A generation of Kiwi soldiers on microfilm are set to be digitised in a major project initiated by the New Zealand Defence Force.

More than 3000 reels of microfilm created over a period of 25-30 years starting in the 1960s contain the service records of 400,000 service personnel.

The NZDF wants each image to be captured to provide them with the ability to index more than 6.4 million.

The project has added urgency as the NZDF states "film is acetate based and many reels are now exhibiting signs of ‘vinegar syndrome’ which causes the film to buckle and ultimately to shed its emulsion coating.

"While this process of deterioration has already commenced it has not yet progressed to the stage where vital information has been lost. However, some of the images on the films have low legibility as a result of poor filming of the originals."

The winning tenderer will also have to provide "a software tool which will facilitate the accurate division of images from each film reel into unique Service persons groups and describe how this tool will work."