As owners of a variety of Mekel and Zeutschel scanners, we have found Crowley’s equipment to be top-of-the-line and their post-sales services exceptional.

Jim Modrall, Vice President, BMI Imaging Systems

Get The Most Out Of Your Scanner Investment

Get a Quote for Technical Support from Crowley

Digitization hardware and analog equipment represent a significant investment of an organization’s scanning resources. While the initial return on investment can be easily measured by production (labor and output), the ongoing and long-term returns are at their peak when the equipment is well-maintained and working properly. The Crowley Company offers comprehensive technical support for scanners in all of our manufactured and distributed brands.

Typical support services include:

  • On-site installation
  • Systems training
  • Standard equipment warranty
  • Annual/periodic equipment maintenance
  • Equipment upgrades
  • Emergency repair

Crowley’s technical support extends worldwide and across a diverse range of products. Experienced technical support staff travels throughout the U.S. or works from Crowley’s Maryland, California and UK labs to install, train, troubleshoot and correct equipment, scanning and software issues. The team is bolstered by partnerships with certified third-party technical support vendors, ensuring quick turnaround and a high-level of quality service.

Learn how ongoing technical support for scanners can help clients protect and maximize hardware investments in this overview of Crowley’s technical services:

Answering Your Scanning and Imaging Equipment Questions

  • Are Crowley and Mekel the same company?

    Mekel Technology is a division of The Crowley Company. In 1989, Mekel Technology introduced the first microfilm scanner to the world, followed closely by its first microfiche scanner. Today Mekel Technology, owned by The Crowley Company since 2003, continues to be the industry leader in microform capture technology. The Crowley Company has preserved the strong brand name and key personnel of Mekel Technology, which is identified worldwide for its engineering and performance excellence.

  • Are Crowley and Wicks and Wilson the same company?

    Wicks and Wilson is a division of The Crowley Company. Founded in 1973, Wicks and Wilson is a well-respected manufacturer of microform imaging equipment including roll film, microfiche, aperture card and universal film scanners. Wicks and Wilson was purchased by The Crowley Company in November 2011 and continues to develop innovative scanning technology from its Basingstoke, England location. As with Mekel Technology and Extek Microsystems, The Crowley Company has chosen to keep this division under its current name as a nod to the strong brand recognition and loyalty from clients throughout the digital imaging industry.

  • Is your equipment Windows 11 compatible?

    With the release of Windows 11 in 2025, a new era of PC standards began. As of this writing, all digitization products manufactured and represented by The Crowley Company are compatible with Windows 11. As mainstream operating systems change and advance, it is our goal to ensure that our hardware systems interface with those of the end-user.

  • Some of my operators don’t have strong PC skills. How difficult is it to setup and use your scanners?

    The Crowley line of manufactured and distributed scanners is among the most intuitive in the industry to operate. There are no complicated set-up wizards and each are designed so that a new operator, even one with limited PC skills, can use the scanners within minutes. With every scanner sold, The Crowley Company provides the option for technical support staff to install and provide hands-on training. Additionally, we will help set the templates and image quality settings that are best suited for an owner’s conversion requirements. The Crowley goal is to make sure the operators/administrators have the equipment and software knowledge and understanding to ensure successful conversion efforts.

  • I only have a small batch of film or fiche. Is it wise to purchase equipment or are there other options?

    At Crowley, it’s understood that client needs vary widely. Our representatives are trained to help determine the most cost-effective solutions available. As a full-cycle provider, this could mean scanning or analog hardware, digitization services or a hybrid approach. For non-production volume scanning, The Crowley Company provides walk-up or on-demand patron scanners and also short-term rental to long-term leasing options to fit all scanning, processing and completion time frame requirements.

  • What is a patron scanner?

    A patron scanner, also referred to as an on-demand scanner, is any non-production level scanning unit that can be easily operated by untrained users, for example walk-up patrons in a library or university setting.

