---
title: Data Capture - Instant access to search your vital data
description: Our data capturing services are a significant part of what we do, so we have created a whole new Data Capture area on our website dedicated to explaining this process and covering the following four main services:
image: https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/hubfs/data-capture-thumb.jpg
---
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/)
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/)
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382)
- [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/)
- [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/)
- Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more
- [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/)
- From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters
- [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/)
- All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos
- [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/)
- Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche
- [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/)
- From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS
- [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/)
- Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours
- [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/)
- [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/)
- Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text
- [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/)
- Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition
- [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/)
- Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture
- [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/)
- Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry
- [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/)
- Make handwritten text searchable through transcription
- [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/)
- [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview)
- Manage, publish and share digital collections online
- [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/)
- Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records
- [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/)
- Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour
- [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/)
- [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/)
- Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources
- [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/)
- Counter operational costs with digital control and management
- [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/)
- Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management
- [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/)
- Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy
- [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/)
- Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates
- [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/)
- Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts
- [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about)
- [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission)
- Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape
- [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values)
- Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you
- [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team)
- Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces!
- [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/)
- Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team!
- [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/)
- From our very first winners to our latest success stories
- [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners)
- Trusted organisations offering associated services
- [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work)
- [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/)
- [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/)
[](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/2351684/56d4945e-1152-47db-9f08-37cd61531382)
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/)
- [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/)
- [Bound Volume Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/bound-volume-collections/)
- Registers, guard books, journals, diaries and more
- [Archive Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/archive-collections/)
- From index cards, maps, posters and reports to letters
- [Photograph Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/photograph-collections/)
- All 35mm slides, glass plates, transparencies & photos
- [Film Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/film-collections/)
- Including aperture cards, microfilm and microfiche
- [Audio Visual Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/audio-visual-collections/)
- From Betamax, compact audio cassette and CD to VHS
- [3-Dimensional Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/3-dimensional-collections/)
- Including 3D and 2D object photography and VR tours
- [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/)
- [Audio Visual Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/)
- Make audio searchable by transcribing content to text
- [Handwritten Text Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/handwritten-text-recognition-htr/)
- Make handwritten text searchable through automatic text recognition
- [Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/ocr-scanning-service/)
- Make typed text searchable with accurate data capture
- [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/)
- Make ambiguous records fully searchable with data entry
- [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/metadata-transcription-service/)
- Make handwritten text searchable through transcription
- [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/)
- [Digital Collections](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/pastview/welcome-to-pastview)
- Manage, publish and share digital collections online
- [Digital Records](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/archive-management-software/chronicle-cemetery-management/)
- Reimagine the digital management of cemetery records
- [Virtual Tours](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/virtual-reality-tour/)
- Bring internal spaces to life digitally with a VR Tour
- [Industry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/)
- [Academic](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/academic/)
- Futureproof education with digitally enabling online resources
- [Bereavement Services](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/bereavement/)
- Counter operational costs with digital control and management
- [Business and Corporate](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/business-and-corporate/)
- Protect brand value & discover the power of digital management
- [Cultural Heritage](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/cultural-heritage/)
- Harness the value of collections with financial autonomy
- [Public Sector](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/public-sector/)
- Combat damage and loss with robust digital duplicates
- [Military](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/industry/military/)
- Respectfully and globally mark significant figures and conflicts
- [About](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about)
- [Our Vision & Mission](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#vision-mission)
- Supporting collections to thrive in the digital landscape
- [Our Values](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#values)
- Integrity, Empathy and Truth – Our commitment to you
- [Meet The Team](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/about-us#team)
- Dedication with a personal touch – names and faces!
- [Careers](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/recruitment/)
- Passionate about culture and heritage? Join the team!
- [TWA Digitisation Grant History](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-funding-grant/grant-history/)
- From our very first winners to our latest success stories
- [Partners](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/partners)
- Trusted organisations offering associated services
- [Our Work](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/our-work)
- [Blog](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/)
- [Contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/)
[Home](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/) » Data Capture - Instant access to search your vital data
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# Data Capture - Instant access to search your vital data
| **Published By:** [Jess Sturman-Coombs](https://blog.townswebarchiving.com/author/jess-sturman-coombs) **Published:** September 24, 2020 **Last Updated:** May 9, 2023 |
| --- |
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/)
**Let us capture your data!**
We are often advocating the importance of capturing and[digitising](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/) your collections for the sake of protection and accessibility, but the same principle applies to the data within those collections. Capturing typed text, handwriting and audio content makes for more comprehensive records and ensures vital detail isn’t permanently lost. Ultimately, this means optimum control and access of your data.
Our data capturing services are a significant part of what we do, so we have created a whole new [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/) area on our website dedicated to explaining this process and covering the following four main services:
- [Optical Character Recognition (OCR) ](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/ocr-scanning-service/)
- [Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/metadata-transcription-service/)
- [Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/)
- [Automatic Audio Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/)
Here’s a little overview of each:
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/ocr-scanning-service/)
**Capturing information through Optical Character Recognition**
OCR uses specialist software to convert the typed text within your digital images into digital text. This text can then be searched against within your digital archive
[Learn more about Optical Character Recognition](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/ocr-scanning-service/)
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/metadata-transcription-service/)
**Capturing information through Handwritten Transcription**
Handwritten transcription uses specialist technicians to manually identify and capture the handwritten content within your digital images, converting this into searchable text. This text can then be searched against within your digital archive.
[Learn more about Handwritten Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/metadata-transcription-service/)
[](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/)
**Capturing information through Data Entry**
Data entry uses specialist technicians to record handwritten data or text that might otherwise be difficult to decipher, manually entering this to a MS Excel or CSV format. This text can then be searchable within your digital archive.
[Learn more about Data Entry](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-entry/)
[****](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/)
**Capturing information through Automatic Audio Transcription (NEW!)**
Automatic audio transcription uses specialist software capable of capturing spoken words and converting this to text whilst also time-stamping each word so that it can be quickly and accurately searched against within your audio content.
[Learn more about Automatic Audio Transcription](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/audio-transcription/)
**What Next?**
Once we have converted your data to your chosen format, we can make this accessible online by importing your content to either [**PastView**](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/pastview) or your own collection management system.
We've also released a new [data capture quote calculator](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-capture-quote-calculator/) which you can access at the bottom of each of the data capture pages, or visit [here](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/data-capture-quote-calculator/).
To find out more about any of our Data Capture services, or any other service we offer, just [contact](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/) one of our experienced digitisation consultants for a chat. We would love to hear from you.
**A quick reminder about the COVID-19 precautions we have put in place**
The following are a list of precautions for the collection and digitisation of your material.
1. When collecting or returning your material, our driver will maintain a 2-metre distance wherever possible. Face masks and gloves can also be used when required.
2. Rigorous cleaning of the scanning studio and equipment will take place during and at the end of each day.
3. Our scanning technicians will be assigned to handle specific batches of material to ensure minimal handling, with regular hand washing.
4. Repositioning of work stations and desk within the office to ensure social distancing measures can be maintained.
Stay safe, from all of us at TownsWeb Archiving.
[CALL US 01536 713834](tel:01536%20713834)
[tel:01536%20713834](tel:01536%20713834)
[REQUEST A FREE QUOTATION](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/contact/)
[USE OUR ONLINE QUOTE CALCULATOR](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation-quote-calculator-sign-up/)
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### Our Services
- [Digitisation](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/digitisation/)
- [Data Capture](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/datacapture/)
- [Publishing](https://www.townswebarchiving.com/publishing/)
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