Large Format Scanning and Document Management: Considerations for Buying or Outsourcing

If your business routinely handles documents larger than letter-sized, you probably wrestle with the large format scanning dilemma. If document management is a real issue for you, here are some perspectives that may shed some light on your own situation and move you to action.

Justifying the Expense of Large Format Scanning
To address the elephant in the room--cost is a consideration. GPS World writer Henrik Vestermark outlines the primary considerations taken into account when justifying the expense of large format scanning and document management:
Innovation. Large format scanning capabilities allow a business to serve your clients as well as your own in-house needs
Differentiation. Document management capabilities are a great selling point to separate your business form your competition
ROI. Added premiums for large format scanning and document management service can easily pay for equipment or outsourcing investments

Buying a Large Document Management System
If you’re moved to buy, you’ll need to know the features that separate the quality scanners from the rest of the field. Association for Information and Image Management (AAIM) contributor Lisa A. Desautels reveals large format scanning capabilities that your document management system should be able to handle based on project needs: sorting, control number labeling, color, scanning to 300 dpi, file management, etc.

Outsourcing Large Format Scanning and Document Management
If buying a scanning apparatus is not cost-efficient, outsourcing your project needs might fit your scenario. Vendorseek touts the advantages of outsourcing to include easier document handling and an decrease in misplaced files.

Is My Company Ready for Document Scanning Services?

Perhaps you’ve been asking yourself that very question every time you set down for a marathon session of scanning your business docs into the PC. Sure, you’re saving money by doing it yourself--or delegating the task to an employee--but could you be doing something more profitable with your time?

Driving the Document Scanning Trend
According to Yahoo! Finance, a combination of the effects of the economic stimulus package and the introduction of new technologies are stimulating interest in the document scanning revolution. For example, Lakewood, Colorado-based Records Nations has just recently assisted their 10,000th business in going paperless with their document scanning solutions.

The Benefits of Document Scanning Services
An article featured on ZD Net discusses the benefits of document scanning and why those tasks should be outsourced to scanning service professionals. In a nutshell, the costs and effort spent handling scanning in-house is typically larger than expected. Outsourcing to document scanning services vendors eliminates these unknowns and allows for tighter budgeting.

What You Don’t Know About Document Scanning
Vendorseek offers a unique FAQ on document scanning services that should be required reading for every CEO considering making the jump. In effect, the process is made simple by e-mailing documents to your processor. Data is then kept on tapes or in a virtual database that can be accessed at any time for reference or to backup lost files.

The bottom line is that document scanning services simplifies proper management of business-critical data.

Document Scanning Debate: On Tapes or Online?

Document Scanning is ‘In’, But…
The document scanning and imaging industry has graduated from a novel concept to a full-fledged business trend. And there are no signs of it slowing down. According to AllBusiness, the North American document imaging market saw over half a million document scanners shipped in 2007. New trends point to increased availability of scanners and multiple storage options. Which begs the question...data storage on tape or online?

Document Imaging on Tapes, Or…
A recent article by Alan Earls in Search Data Backup mulls the pros and cons of tape storage--particularly the dilemma of recycling. Understand that tape storage, while a bit antiquated--tapes are still a viable, low-cost means of backup. The problem is that there is still sensitive data left on recycled tapes. And without a complex formula of degaussing passes, large amounts of data can be extracted from what is supposed to be a fresh tape.

Document Scanning Online, Maybe…
Web-based document scanning and imaging is the certainly the future. Virtually unlimited storage is one reason for the change. But online document imaging is not without its problems also. For example, digitally-stored data can also fall into the wrong hands rather easily. And, power failure without backup makes document retrieval impossible.

The bottom line is that there is an entire spectrum of challenges to be conquered before document scanning takes its rightful place as THE data exchange process of the business world. And many of the issues will be solved through trial and error.

Document Scanning Revolutionizes Personal and Business Banking

In an effort to slash costs and become increasingly pertinent to the new economy, personal and business banking organizations are turning to document scanning by the truckloads. But is this new technology catching on? Several banks and an award-winning company weigh in.

Document Scanning the Swiss Way
In a case study commissioned by the Swiss financial group Basler Kantonalbank (BKB), the bank created an innovative records management system by linking high-speed production scanners to a 500-gigabyte NAS Hitachi storage system and Dell computers. The result was a serious reduction in labor hours filing personal documents and receiving check deposits.