  • Is it true that third-party vendors also service the Crowley Company’s North American scanning equipment?

    Yes. The Crowley Company’s service agreements with certified third-party service vendors are in place as a customer benefit. Using Crowley-certified vendors may allow for quicker turnaround on minor repairs or on regular maintenance services in cases where there is a vendor service center closer in geography than one of our Crowley offices. Nothing changes from the client end – The Crowley Company is still your only contact. All personnel within the agreements are trained on the specific brands that The Crowley Company distributes including Mekel Technology, Avision, CZUR, InoTec SCAMAX®, Ricoh, ROWE, and Zeutschel.

  • Do all Zeutschel overhead scanners have book curve correction capability?

    Yes, all Zeutschel overhead book scanners include or have the option for book curve correction software. Curve correction analyzes the scanned images of bound materials and uses automated, intelligent processes to flatten and separate the pages while correcting text distortion and shadows caused by page curves without effecting scan cycle speeds.

  • Does Zeutschel have entry-level book scanners?

    In Zeutschel’s line of scanning equipment, the zeta and chrome book scanners are considered the most basic for walk-up patron use, while the 15000 color scanners are the simplest for preservation and back-office batch scanning. These units bring the archival/preservation image and lighting accuracy to the price range of everyday scanners. Contact your Crowley sales representative for specific details.

  • Does the Zeutschel scanner store anything scanned on the hardware?

    No; images are not saved on the Zeutschel walk-up bookcopy systems (the zeta and the Chrome). Images are held in a temporary memory while the scan process is running and all information is automatically erased from the system once the digital scan is either saved to USB drive or printed.

  • Are the Mekel Technology MACH7 microfiche scanners auto-load only or can they be manually loaded as well?

    The Mekel microfiche scanners were not only the first production-level microfiche scanners on the market, they remain to this day the only tried and true production auto-loading microfiche scanner in the world. That said, not all microfiche will auto-load correctly, particularly those worn or torn from years of use. Adapting to fiche disparity, the Mekel MACH7 microfiche scanner also allows for easy manual load. Even when manually loaded, the Mekel MACH7 is still the fastest production microfiche scanner on the market today. There are imitations, but none which can boast a ninth generation model that has matured without rival.

  • Can I only scan standard 105 mm (ie. 4 in x 6 in) microfiche on the Mekel MACH7 microfiche scanner?

    Not only can the Mekel MACH7 microfiche scanner digitize small fiche and/or larger tab-length microfiche, they can also scan aperture cards without issue.

  • Do the Mekel Technology MACH7 microfiche scanners come with the Quantum software package?

    Quantum software is currently a standard feature for the Mekel MACH7 microfiche scanner. Contact your Crowley sales representative for details.

  • My microfilm is on 1,000 foot rolls. Can Mekel Technology microfilm scanners handle that? What about 3M cartridges?

    The Mekel MACH-Series rollfilm scanners can scan the following as “standard:” 16 mm, 35 mm, 100’, 215’, 1,000’ and 3M/ANSI cartridges. No expensive additional add-on options are required.

  • What are universal film scanners?

    Universal film scanners, such as the Crowley UScan+ Advanced, are units that digitally scan multiple types of microform including microfilm, microfiche, aperture cards, negatives, photographic slides and more.

  • Can the UScan+ Advanced scanners produce multi-page searchable PDFs easily?

    Yes. With the UScan+ Advanced scanner, you can create single or multi-page PDF files, as well as raw, compressed and multi-page TIFF, JPEG/JPEG 2000 and BMP files. If you choose to scan microform to a PDF file, the optional OCR and annotation features enable you to render the files text-searchable so that you can quickly and easily find the exact information you need. The UScan+ Advanced scanners were also the first to support USB3.0 interface and scan microform in color in the U.S..

  • Is the UScan+ Advanced sold under other brand names?

    Depending on geography and the distributor, the UScan+ Advanced may also be sold under the names Genus Ozaphan and Zeutschel delta+ HD.

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