Chantilly, VA, USA – July 23, 2019

Contex, the world leader in large format scanning, today announces that the College Park Aviation Museum recently installed a Contex IQ FLEX flatbed scanner.

The College Park Aviation Museum, a Smithsonian affiliate, is a top aviation destination in the Washington, DC area. Located at the College Park Airport, the world’s oldest continually operating airport, the museum boasts a vast collection of local aviation history dating back to 1909, including over 10,000 documents, photographs, and other historical materials.

The museum staff acquired a Contex large format flatbed scanner to preserve that history and make its collection — especially fragile materials — easily available to visitors, researchers, and other interested parties. The assets are also used for museum displays and marketing materials.

“Our museum collection has a large number of photographs, maps, handbooks, and newspapers, among other items, some of which are not on display because they are too delicate. With the Contex scanner, we can digitally preserve these valuable pieces and make them available online for interested parties,” comments Laura Baker, Curator of Collections, College Park Aviation Museum.

“Many museums choose Contex scanners for the important function of preserving history,” comments Steve Blanken, General Manager, Contex Americas. “In addition to producing museum-grade images for preservation, the scanner is also one of the most efficient, even with the most delicate material.”

The Contex IQ FLEX is ideal for digitizing oversized and fragile originals, as well as scanning books, textiles, and artwork. The IQ FLEX also simplifies book scanning with the use of a wizard helper. Users can scan material up to double the size of the A2/C-size glass plate, including A1/D-size originals. With an optical resolution up to 1200 dpi, the flatbed scanner produces sharp images even at large sizes.