Advances in video technology and digital imaging have resulted in the ability to produce an image in a high quality digital format. Images that are created and viewed in a digital format can not only be quantitatively measured but can also be stored to disk for later examination. Write-once read many (WORM) optical disks are excellent media for archiving digital images. Several applications are discussed. All of the applications use a PC-based system for storing and recalling images on optical disks. These applications include metallographs, specialized microscopes, and scanning electron microscopes.