Document Scanning Cuts Courier Costs
Sometimes, all it takes to push a bank into the new age is some good old-fashioned regulation. The Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21) is one such piece. When Bank Mutual made the leap to document scanning out of compliance, they found a wealth of other benefits. Its distributed document imaging solution enabled Bank Mutual to cut courier service costs by $250,000.

Kodak is the New Face of Document Scanning
According to AllBusiness, the Kodak Company wins the blue-ribbon for peripherals at the FOSE 2008 Conference and Exposition. The company’s KODAK i780 Scanner beat out all other document scanners and multi-function printer/ copiers with respect to image quality and rapid capture speed. Look for the i780 Scanner coming to a bank near you.

Document scanning certainly appears to be the wave of the future in the banking world.

It's the Scanner, Stupid

One of the best things you can do for your office, if it already hasn't been done, is to buy a scanner. However, don't buy a scanner that makes you feel stupid.

Before purchasing a document scanner, evaluate:

-- Ease of use, for instance if there is an Automatic Document Feeder
-- Ease of storage, after the documents have been scanned
-- Ease of searchability, after the documents have been scanned
-- Ease of training new people on the scanner
-- Ease of clearing paper jams from the scanner

It is great to have a smoothly running office scanner, but certain scanners, they just make you feel stupid. It keeps jamming up, then you start hitting it, or it takes forever, and you start hating it.

Buy the right scanner for your needs and your office can be a happier workplace.

Nuance, eCopy, and the New Document Management Frontier

In yet another sign that document imaging is on the inexorable rise, Nuance has acquired eCopy. This is going to be an interesting combination of companies.

Nuance makes all sorts of interesting products, including Dragon speech recognition products, mobile texting applications, and PaperPort document management software.

The acquired company, eCopy, has more narrowly focused on document scanning, imaging, and general "workflow" solutions, including multi-function printers.

The joining of these companies indicates the continued integration of various types of communications data and equipment. Document imaging providers traditionally have cornered the "input" side of things as far as scanning documents into the digital world, while speech input software has been another, not especially related niche industry.

Now that so many documents are already digital, with millions upon millions becoming digital by the day, it's time to put it all together. Nuance and eCopy will look to do just that.

Document Imaging and the Franchising Phenomenon

I attended the Franchise Expo today and I have to say it is amazing how the concept of franchising has impacted the American business scene. As Michael Gerber explains in his excellent book, The E-Myth, an entrepreneurial spirit takes you far when you have a system to work within.

From income tax preparation franchises to restaurants and back again, the L.A. convention center sparkled with positive energy as aspiring business owners sized up their options.

For the proprietor of this humble document imaging blog, the franchise mania on display brought to mind thoughts of creating a franchise to specialize in document imaging.

It seems there is at least one document imaging franchise already in existence, but with all the work coming down the pike (electronic medical records), it would be a shame if some clever soul didn't create a document imaging franchise within the next three to six months.

If you're an expert in document imaging, and would like to own your own business, consider building a franchise prototype. If that interests you and at the risk of repeating myself, I do very heartily recommend Mr. Gerber's fine book to lead you through the process.

Document Scanning Is Incredibly Cool

One thing that you may be underestimating, if you're a business decision-maker looking for a document scanning solution, is how incredibly cool document scanning actually is.

You can't say you don't impress when you pop a stack of paper into a high-resolution scanner with automatic data feed, and then that machine turns that mess into a digital file that can be saved forever and easily found via digital search...

If you're engaged in scanning in front of customers, the effect can be downright impactful. Something about the way you scan, the fact that you are so facile with that stuff, is bound to impress that customer with your professionalism.

When speaking of document imaging, image matters. And that includes the clean, green, mean image your business portrays when it uses document imaging technology effectively.

Document Imaging Is the Solution to Bank Overdraft Fees

OK, that headline may be slightly overblown. But only slightly, because document imaging technology may soon help bank customers avoid overdraft fees.

Overdraft fees, which are expected to generate $39 billion in revenues for banks in 2009, are often caused by the fact that banks run withdrawals immediately, but do not run deposits immediately.

For example, you can swipe your debit card to buy some gas and it goes through right now. But the paycheck you deposited two days ago is still not credited to your account.

Therefore, your gas purchase causes an overdraft, which costs you $35.

