JA_Nuclear_Digital_Film_Scanner_FINAL_Redacted.pdf

DPX, TIFF, and HD ProRes movie files from a single scan without the need for post processing steps to generate the files is a critical requirement to speed up the scanning, and scanning analysis of the film.

Moreover, the Lasergraphics’ Director scanner is the only scanner that has the capability to scan at 4.5 density and above. The Director is also the only scanner that fully meets the requirement to hold the film motionless while scanning as it holds the film by use of pressure plates that flatten warped and shrunken film frame-by-frame. The Director’s use of pressure plates yields images with full-frame (corner-to-corner), and uniform focus. The fact that the films to be digitized are in various states of decay and often warped requires the ‘flattening’ of the film to maximize the scientific utility of the digital copy.

The Director film scanner can be also be customized to automatically detect and remove the majority of scratches and dust from color film through the use of infrared light. Only the Director also utilizes diffuse light from the LED integrating sphere to optically detect and remove scratches while scanning.

5. Effort to Solicit Potential Sources

A Federal Business Opportunities (FedBizOpps) RFI was published for Market Research purposes to determine which companies had capable products to meet the needs of the Government. RFI #J4CBS-15-

0001 was posted on FBO.gov from 06 November to 17 November 2014. The responses to the RFI are summarized in paragraph 7 – Market Research.

A notice of intent to issue a sole source Contract Award to Laser Graphics will be posted to FBO.gov with this

Justification prior to contract award in accordance with FAR 5.2

6. Fair and Reasonable Costs

The anticipated cost/price of this contract action to the Government will be determined to be fair and reasonable based on “Comparison of proposed prices to historical prices paid, whether by the

Government or other than the Government, for the same or similar items. This method may be used for commercial items including those “of a type” or requiring minor modifications, as stated in FAR 15.404-

1(b)(2)(ii). Lasergraphics will be asked to provide documentation of previous sales data so that the

Government can justify the price is fair and reasonable.

7. Market Research

Market research was conducted in the form of internet queries, consultation with known subject matter experts (at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory), and advertisement of a Request for Information

#J4CBS-15-0001 on FedBizOpps. Discussion with LLNL SMEs were iterative and occurred via phone calls, electronic mail, and in-person meetings. Overall, the results indicated that a specialized scanning system was required to meet the scanning accuracy and resolution requirements for the resulting film analysis, and the requirement to avoid additional damage to the deteriorating original films. While the

Specialised Imaging, Inc., who is an authorized reseller of the GoldenEye product (which is currently being used by LLNL), met some of the requirements, only Lasergraphics’ Director film scanner fully met all requirements needed by the Government, and as specified in the RFI.

The response to the RFI provided by Specialised Imaging, Inc. stated that GoldenEye can provide 2 of the files formats but not the required 3 simultaneous formats. In contrast, the Lasergraphics’ Director scanner can generate multiple outputs simultaneously from a single scan, without the need for post-processing steps to generate the files. Moreover, the Goldeneye scanner falls short of the requirement to scan at 4.5 density, whereas the Lasergraphics’ Director scanner has the capability to scan at 4.5 and above. The

Director fully meets the requirement to hold the film motionless while scanning as it holds the film by use of pressure plates that flatten warped and shrunken film frame-by-frame. The Director’s use of pressure plates yields images with full-frame (corner-to-corner), and uniform focus. The GoldenEye scanner does not hold the film down but scans the film as it moves past the 2K linear array sensor. The fact that the films to be digitized are in various states of decay and often warped requires the ‘flattening’ of the film to maximize the scientific utility of the digital copy. Lastly, the Director film scanner can be customized to automatically detect and remove the majority of scratches and dust from color film through the use of infrared light. Only the Director also utilizes diffuse light from the LED integrating sphere to optically detect and remove scratches while scanning.

8. Other Facts

For the RFI, a list of specifications was provided. Specialised Imaging’s response to the RFI offered a scanner (GoldenEye) that is already in use at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL). As a result of extensive communications with a LLNL Subject Matter Expert (SME), we were able to consider the lessons learned form LLNL’s experience with the GoldenEye scanner’s performance. The film had to be scanned and handled at least twice, followed by post-processing work to “stitch” or combine both low and high exposure films into a final version. The shortfalls, to include the machine’s ‘bugginess’ and the necessity for multiple passes and post-processing, negate the GoldenEye scanner utility for DTRA’s intended purposes.

9. Interested Sources

1) Lasergraphics, Inc. is the manufacturer of the Director and Galileo Digital is the sole world distributor of Lasergraphics products, based in Irvine, California.

2) Specialized Imaging, Inc. is the U.S. GoldenEye vendor and the manufacturer, Image Systems

AB, is a company in Sweden.

10. Subsequent Actions

An RFI was posted on FedBizOpps to overcome barriers to fair and open competition. Because only two responses were received, of which only one met all requirements, a Sole Source Contract Award will be made to Lasergraphics, Inc. for the Director Digital Film scanner. If another Digital Film Scanner is required in the future, Market Research of the industry at that time will be done, in order to determine if there are multiple companies who meet the needs of the Government’s requirement.