Features and Sample Output

Do people still use punch cards?

Say hello to our list of clients. You know some of them by name.

click to enlarge

How is output provided?

You will receive:

• plain text files, showing exactly what was on your punch cards
• colorful HTML files for easy reading
• Anomaly Detection results — we highlight unusual characters
• Excel-compatible file for easy loading into databases and spreadsheets (optional — add per card for this convenience feature)

The finished data will be sent to you electronically, by web and by e-mail.

How good is your accuracy?

Far, far better than a typist.
Every punch card is analyzed by two versions of our imaging software. The results are compared and then passed through our statistical anomaly detection software, and a human reviews anything suspicious. Next, your cards are inspected by an expert in ancient data practices and encodings.

	←	40-year-old typos, caught and highlighted by a 21st Century computer.
	←	The yellow columns contain a sequence number which the customer had thought was in order. Our computer didn’t just find the error — it figured out what the typist intended.

Can your card reader do that?

The software has intuition. It’s not exactly AI, but it’s close.
Our process is automated, it’s thorough, it has sex appeal, and it’s included in the regular price.

Customers are saying:

• “Awesome job.”
• “I was surprised by all the analysis.”
• “You are a wizard. We could not have done it without your help. We are in your debt.”

We lost our codebook and column headings. We don’t know what our numbers mean. Can you help us?

Yes, probably. One of our clients sent us this mystery data. It looked pretty random:
  
But we figured it out:
  
And here’s how we did it: [more...]

We need our data converted to Excel format. Can you help?

Sure. By default, we will output exactly what’s on the card, as text, with nothing added. But if you need a spreadsheet, we can do that.
When you submit your cards, please include a copy of your codebook, or indicate which columns are meant to be separate fields, and what their data types are.
Example:

    1-6    numeric
    7      ignore 
    8-12   numeric 
    13     numeric 
    14-72  alpha 
    73-80  ignore 

We also speak SPSS and Fortran:

    Name        A20
    Rank        I3
    Serial No.  I6 
    ZIP Code    I5
    Latitude    F6.2
                1X
    Barometer   F5.2 

You’ll receive a CSV file and an XLS spreadsheet. Excel conversion is an additional per card.

Do you do data entry?

If your cards have handwritten notes or symbols on them, we can capture those and add them to the output file. (Optional; labor charges may apply.) We can also do photo capture and include the images in the final spreadsheet.

Can I scan my cards instead of mailing them?

This tends to be harder work (for you and for us) than the mail-in method, and so we will only consider archivists and document professionals with large orders and special scanners. To see if you are eligible, visit the Method 2 page.

Couldn’t I just hire a typist? Couldn’t I just type the text printed on the cards?

At minimum wage, a typist would cost you more, and you wouldn't get our accuracy, our expertise, and our extra features.

Couldn’t I just OCR the text? Couldn’t I just buy a used card reader? Couldn’t I just train a student to read the holes in the cards? Couldn’t I just build a card reader out of a Coke bottle and a windshield wiper? Couldn’t I just ....

Uh... You care about accuracy, right? Our world-class clients have a real business need to recover their data accurately and reuse them. Our image processing apps were written by a professional computer scientist and tested and refined and expanded for years. Our customers expect expertise, accuracy, and data analysis that magically finds their typos and exposes long-forgotten errors. We give them that. Reading the little holes in the cards was just the beginning. But hey, good luck making a lens out of that Coke bottle. ;^) When you’re serious about recovering your data perfectly, you know where to find us.

How long does processing take?

Once we receive your cards, card reading usually takes one week per box. After that, we often look for quick ways to “frost the cake” by creating special formats and custom colorizations to make your data look its best.

Do you accept credit cards?

Yes. PayPal is our credit card processor. At the appropriate time, after the work is done, we will press a button, and PayPal will show you a secure online payment form, where you may type your credit card number. Please do not send your credit card number directly to us.

Do I need a PayPal account?

No. At payment time, you will see a payment window that looks like this. That is all.

Does shipping cost a lot?

Surprise: A standard box of 2000 cards weighs under 12 pounds and can be mailed for in the USA
(that’s a third of a penny per card).
When you’re ready to ship, ask us for our address and our page of shipping tips.
Better still, click here and we’ll send you one of our easy shipping boxes!

Why didn’t you answer my e-mail?

You must be using Gmail. Look in your Spam folder. Gmail (Google Mail) sometimes blocks mail from new contacts.
If you’ll send a short e-mail to the address below, Gmail should add us to your whitelist.

Do you sell punch cards?

Yes. Please visit our online store.

You won’t drop or shuffle or damage my cards, will you?

Polite customers are sometimes eligible for discounts.

What is your minimum order?

No minimum this month — we can do 10 cards or 10 boxes.
cards. We might consider smaller orders if we like the other parameters of your project; however, the minimum charge will be for cards.

The minimum charge for Method 2 is for cards.

How do I proceed?

You will be using your scanner to submit images of your cards. Details here.

Are you still in business?

Definitely. Please note the recent date above our Menu of Services.

Curious?

 

Other Questions?