Enraged by such practices, bank customers are fighting hard for a solution. Document imaging may be just such a solution.

If you can scan your paycheck from your home computer or even your cell phone, and then send the scanned image to the bank, banks may start crediting deposits sooner.

Document imaging has already greatly changed how banks do business. It looks like that trend will continue.

Document Imaging Becoming New Revenue Source for Crafty Companies

Document scanning has always been a wonderful tool for storing files without filling up entire warehouses with filing cabinets. And most companies at least begin the foray into document imaging by exploiting the storage, record-keeping component.

But some--increasingly many, actually--companies are going beyond the storage utility of document imaging to create new revenue streams with document imaging technology.

AIIM had a nice case study of a company called Security Benefit that illustrates this point. Sign up at AIIM as a member to download the full report, but the short version tale is this:

Security Benefit handles retirement investments, and has reduced its overall IT costs 40 percent by automating its paper processes, which are very intensive.

Now, Security Benefit is selling its document imaging-fueled system as a product, to other companies in its industry. The selling point, easy: we reduced our IT costs 40 percent.

Can your company go beyond the basic uses of document imaging to actually create new revenue from document imaging? We wouldn't rule it out.

Slowly But Surely, Mobile Document Imaging Becomes Reality

Mobile document imaging has seen considerable excitement over the past year, as new products intended to facilitate "distributed capture" enter the marketplace. Distributed capture refers to the idea that documents can be scanned from anywhere, at any time.

Did you know there's an iPhone app for mobile document scanning?

Canon, meanwhile, released today a nifty little machine called the FORMULA P-150, a personal document scanning device meant for the "road warrior."

Set to retail for $295, the P-150 seeks to capitalize on the growing realization by road warriors (and their ilk) that scanning documents while on the road and shooting them back to a centralized database is something a road warrior could really get used to.

The accuracy of mobile document scanning, up till now, has not been on par with full-scale office scanners. But with each new product that comes out, mobile document imaging takes another strong step towards the status of the coolest technology most people don't know exists.

Document Imaging Can Save Your Business -- Literally

Although we've blogged about document imaging and disaster recovery before, the topic deserves repeated looks because of how incredibly important it is:

Business owners who maintain hard copy files, and do not scan those documents and save them to another location, are quite literally risking the survival of their business should disaster strike.

Document imaging can save your bacon if your office gets hit by a fire, flood, or burglary incident. Could your business survive without those documents? Think about it even though it's unpleasant to even bring up the thought, because this is a serious matter.

There are a variety of reasons to work with a document imaging service provider, but the "insurance policy" aspect is perhaps the most powerful. In some cases, such as with financial or legal documents, document scanning helps business owners comply with actual laws about handling certain documents.

However, business decision-makers should not need a law to tell them that document protection in the event of a document-destroying disaster is as important as important gets.

3D Scanning in Real-Time by Imaging3

Document scanning is not the only kind of scanning that is making a big impact on the field of medicine. Scanning of the human body is another area of scanning innovation.

One small company that has created an interesting scanning device is called Imaging3. Chairman and CEO Dean Janes invented a scanner called the "Dominion," which images the human body in three dimensions in (almost) real time.

Watch Dominion videos here.

This desire in the medical profession for increased transparency, better, faster information, is by no means confined to the desire for electronic medical records. Diagnostics equipment of increasing complexity and power is a part of this general trend.

Seeing is believing when it comes to the role of scanning in medicine.

Google's Secret Weapon: Document Scanners

Microsoft has a fancy new search engine on the market, and SharePoint, too. But Google is, most methodically, doing some serious damage to competition with their use of document scanning and document imaging technology.

Look at this news clip here, as turned up by Google natural search.

Scan as many newspapers as possible, with labor had for cheap enough, right, and then see what happens--this strategy seems a smart one. Not only can you populate the rest of the page with ads, your search stands out from the competition in terms of quality.

Remember, for instance, how newspapers used to employ great writers and pay them enough to live with. Those days are not yet completely gone, but another age has arrived in the meantime.

Discount Document Imaging Doing Big Things

One thing that strikes the casual or not-so-casual observer about today's demand for document imaging is the sheer humongous size of the projects being undertaken. Google is scanning books by the millions (with a cool scanner machine, too!). Obama wants all medical records electronic.

The massive size of these projects makes discount document scanning appealing.

