Scanning

Today there are millions of MFPs populating workplaces in every industry. Organizations find MFP scanning appealing because they can combine scanning, copying and printing all on one device. These all-in-one devices allow companies to save money by getting rid of unnecessary technology, increase productivity because of higher page per minute output, and provide a way to add hardcopy documents into their electronic workflows.

With the growth of MFP scanning come questions about how best to utilize and how to take advantage of all the qualities a MFP can provide. Here are a few pointers to take the stress out of implementing an MFP into your document workflow.

· MFPs are not restricted to small-size documents! The MFP document feeder may restrict you to 50 or so pages, but by hitting the “scan more” button you can continue scanning for any number of pages.

· Scanned images from MFPs will not be larger file sizes than images from scanners. MFP scanning software includes image compression so even color pages can be reduced to as little as 200 KB per pages while retaining sharp text and good image quality.

· You can create searchable PDFs with MFP scanning. MFP scanning software allows you to create and save PDFs that are then available for text searches within documents and network folders.

· You can preview a scanned image at the MFP. Previewing will allow you to check the image to be sure it scanned correctly before returning to your desk.

· You can clean up images or drop colors out of images on the fly with MFPs, eliminating scanning errors and saving time.

· All-in-one doesn’t mean wait in line! It takes 30 seconds to two minutes to scan almost all documents and you can scan while someone else is printing.

· You can use barcode recognition to automate routine document scanning tasks and eliminate bottlenecks with automated splitting of document batches and naming of files. continue reading...

Does your business offer large-format printing services? Here are some key tips and tricks that will help you remain productive when undertaking a large format scanning production and process.

Prep Your Documents. Large-format drawings can require a lot of repair and preparation. Always check for staples and notes—some of which may be attached to the middle of the document—and tape torn edges. If a large document has been rolled up and stored, it may need to be reverse rolled or flattened out for at least 48 hours. Dust can damage a scanner’s glass, so be sure to vacuum stored drawings. Don’t be scared to get out an iron and ironing board to get  drawings flat enough to scan.

Sorting Methods. Determine whether your project’s drawings should be sorted by size and/or by quality. This minimizes the time spent changing settings during the scanning process. Remember that PDF and JPG formats have limitations—up to 100 inches—to scanning.

Drawings-by-Numbers. Consider applying a unique ID number based on project and drawing. Labeled stickers instead of stamps or ink, which bleeds on Mylar, will help identify that the drawing has been scanned. ID numbers also help with quality assurance and avoid duplicating work.

Name Your Files. Unless you have a document management system, you will need to have a special file naming system. When scanning projects, use a constant file name for the project and have sequential numbers to identify and follow individual drawings.

Multi or Single Page Scanning. Sets of drawings can be scanned as a single image or a multipage document. You will need to change your format to a PDF to get monochrome and color images into one file.

To Color or Not. Highlighted data can become a black block if you scan it as a monochrome with incorrect setting. Scanning in grayscale or color allows you to capture the information so that data is as easily readable as is the original. With the correct software you can convert grayscale images back to monochrome images.

Resolution. According to AIIM Standards, large format, 11 x 17 or larger, documents should be scanned at 300 dpi resolution.

Quality Assurance. All drawings should be verified to confirm that the edges have not been cut off and the settings were correctly set to capture the image at the highest quality. If a line is found from dirt or scratches, then the document will need to be rescanned.

Large format documents can be difficult to work with, but are essential to many industries and complete enterprise-wide document management. continue reading...

Did you know, on average companies have to hire an additional employee for every 12 filing cabinets simply to maintain organization. This is just the beginning of what it costs to manage paper documents in an increasingly digital world. Whether you are looking for a way to improve personal or professional productivity, capture and distribute paper-based information amongst workgroups, departments, and small businesses, or even blend multiple business applications from networked printers/copiers or scanners, Document Scanning Solutions can securely transform paper documents into business value.

Paperwork is paper that works… Document scanning solutions turn everyday tasks into routine processes that take less time, involve fewer steps, and allow employees to accomplish more. Enabling document scanning services stop the inefficiency inherent in paper files and achieve greater productivity, better information management, and lower overhead expense-a benefit to any bottom line.

* Increasing operational efficiency.

* Making business applications more productive.

* Delivering financial advantage to the bottom line.

A document scanning solution accommodates any business environment. Ideally, the amount of storage required for paper documents would be reduced, make any document instantly retrievable, and securely bridge the paper and digital worlds. continue reading...

