ISO 11506:2017

INTERNATIONAL ISO
STANDARD 11506
Second edition
2017-07
Document management applications —
Archiving of electronic data —
Computer output microform (COM)/
Computer output laser disc (COLD)
Applications de gestion de documents — Archivage de données
électroniques — Microforme de sortie d’ordinateur (COM)/Disque
laser de sortie d’ordinateur (COLD)
Reference number
ISO 11506:2017(E)
©
ISO 2017

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ISO 11506:2017(E)

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© ISO 2017, Published in Switzerland
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized otherwise in any form
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

Contents Page
Foreword .v
Introduction .vi
1 Scope . 1
2 Normative references . 1
3 Terms and definitions . 2
4 Electronic data archiving . 3
4.1 Archiving functions . 3
4.2 Functional specifications. 3
5 Specifications related to micrographics options . 4
5.1 Choice of principles . 4
5.2 Choice of microform type . 4
6 Specifications related to micrographic recording . 4
6.1 Encoding formats . 4
6.1.1 General. 4
6.1.2 Line mode . 5
6.1.3 Image mode . 5
6.1.4 Form overlays . 5
6.2 Conversion . 6
6.2.1 General. 6
6.2.2 Conversion of files in line mode . 6
6.2.3 Conversion of files in image mode . 6
6.3 COM recording process . 6
6.3.1 Production parameters . 6
6.3.2 Form overlays . 6
6.3.3 Data reception . 6
6.3.4 Data recording modes . 7
6.3.5 Management of production interruptions or problems/faults/errors. 8
6.4 Micrographic process . 8
6.4.1 General. 8
6.4.2 Development system . 8
6.4.3 Integrated processing . 9
6.4.4 Separate processing . 9
6.5 Production control . 9
6.6 Duplication of microforms . 9
6.7 Microform preservation . 9
7 Management of recorded data .10
7.1 General .10
7.2 Identification and indexing of microforms .10
7.2.1 Titles .10
7.2.2 Indexes . .10
7.2.3 Segmentation .11
7.2.4 Form overlays .11
7.2.5 Time-stamp .11
7.3 Indexing COM microfiche .12
7.3.1 General.12
7.3.2 Titling .12
7.3.3 Microfiche index page.12
7.4 Indexing 16 mm COM microfilm .12
7.4.1 Titling .12
7.4.2 Index pages .13
7.4.3 Blip generation .13
7.5 Indexing 35 mm COM microfilm .13
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

7.5.1 Titling .13
7.5.2 Index pages .13
7.6 Indexing COM aperture cards.13
7.6.1 Titling and indexing .13
7.6.2 Punched data .14
8 Evidentiary aspects of COM recording .14
8.1 General .14
8.2 Integrity of recorded data .14
8.2.1 Irreversibility .14
8.2.2 Integrity of COM microfiche and 16 mm and 35 mm COM microfilm .14
8.2.3 Integrity of COM aperture cards .14
8.3 Stamping the microform .14
8.4 Time-stamping .15
9 COM-COLD dual recording .15
9.1 General .15
9.2 Recommended COLD media .15
9.3 Uniqueness of the original data .15
9.4 Parallel production .15
9.5 Similar visual results .15
9.6 Management of data recorded on COLD media .16
9.6.1 Administration .16
9.6.2 Retrieval and display of the data on COLD media .16
9.6.3 Indexing .16
9.6.4 Segmentation of file on COLD media .16
9.6.5 Form overlays .16
9.6.6 Labelling COLD media .16
9.6.7 Time-stamp .16
9.7 Electronic databases .17
9.7.1 General.17
9.7.2 Retrieval and display of database.17
10 Evidentiary aspects of COM-COLD dual recording .17
Annex A (informative) Archiving electronic data subject to restrictions for privacy reasons
on COM microforms .18
Annex B (informative) COM process and microforms .20
Annex C (informative) Long-term preservation of silver microforms .26
Annex D (normative) Microforms created for use as evidence.29
Bibliography .33
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

