Media and archival services

Ideal for assets that are less sensitive to environmental fluctuations like documents and everyday materials.

Ideal for audiovisual media, photographs, and vintage prints that require more stability to prevent degradation over time.

Ideal for film, fragile documents, and other sensitive items that need extra protection from heat and humidity to ensure long-term preservation.

Preserving legacy media starts with stabilization. Our specialists remediate tapes, film, and audio affected by mold, brittleness, vinegar syndrome, and sticky-shed. We clean, repair, and stabilize deteriorating materials so they can be safely played and digitized—without losing any more of their content.

We also specialize in rare and obsolete formats that are no longer supported by manufacturers. Using custom-modified machines and decades of experience, we can recover content others can’t. Our teams respond to disaster scenarios, prepare compromised media for triage, and even reconstruct missing metadata through technical forensics.

If your media is fragile, unreadable, or at risk—we know how to bring it back.

Key Services

• Format Obsolescence Solutions
  We specialize in handling formats that are no longer supported by manufacturers or playback devices. Our technicians understand the quirks and intricacies of vintage equipment and have the tools to bring content back to life—even from formats considered “dead.”
• Chemical and Physical Stabilization
  Tapes suffering from sticky-shed syndrome, film afflicted by vinegar syndrome, and brittle acetate can all be stabilized and prepped for safe digitization. We apply specific environmental treatments and gentle handling techniques to slow degradation and ensure data retrieval.
• Disaster Recovery
  When media is affected by fire, flood, or environmental exposure, every second counts. Our teams are trained in media triage and disaster remediation, offering emergency response to help recover and salvage content that’s been compromised.
• Playback Engineering
  We maintain a suite of restored and modified playback machines (some of which are custom-built) that allow us to carefully play even degraded or non-standard media. This ensures we can safely retrieve content without causing further damage.

From aging tapes to legacy film reels, your media archive captures moments, milestones, and meaning. But without proper care and expertise, this content is at risk of degradation—or becoming inaccessible altogether.

At Iron Mountain Media & Archival Services, we don’t just digitize media. We preserve its quality, its context, and its long-term value. Our expert team uses precision-calibrated equipment and preservation-grade workflows to convert your assets with care, accuracy, and security.

Whether you're looking to create a high-resolution archival master, prep content for streaming, or gain access to legacy formats, we tailor every project to your goals.

Audio Digitization

Our audio digitization services are built for both breadth and depth. We support nearly every analog and digital format, from quarter-inch tape and cassette to DAT, ADAT, and even rare or proprietary digital formats. We understand the fragility of older audio carriers and the risk of playback damage, which is why we use well-maintained vintage decks and carefully customized workflows to ensure safe transfer.

We also offer restoration services such as noise reduction, speed correction, and dropout repair. Whether it’s music, oral history, or raw field recordings, we deliver high-quality digital files ready for preservation, editing, or public use.

We support:

• Reel-to-reel (1/4”, 1/2”, 1”, 2”)
• Cassette, DAT, ADAT, MiniDisc
• Vinyl records and transcription discs
• Legacy digital formats like DASH, PCM-F1, and more
• Dolby, dbx, and other noise reduction systems
• And more. If you don’t see your format here, chances are we’ve worked with it—or something close.

Video Digitization

Video formats have evolved rapidly—and many archives are left with content stored on tapes that are degrading or difficult to access. We digitize a wide range of professional and consumer formats using carefully maintained VTRs and reference monitors, ensuring accurate transfers with preserved timecode and aspect ratios.

Beyond basic conversion, we offer color correction, frame stabilization, and metadata retention to prepare content for use in editing, streaming, or historical preservation. Every asset is handled with white-glove care and documented throughout its journey.

We support:

• VHS, S-VHS, Betamax
• U-matic (low and high band), 3/4”
• Betacam SP, DigiBeta, HDCAM
• DVCAM, MiniDV, DVCPRO
• D1, D2, D3, D5
• XDCAM, MPEG IMX, and legacy digital formats
• And more. If your format isn’t listed here, let us know—we’ve likely seen it before and can help you recover and preserve the content.
  

Film Digitization and Scanning

Film is one of the most expressive and fragile formats in any archive. Our team handles each reel with archival-level care, offering both digitization and high-resolution scanning for 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, and 35mm. Prior to capture, each reel is inspected, cleaned, and repaired as needed to ensure safe handling.

We offer services for both access copies and preservation-grade masters. Whether your goal is long-term storage, streaming, or restoration, we tailor the process to match your intent.

We support:

• 8mm, Super 8, 16mm, 35mm
• Negative, print, interpositive, and reversal
• Color and black-and-white film
• Magnetic, optical, or no-sound formats
• And more. If you have a rare or unusual film format, we’re ready for it. Let’s talk about what you have—we’d love to help.

Download the full list of formats we regularly service

Our imaging services transform physical objects and documents into high-resolution digital files—making them easier to access, manage, and preserve. Whether you’re working with flat photographs, fragile film negatives, or three-dimensional objects, our expert team uses museum-grade technology and best practices to ensure every capture is precise, detailed, and preservation-ready.

We go beyond scanning. We help you visualize and activate your collection with confidence.

Imaging and Archival Digitization

We offer both reference-level and preservation-level imaging to support a range of archival goals. Whether you’re creating quick-access files for internal use or preservation-grade images that meet the strictest standards, we tailor the process to your project.

Using state-of-the-art Phase One capture systems and FADGI-compliant workflows, our team delivers consistent, color-accurate, high-resolution files—carefully digitized with expert handling and minimal impact to your original materials.

We support both reflective media and transparent media, including:

• Printed photographs (black-and-white and color)
• Posters, artwork, maps, and flat objects
• Film negatives, slides, and glass plate negatives
• Bound volumes and historical documents

Reference-level imaging provides quick, cost-effective digital surrogates for access, review, and basic archival management.

Preservation-level imaging is ideal for long-term digital preservation and reproduction, delivering maximum detail and consistency according to FADGI and Metamorfoze standards.

If you’re unsure which level is right for your collection, our specialists will guide you through the best-fit approach based on your materials, goals, and budget.

3D Scanning

Our 3D scanning services convert physical objects into high-resolution digital replicas that can be viewed, measured, and shared without risking the original. It’s ideal for fragile artifacts, sculptures, memorabilia, and any item where shape and texture are essential.

3D scanning adds new depth to your archive, enabling remote access, research, and even monetization without handling the physical object.

Use cases include:

• Museums and cultural collections
• Corporate archives and branded objects
• Scientific and industrial materials
• Sculptures, props, models, and more

X-ray film contains critical information, but without digitization, that data remains difficult to access, share, and preserve. Our X-ray scanning services convert legacy medical and industrial film into high-quality digital files using DICOM and DICONDE-compliant workflows—ensuring full compatibility, accuracy, and long-term usability.

Whether you're managing a hospital archive, aerospace testing records, or manufacturing quality documentation, we digitize x-rays with the same level of care and chain-of-custody security we apply to our most sensitive media collections.

What We Offer

• Medical X-Ray Digitization
  Convert legacy film to DICOM format for easier access, storage, and compliance. We handle patient records securely in accordance with HIPAA and healthcare regulations.
• Industrial X-Ray and NDT Scanning
  We digitize non-destructive testing (NDT) and radiographic images for aerospace, energy, manufacturing, and engineering sectors using DICONDE standards.
• Secure Storage and Chain of Custody
  All x-rays are scanned on-site at Iron Mountain facilities, never leaving the secure environment. We maintain full chain-of-custody documentation from intake through final delivery.
• Data Access and Backup
  Files are delivered in industry-standard formats and can be integrated into your existing systems or securely stored with us for future access and compliance audits.

Digital media isn’t immune to risk. Files can be trapped on failing hard drives, stored on obsolete formats, or degraded due to age, damage, or improper storage. Our Data Restoration services are designed to recover critical content from aging and inaccessible digital media—and migrate it into secure, modern formats built for long-term access.

Whether you're facing a single unreadable file or an entire archive at risk, we can help you restore, retrieve, and protect what’s valuable.

What We Recover

• Hard Drives and Removable Media
  We recover content from aging and failed hard drives, optical discs (CD/DVD), USB devices, and portable media—including drives from the mid-90s to early 2000s with high failure rates.
• Data Tapes and Legacy Storage
  Our team works with LTO, AIT, DLT, DDS, Exabyte, and other data tape formats to retrieve and transfer archived files—preserving structure, metadata, and file integrity whenever possible.
• Optical and Disk-Based Formats
  From ZIP and Jaz drives to 3.5” and 5.25” floppy disks, we restore content stored on outdated and difficult-to-access media formats, including NT Backup and other proprietary systems.
• File and Metadata Recovery
  In addition to full data extraction, we offer metadata rebuilding and restoration of corrupted or fragmented files, helping you reassemble collections for future use.
  
  

How it works

• Inbound
  We receive your digital media, capture basic metadata from each asset, identify at-risk formats, apply barcodes, and generate tracking for full chain-of-custody.
• Remediate
  Our team carefully repairs and stabilizes media affected by degradation, neglect, or environmental exposure to ensure safe handling.
• Restore
  We extract digital files from legacy physical media such as LTO tapes, hard drives, and CDs, and migrate them into secure, modern storage systems.
• Catalog
  Files are cataloged with folder names, sizes, and timestamps, then indexed into a searchable database so you can easily manage your entire digital collection.
• Render
  We convert files to modern formats, create alternate versions, embed metadata, apply OCR, and organize your assets for smooth access and reuse.
• Deliver
  Final files are securely delivered through encrypted transfer, with optional backup and digital storage solutions available.

When access is blocked, timelines are tight, or digital history is at risk, we bring the tools and expertise to help you recover what matters—and keep it usable for years to come.

Smart Vault now includes advanced AI tools that make your archive easier to explore, manage, and activate. Features like automated metadata extraction, intelligent tagging, and contextual search bring new levels of discoverability to your content.

Your digital assets are stored with built-in redundancy across geographically separate locations, role-based access control, and full chain-of-custody. Offline masters are protected within Iron Mountain’s world-class, disaster-ready facilities.

Find exactly what you need—fast. With metadata-rich search, visual browsing, and robust content tagging, Smart Vault makes it easy to retrieve and share files securely, wherever your team is working.

Smart Vault supports your creative workflows with features for collaborative editing, file sharing, review, and localization. Easily integrate with your existing production and distribution systems to keep projects moving.

Smart Vault adapts to your operational and compliance needs:

• Cloud-hosted for global access and seamless collaboration
• Non-cloud for offline, ultra-secure storage environments

Both offer high-speed access, advanced metadata management, and scalable storage capacity.

Start with a smart strategy.

We work with you to understand your archive’s condition, content types, usage goals, and long-term vision. Whether you're digitizing for public access, preparing for a monetization initiative, or just trying to get organized, our consultants will help you develop a custom roadmap to get you there.

• Archive assessment and prioritization
• Policy and standards development
• Digitization and migration planning
• Long-term preservation strategies

Expert talent, right where you need it.

Our trained professionals can support your day-to-day archive operations or lead large-scale projects onsite. We place experienced archivists, technicians, and support staff who understand media formats, metadata, cataloging systems, and archival best practices.

• Onsite or remote support
• Temporary or long-term staffing
• Skilled in physical and digital asset handling
• Aligned to your internal tools and workflows

Clarity and control at every level.

We help you gain visibility into your physical and digital collections through structured inventory, barcoding, and searchable databases. Whether you're starting from scratch or cleaning up legacy records, we build systems that make your archive easier to manage and access.

• Item-level inventory and validation
• Custom barcode and labeling solutions
• Metadata capture and catalog cleanup
• Searchable database creation

Move with confidence.

Relocating a media archive requires planning, precision, and care. Our team manages the entire process—from pre-move inventory and labeling to transportation and reinstallation—ensuring every asset arrives safely and remains trackable at all times.

• Detailed move planning and risk assessment
• Packing, transport, and secure chain-of-custody
• Condition reporting and arrival validation
• Rehousing and reintegration support