for information. Background information on the procurement: The Finnish Heritage Agency is an expert on cultural heritage, a service provider, a developer of its field, and a public authority. We collect, manage and present national cultural heritage property, and store, produce and disseminate information. Our collections contain around 22 million pictures produced in various ways, around 0.5 million artifacts, and around 2 million archaeological finds. For more information on the Finnish Heritage Agency, its collections and activities, see: www.museovirasto.fi The aim of the procurement is to obtain a new camera system designed for the digitization of cultural heritage and a compatible package of equipment and software that is particularly suitable for high-volume and highly formatted digitization of visual material and easily adaptable to the digitization of artifacts. For more information, please send email to: hannu.hakkinen@museovirasto.fi or ismo.malinen@museovirasto.fi

Requirements for the digitization system 1. The equipment must be able to digitize, at a Fadgi 4-star quality level https://www.digitizationguidelines.gov/guidelines/digitize-technical.html and with due regard to the safety of the material, at least 450 negatives (e.g. 6x6 cm) during a 7-hour working day, resulting in archive files that can be transferred to our database. The equipment must be able to digitize not only negatives in various formats, prints and drawings, but also large-sized material (at least A1), and it must be adaptable for digitizing artifacts. The archive files contain both DNG and modified TIFF files. 2. Computer-controlled camera equipment; at least 150 MP; true 48-bit, autofocus, lenses optimized for museum digitization (e.g. 120 mm and 72 mm), a digitization table, FADGI-quality lighting equipment and an automated stand integrated into the camera, as well as other accessories suitable for digitizing photos and other paper-based materials, negatives and slides. 3. Tools necessary for the digitization process that can be customized for special sizes of material must also be available for the system. Such material may include, for example, large-format glass negatives. 4. The system must include image processing software that automates and supports the digitization process, supports the use of barcodes in the digitization process and includes at least a live view function, automatic focus, automatic crop, automatic true resolution adjustment and automated image adjustments. 5. It must be possible to upgrade and update the system and its equipment, tools and software, with guaranteed support for at least 2 years. The warranty for the system and its equipment, tools and software must be valid in Finland. 6. It must be possible to maintain the system and its equipment, tools and software in Europe as a general rule, except for structures that are integral to the operation of the system, such as stand structures, which may be manufactured outside the EU by a manufacturer that is trusted in the museum field. 7. The package offered must include system installation, commissioning training, workflow description and documentation. 8. Training, communication and documentation must be provided in Finnish or English. 9. The system or its previous version must be in use by at least three major cultural heritage organisations. We are asking your views on the following issues: 1. Are you able to offer a compatible system and package that meets the minimum criteria described above? 2. Will you be able to deliver compatible equipment and software that meets the above criteria by the end of 2022? 3. Please specify in more detail your proposed system, its equipment and software. 4. What is your preliminary price estimate for your proposed all-inclusive package that meets the criteria, including the equipment and software, transport, installation, training and documentation? 5. From where would the system and its components be supplied? 6. Please provide references of the proposed system, at least three cultural heritage organisations. 7. You must confirm that your activities are not subject to sanctions under EU regulations and decisions (269/2014 and 2014/512/CFSP). Replies are requested to be submitted by email: hankinnat@museovirasto.fi no later than November 7. If the response contains business and professional secrets or other confidential information, please identify and clearly mark such information.