Foreword
ISO (the International Organization for Standardization) is a worldwide federation of national standards
bodies (ISO member bodies). The work of preparing International Standards is normally carried out
through ISO technical committees. Each member body interested in a subject for which a technical
committee has been established has the right to be represented on that committee. International
organizations, governmental and non-governmental, in liaison with ISO, also take part in the work.
ISO collaborates closely with the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) on all matters of
electrotechnical standardization.
The procedures used to develop this document and those intended for its further maintenance are
described in the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 1. In particular the different approval criteria needed for the
different types of ISO documents should be noted. This document was drafted in accordance with the
editorial rules of the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2 (see www .iso .org/ directives).
Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this document may be the subject of
patent rights. ISO shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights. Details of
any patent rights identified during the development of the document will be in the Introduction and/or
on the ISO list of patent declarations received (see www .iso .org/ patents).
Any trade name used in this document is information given for the convenience of users and does not
constitute an endorsement.
For an explanation on the voluntary nature of standards, the meaning of ISO specific terms and
expressions related to conformity assessment, as well as information about ISO’s adherence to the
World Trade Organization (WTO) principles in the Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) see the following
URL: w w w . i s o .org/ iso/ foreword .html.
This document was prepared by Technical Committee ISO/TC 171, Document management applications,
Subcommittee SC 1, Quality, preservation and integrity of information.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition (ISO 11506:2009), which has been technically
revised.
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

Introduction
Businesses, administrations and organizations of all shapes and sizes are becoming more and more
electronic in the way they operate, either by digitizing their paper documents, or by doing business
purely electronically (networked procedures and declarations, on-line administrative forms,
creating contracts electronically, etc.). In addition to facilitating the process of using, processing and
transferring information, these practices reduce the volume of written information in relation to their
paper equivalent.
The change towards electronic resources concerns information of all levels of importance or seriousness,
from internal documents to medical files to accounting records, tax declarations, banking transactions
and e-commerce. Questions concerning the authenticity and traceability of legal documents are
therefore of critical importance. Many countries have made changes to their legislation in order to
regulate the use of electronic processes in the presentation of evidence. The implication of questions
of evidence regarding archiving techniques can therefore not be ignored, in an increasingly connected
world, where cross-border transactions are common, and where the use of processes described as
“paper free” only fuels the need for solutions that offer sufficient guarantees in terms of information
integrity and durability.
Thus, and regardless of the motives, this new situation is creating a major problem: how to archive
reliably and potentially for a very long period of time, data that have been created, converted to, or
received in, electronic form. In effect, with regard to archiving techniques, it should be noted that an
electronic document is linked to the software and hardware that is capable of interpreting it, displaying
it and making it intelligible. This means that preserving an electronic document cannot be limited to
storing, bit by bit, the digital data as a stored physical object due to the rapid obsolescence of computer
hardware, software and peripherals. Archiving needs to make this information independent of the
originating software and hardware storage platform, so as to guarantee its preservation during the
required retention periods.
While this document recognizes the need to preserve documents using micrographic technology,
significant advances have been made with standardization of file formats like PDF, PDF/A, as well as
others. This document supports the continued use of film and emerging new kinds of micrographic
media as a deep reference archive to electronic formats and media.
For centuries, paper was the preferred material for the archiving of written work, allowing information
to be saved, managed, transmitted and proved. A single medium is not conceivable for electronic
data, since accessing and consulting on-line is a dynamic approach, while archiving and presentation
of evidence is a static approach, and these are thus antinomic. It then becomes necessary to analyse
separately correlative technical resources to avoid confusing the “consumable” part of the electronic
information with the part whose durability is essential for saving work.
The questions relating to the conditions in which the electronic data concerning nominative or sensitive
information are stored are part of this issue. Dynamically storing such data presents a potential danger
for privacy (see Annex A).
This demonstrates a real need for clarification and this document has been prepared to help economic
and social partners to archive their electronic data with great care. It will help them answer questions
relating to legal aspects as and when they arise, as well as those relating to the preservation of privacy
and individual rights.
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INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ISO 11506:2017(E)
Document management applications — Archiving of
electronic data — Computer output microform (COM)/
Computer output laser disc (COLD)
1 Scope
This document specifies techniques for archiving electronic data to ensure their long-term integrity,
accessibility, usability, readability and reliability, in order to protect the evidential value of the data.
In this document, long term is considered to be a period of time lasting more than a century (see
ISO 18911).
Black-and-white microforms processed with liquid chemicals are used in this document because the
result is always an irreversible record and because of the proven quality of microforms as a long-term
preservation media.
This document also specifies procedures for the parallel recording, by a single production unit, of COM
and COLD output from the same data.
It applies to many different types of electronic data, such as text and two-dimensional graphic data
which can be represented as a black-and-white image.
It is not applicable to the following:
— animated images or sounds;
— three-dimensional images;
— images in shades of grey or in colour;
— X-ray images.
Neither is this document applicable to microforms created from dry thermal processes, since they offer
insufficient guarantees in terms of irreversibility and longevity.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content
constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For
undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.
ISO 6196-1, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terms
ISO 6196-2, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 2: Image positions and methods of recording
ISO 6196-3, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 3: Film processing
ISO 6196-4, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 4: Materials and packaging
ISO 6196-7, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 7: Computer micrographics
ISO 6196-8, Micrographics — Vocabulary — Part 8: Use
ISO 8514-1, Micrographics — Alphanumeric computer output microforms — Quality control — Part 1:
Characteristics of the test slide and test data
ISO 8514-2, Micrographics — Alphanumeric computer output microforms — Quality control — Part 2: Method
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