Discount document imaging, price-wise, usually comes in at about 3 cents per page. Non-discount document imaging, you're looking more in the range of 8-15 cents per page, depending.

Discount document imaging is all about securing that giant project, and then blasting through it with incredible speed. Document imaging service providers who master this art-will be raking in the revenues over the next five years.

One thing to think about, from the client side, is the quality of the images being produced, especially with respect to how they can or cannot be manipulated after the fact.

Very low resolution scanned documents, or documents saved in file formats not in wide use, are going to cost you money in the long-run if you need to do anything else with them other than the simplest store and back-up.

Document Imaging, Paper, and the Best of Both Worlds

Katie is known as an eccentric business owner. Part of her eccentricity comes from her refusal to use computers to maintain customer files.

Instead, Katie uses an "old school" filing cabinet system where each customer file is literally a file, in a manilla folder. There is something very charming about this system, and it works great, so customers are not really losing anything by Katie's decision to stay un-digital.

Unless, of course, those hard copy files are somehow lost.

With document imaging, Katie could have backups of all those paper files at a separate location. Hiring a document imaging service would not be prohibitively expensive. And a lot cheaper than taking the chance of losing decades worth of customer data.

Reaching business owners like Katie is a challenge for document imaging services. Overcoming inertia can be a hard sell.

Bank Document Imaging Initiatives Have Changed Banking Industry

Whenever you, as a business decision-maker, choose to implement a new technology and make it a part of your business, doubts and questions arise as to how "worth it" this technology is really going to be. Wouldn't it be better to just leave things the way they are?

In terms of document imaging as a change agent technology, there is no better example of how document imaging can change a business than what has been done by the banking industry.

Document imaging has revolutionized the banking industry at multiple levels. The "Check 21 Act," for example, said that banks didn't need to physically send checks to each other before cashing them. Now, they simply scan them and cash them.

The ATM scanning of checks is notable, too. There are even a couple initiatives in motion to allow depositors to scan checks on their home computer, and "email deposit" to the bank.

Document imaging has changed banks, and the banking industry.

Thoroughly.

Paperless Office Giving Way to "Less Paper Office"

The dream is officially dead. The "paperless office" is not going to happen. Ever.

What is happening, though, and with astonishing rapidity, is the rise of the "Less Paper Office." Conservationist trends have merged with technology improvements to enable most--though not all--documents to be more effectively managed electronically than in hard copy.

Loan documents, for instance, used to be stored in on-premesis filing cabinets. You would then "dig up" the file when you needed it...as the file was 300 pages long, this took a while.

Now, if you have a searchable document management solution, and as long as documents are properly file-named when they are imaged, you can pull up any part of any file with a couple clicks of a mouse.

If you're interested in getting to that level but not sure where to start, contact a document imaging service today to build a solid foundation.

Document Imaging and the Partner Mentality

Document imaging depends heavily on software and hardware systems working together, rather than in proprietary isolation. It's only when documents can be freely shared and easily accessed that a document scanning project has shown its worth to an organization.

The major players in the document imaging industry seem to have realized the importance of their stuff working together. This story about Kodak partnering with MMR to develop electronic medical records that work across various technology platforms is a strong example of the partner mentality's ascendancy in the document imaging industry.

By always taking into account that scanned documents must be visible and usable on a variety of machines operating a variety of software platforms, document imaging vendors can get ahead of interoperability issues before they occur.

The partner mentality helps everyone--especially the end user of document imaging technology.

Tax Preparation Process Shows Promise, Peril of Document Imaging

I am a partner in a tax preparation firm and I am excited about what document imaging technology may do for our business in terms of efficiency, client satisfaction, and reduced costs. But I'm also concerned about being sued because of document imaging gone wrong.

There are some very interesting income tax preparation document imaging applications being developed; in fact, some such apps already quite well-developed. Here is the document imaging app called "Document eSort" from our software partner, Intuit.

Document eSort aims to give me, the tax consultant, the ability to scan an entire disorganized client folder (the proverbial tax receipt shoebox) and receive back, within 24 hours, an organized file that helps me do that tax return in less than half the time.

But what about client privacy of information? How can I guarantee that our clients do not see their social security numbers or other sensitive financial information stolen when it's passing through those Internet wires? Isn't it safer to keep that info in-house, off-line?

Addressing these security and litigation concerns should be a top priority of document imaging salespeople.