Scanning

Scanning


Most Common Documents Being Scanned

Invoices

Streamline accounts payable process, reduce paper usage, and improve processing.


Contracts

Easy access and searchability and helps ensure all parties can access the latest version.

Employee Records

Allows for more easy and secure storage, searchability, and access of employee related records.

Legal Documents

Can help to improve access, searchability, and collaboration among legal teams.


Healthcare Records

Allows for secure and efficient storage and access to patient information.


Customer Records

Helps to improve customer service and enables more efficient and accurate record-keeping.


Industries With High Volumes Of Paper

Several industries still rely heavily on paper documents despite advances in digital technology.


  • Healthcare: Medical records, insurance claims, and other healthcare-related documents are often still in paper format.
  • Legal: Court filings, contracts, and other legal documents are often still printed on paper.
  • Finance: Banking, accounting, and other financial industries generate many paper documents such as invoices, statements, and receipts.
  • Government: Government agencies often have extensive archives of paper documents, including land deeds, permits, and other official records.
  • Education: Schools and universities often rely on paper documents for student records, transcripts, and other administrative tasks.
  • Real Estate: Real estate transactions often require many paper documents, including contracts, deeds, and other legal paperwork.
  • Insurance: Insurance companies generate many paper documents, including policy agreements, claims forms, and other paperwork.


Any industry that deals with legal or official documents, or generates a large amount of paperwork as part of its business processes, is likely to have a high volume of paper documents.


Different Types of Scanning


There are several types of scanning that we will focus on, what they are, what they are used for and any potential benefits and differences between them.


Production Scanning

Production scanning is the process with which large amounts of paper documents are scanned quickly and efficiently utilizing specially made document scanners to do so. Production scanning refers to the process of capturing and digitizing large volumes of documents or images in an efficient and organized manner. It involves using high-speed scanners to convert physical documents into electronic files. Production scanning is often utilized in industries such as banking, healthcare, and legal, where there is a need to process and manage a significant amount of paperwork or records.


During production scanning, specialized software is used to enhance image quality, remove imperfections, and apply Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to transform scanned documents into searchable and editable digital files. This allows for easier access, retrieval, and sharing of information, leading to improved efficiency, cost savings, and reduced reliance on physical storage space.


Production scanning can be a crucial component of document management systems, enabling companies to transition from paper-based processes to digital workflows.


High Volume Scanning

High volume scanning is the process of scanning a large volume of documents. In order to do this effectively production scanning can be used with scanning hardware. High volume scanning refers to the process of scanning or digitizing a large volume of documents or materials. This technique is commonly used in various industries to convert paper documents, such as invoices, forms, or records, into digital files. High volume scanning can greatly streamline document management processes, improve accessibility, and reduce physical storage requirements. It often involves using specialized scanners and software to automate the scanning process and achieve efficient digitization.



There are several benefits of high-volume and production scanning for companies that work with physical documents or require digitization of documents. Some of these potential benefits can include reduced storage space, increased productivity, enhanced security and more.

Mailroom Scanning

Mailroom scanning refers to the process of digitizing physical mail or documents received in a mailroom. Instead of relying on traditional paper-based communication, mailroom scanning involves converting physical mail into electronic files, typically in the form of scanned images or searchable PDFs. Scanning mail allows organizations to streamline their document management processes, improve efficiency, and reduce physical storage requirements.


By scanning incoming mail, organizations can store, organize, and access documents digitally, making it easier to search, share, and retrieve information. It also enables them to automate workflows, facilitate remote access and collaboration, and integrate mail content with other digital systems.


Mailroom scanning can be done using specialized scanning equipment or outsourced to professional document scanning services. The process generally involves sorting the mail, scanning each document, assigning metadata or indexing information, and ensuring the digitized files are securely stored.


Centralized Scanning

Centralized scanning is a type of scanning in which an organization that is doing scanning consolodates all their scanning processes into a single location.


Implementing centralized scanning into your organization involves several steps and the exact process will depend on the size of the company and complexity of the organization and scanning needs.


Benefits of Centralized Scanning

  • Easier to manage & control
  • Improved efficiency
  • Cost reduction
  • Streamline the process


Distributed Scanning

Distributed scanning is the opposite of centralized scanning in which the scanning location is at multiple locations instead of just one. This could have several benefits depending on your needs and organizational structure.


Implementing centralized scanning into your organization involves several steps and potential challenges like, infrastructure, training and more.


Benefits to Distributed Scanning:

  • Improves accesability
  • Mutliple users can scan simultaneously
  • reduce delays
  • Improved efficiency

Distributed vs Centralized Scanning

Distributed and centralized scanning are two different approaches to document scanning and management.


Centralized scanning involves bringing all paper documents to a central location, where they are scanned and processed. This approach provides high control over the scanning process, ensuring consistent quality and accuracy. Centralized scanning also allows for more efficient use of scanning equipment, as multiple scanners can simultaneously process large documents.


Distributed scanning, on the other hand, involves scanning documents at their point of origin, such as remote offices or branch locations. This approach allows for faster processing of documents, as they do not have to be physically transported to a central location. Distributed scanning also allows for more efficient use of resources, as scanning equipment can be distributed across multiple locations.


Organizations must install scanning equipment, such as scanners or multifunction devices, to implement distributed scanning at remote locations. They also need to train employees to use the scanning equipment and ensure proper security protocols are in place to protect sensitive information.


Overall, the choice between distributed and centralized scanning will depend on the specific needs and goals of the organization. Distributed scanning may be more suitable for organizations with many remote locations. In contrast, centralized scanning may be more suitable for organizations that require a high level of control and consistency in the scanning process.


Challenges Of Document Scanning

Document Preparation

Before scanning, documents may need to be sorted, organized, and prepared.

Image Quality

Scanning low-quality documents or using a scanner not set up correctly can result in poor image quality.

Large Volume

Scanning large volumes of documents can be time-consuming and challenging to manage.



Data Accuracy

Scanning can introduce errors, particularly when documents are damaged or are of low quality. OCR software can help mitigate this issue.


Security & Privacy

Scanned documents may contain sensitive or confidential information, so proper security measures must be in place against unauthorized access.

Cost

The cost of scanning equipment, software, and personnel can be a significant investment. Outsourcing to a scanning service bureau may come at a cost.

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