ISO 11928-1, Micrographics — Quality control of graphic COM recorders — Part 1: Characteristics of the
test frames
ISO 11928-2, Micrographics — Quality control of graphic COM recorders — Part 2: Quality criteria and control
ISO 14648-1, Micrographics — Quality control of COM recorders that generate images using a single
internal display system — Part 1: Characteristics of the software test target
ISO 14648-2, Micrographics — Quality control of COM recorders that generate images using a single
internal display system — Part 2: Method of use
ISO 18901:2010, Imaging materials — Processed silver-gelatin-type black-and-white films — Specifications
for stability
ISO 18911, Imaging materials — Processed safety photographic films — Storage practices
ISO 18917, Photography — Determination of residual thiosulfate and other related chemicals in processed
photographic materials — Methods using iodine-amylose, methylene blue and silver sulfide
ISO/IEC 8859-1, Information technology — 8-bit single-byte coded graphic character sets — Part 1: Latin
alphabet No. 1
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in ISO 6196-1, ISO 6196-2, ISO 6196-3,
ISO 6196-4, ISO 6196-7 and ISO 6196-8 and the following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:
— IEC Electropedia: available at http:// www .electropedia .org/
— ISO Online browsing platform: available at http:// www .iso .org/ obp
3.1
integrity
quality of being complete and unaltered
[SOURCE: ISO 13008:2012, 3.11]
3.2
irreversibility
result of a recording process depending on the chemical and/or physical transformation of a recordable
medium into a non-recordable medium
3.3
computer output microform
COM
structuring and recording of electronic documents on microforms
Note 1 to entry: Equipment for the production of microforms can use a generator of graphics (e.g. CRT, LED, laser
and plasma screen), allowing the recording of electronic images on silver halide film.
Note 2 to entry: The official definition of the term COM in ISO 6196-7 does not take into account important
evolutions of this technique in recent years.
3.4
computer output laser disc
COLD
process in which electronic data is structured and stored on WORM media or in WORM systems
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ISO 11506:2017(E)

3.5
COLD medium
electronic data storage medium, created from a COLD (3.4) production
3.6
COM-COLD dual recording
parallel recording, by a single production unit, producing a double COM (3.3) and COLD (3.4) output
from the same file
3.7
modular COM-COLD system
COM (3.3) production unit with a COLD module, capable of structuring and performing a COM-COLD
dual recording (3.6)
3.8
evidentiary copy
reproduction made by technical means specially chosen so as not to interrupt the evidentiary effects of
the reproduced document
4 Electronic data archiving
4.1 Archiving functions
The archiving of electronic data is based on a few important functions. In this document, the following
functions are explained:
a) memorization;
b) accessibility;
c) usability;
d) legibility;
e) integrity.
These functions are interlinked. They have technical consequences and can also have legal consequences.
4.2 Functional specifications
a) The memorization function requires the use of durable media with quantifiable longevity.
b) The accessibil
...