Printers and scanners are an absolute necessity in every organization, business, office, educational institution, and more. The numerous brands and features of printers and scanners can vary anywhere from the numerous accessories, to the simplicity of black and white, color or both depending on the intended job.

Printers are available for specific purposes such as printers for mobile receipts, mobile thermal labels, network thermal labels and more. While some scanners can also be used for specific scanning purposes of photos, business cards, documents, and checks. Although some machines can accomplish both jobs of the printer and scanner.

Printers

The print preview option works out to be a great advantage as it helps a person to see how everything would look like in final, hard copy. Another advantage of printers is allowing storage of all the information in files for future reference with an ease and peace of mind that nothing important will be lost.

Laser printers, print quickly while, inkjet printers are cheaper they are slower. Yet, both printers use ink cartridges and will need to be changed. A good sensible solution to dealing with constantly changing cartridges is to use reusable cartridges.

Scanners

Scanners are machines you can scan just about anything and view it in soft copy on your laptop or computer. Meaning important documents like proof of purchase receipts, photos, contracts, and articles from newspapers or magazines, can be scanned and shared over email with friends or colleagues.

However it is important to always make sure your scanner is clean and kept away from dust and fingerprints, especially if it is a combination printer and scanner machine.

There are various types of printers and scanners that are available for specific purposes and are customized to fit individual requirements. No matter the reason for needing a copier or printer, it’s important in researching the product before using it for the first time. continue reading...

By Corey Smith

Tristam Wallace, at the Document Imaging Blog, had a very interesting post on SharePoint and Document Imaging. I think that one of the most common misconceptions is that if you have SharePoint in your office that you have a fully featured document imaging system.

SharePoint can certainly help increase your productivity through collaboration and document storage, but if you have a lot of unstructured data (documents that have been scanned), you probably need to look at integrating your document imaging system (capture/scanning or storage) with SharePoint to help your employees increase their document management productivity.

Here is the list of five considerations that Tristam points out:

1. Paper connectivity should not require major IT involvement.
2. Are SharePoint project teams outside your firewall?
3. Are hosted SharePoint services in your future?
4. Is real-time integration with SharePoint supported?
5. Is the document imaging application flexible and does it support multiple workflows?

Be sure to go to the Document Imaging Blog to read all of Tristam’s thoughts.

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Southern Solutions offers Document Management and Server Support solutions to Southern Maryland, including Charles County. Cities served include: Indian Head, La Plata, Port Tobacco, Bennsville, Bryans Road and Hughesville, Maryland. continue reading...

From ScanGuru

The Capture Applications on the market today are outstanding when it comes to automation. For any organization that has a large scanning project, or requires minimal time and maximum efficiency from its scan operators, some level of automation is a necessity. So what does automation mean when we are discussing capture applications

Below are some key feature that will minimize the time and effort required to scan and process documents:

Document Separators – with most scanners, if you have 10 documents to scan, you will need to run each set of pages through the document feeder, and save them off individually to your repository. Applications that allow document separators provide a means to place separator sheets between each of your document sets, place the entire pile into the document feeder, and let the software split the stack into individual files. This is a huge time saver, even with a small number of documents.

Intelligent Separators – these take the concept of the separator sheet a step further and add “intelligence”. For instance, a barcode separator could contain important information, such as a vendor code, invoice number, etc. This information is read by the system, and assigned to the document, and can be used in a number of ways: for search, in file naming or folder creation.

Database Lookup – Indexing, or data entry on documents can be a painstaking ordeal, especially if the information has already been entered into another system. The database lookup function provides the ability to retrieve information from another system based on some key value. So you could enter, say, an invoice number, and the application could go to your financial system and bring all the information associated with the document. This minimizes the data entry step, and provides consistency of data across applications.

Document Routing – There are applications on the market that will route documents based on coversheet information. Just scan the document with a barcode cover for a particular destination, and the system automatically routes the document to the right folder for let’s say, a particular customer.
Form Recognition – The ultimate in intelligent applications on the market today can recognize forms from a stack of paper that has been scanned, and intelligently process them according to features within each document. For example, an application form can be recognized, and the data harvested off the form for automatic entry into another system.
These are just a few of the automation features that can help with the efficiency of the scanning process.

This article originally appeared at the ScanGuru.

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Southern Solutions offers network and document management services to Faulkner, Ironsides, Issue, Malcolm, Marbury, Morgantown and Mount Victoria, Maryland. continue reading...