"What is imaging?

Imaging is a process by which a document (primarily on paper, although any medium can be used) is converted from a human-readable format to a computer-readable digital image file. A digital image consists of pixels (picture elements or tonal values in binary code) arranged in columns or rows. The number of pixels per inch determines the image's resolution (clarity and definition of the image expressed as height by width in pixels for image files or as dots per square inch (dpi) for prints).

These imaged pictures of documents can be stored on a variety of media. The most common types of storage are magnetic media (such as tapes, disks, and magnetic cartridges) or optical media (such as CD-ROM and other removable disks known as "platters"). When combined with effective indexing, imaging the files can shorten information retrieval time and allow access to materials for multiple users at various locations. "
http://www.archives.gov/records-mgmt/faqs/imaged.html

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 1 hr (2010-07-17 05:39:25 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"Imaged" = copie numérisée d'un document papier à des fins d'archivage - au scanner donc

"DIGITAL IMAGES are electronic snapshots taken of a scene or scanned from documents, such as photographs, manuscripts, printed texts, and artwork. The digital image is sampled and mapped as a grid of dots or picture elements (pixels). Each pixel is assigned a tonal value (black, white, shades of gray or color), which is represented in binary code (zeros and ones). The binary digits ("bits") for each pixel are stored in a sequence by a computer and often reduced to a mathematical representation (compressed). The bits are then interpreted and read by the computer to produce an analog version for display or printing.
http://www.library.cornell.edu/preservation/tutorial/intro/i...