Should We Scan Or Not?

Many companies we talk to are asking themselves this question. "We have 1000s of boxes, should we have somebody come in and scan it all or should we do it ourselves"?

Scanning is only one part of the entire scanning project, but there are other aspects that affect the outcome of the project as well. Preparation, Image Enhancement, Data Management, and Output. We will talk more about each of these in a future post.

Typically companies will purchase scanners with the hope that they will be able to use internal personnel to complete the scanning project. These are just few of the potential pitfalls to scanning yourself:

1) Limited Expertise: What is the best DPI to scan at? How do I get the best quality image and compression? What are best-practice maintenance procedures for my scanning hardware? Correct answers to these questions based on the types of images being scanned is critical to getting quality images at a reasonable size.

2) Takes Too Long:Assuming your company can properly staff the project, the scanning rate will be much lower due to split responsibilities of a staff person and not being properly trained for using a scanner. Also you must consider image preparation (removing stables, post its, bent edges) for the scanner, which will take longer than actually scanning the documents.

3) Could Cost More In The Long Run: Even though it may appear that you have saved money on the front end, what is the real cost of the project and what has been produced?

Scanning Bureaus (like OptiScan http://www.optiscan.net) are well equipped with trained personnel, hardware, and image processing software to properly handle the scanning project with the end goal in mind.

Importing Documents into Document Management Systems

This is a significant challenge when thinking about adopting a document management system. It's easy for corporations to grasp the idea of having a single application that all knowledge workers use to search for documents. But how do we get electronic documents, paper, or other specialized media into the system so it makes sense.

Many things need to be considered when prior to importing or uploading documents into a document management system. First of all, are they electronic already or in paper form? How will these documents be indexed so relevant searches can be made? Will the contents be Optically Recognized to extract the text elements for unstructured search? Once the bulk of the enterprise content is loaded into the document management system, how will day forward imports into the system be handled?

These questions as well as others are important to figure out early in the process of implementing a document management system for your company. OptiScan has worked with many companies and helped them sort through questions and implemented seamless capture and document management systems. Contact us at http://www.optiscan.net or call us at 602-789-7800 for more information.

Web-based Utility for Document Management

OptiScan has created a very simple document management tool that easily manages scanned archives for retrieval with a powerful search interface. We realize there are many options for document management but have stuck with the notion that less is more when it comes to user adoption. Learn more by visiting our eVista Document Management site at http://www.optiscan.net/soft-evista-enterprise.php