subject: Scanning Services – What's Available? [print this page] If you're considering your business scanning options, this article will outline some of the main scanning services that are available.
The following scanning solutions are available for businesses:
Outsourced scanning
Data capture
Document conversion
Document management
Document processing
Document scanning
Using high-speed scanners and advanced software, up to 500,000 pages each day can be scanned. Scanned documents can be output in the following formats:
TIF
PDF
DJVU
GIF
JPG
Drawing scanning
Scanning drawings is a much more efficient and secure way of storing drawings. You'll be able to store up to 5,000 drawings on one small CD Rom. Scanning is much more efficient than microfilming drawings. Paper drawings can also be converted into CAD files.
Microfilm and microfiche scanning
Microfilm scanning means that you can store these digitised documents with other documents and access them at the click of a mouse from your computer. The types of microfilms that can be scanned are:
Rolls
microfiche COM
16mm-full plate
X-rays
Photo negatives
All types of microfiche can be scanned at a rate of up to 100 frames per minute. Data can also be extracted from microfiches and exported into spreadsheets or databases.
Book scanning
Specialist book scanning machines can scan even the most fragile books without even touching the pages of the book. Black and white, greyscale and colour options are all available.
Scanned documents can be saved as: html, PDFs or other formats, so that you can search the text easily.
CAD drawing digitisation
CAD drawings can be converted into a digital format, either automatically or using a sophisticated trace service.
Data entry
In some scenarios, data needs to be entered manually. When carried out by specialists this can be done very quickly and accurately and will prove far more cost-effective than doing it in-house.
OCR conversion
Sophisticated OCR and html conversion services can convert large volumes of paper documentation into a digital format quickly and accurately. Supplied files could be:
Excel
Html
Microsoft Office
SGML
XML
PDF
TXT
These are just a few of the scanning services available for businesses. Other scanning solutions your business might be interested in include:
Bates labelling (often used by law firms preparing case material)
Data conversion
PDF conversion
Speaking to a scanning consultant can help you clarify which scanning services would benefit your business the most. A scanning consultant can advise you on:
