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.