Storing documents takes time, space, and can be very tricky in the long term. Unless they are printed on acid-free paper and stored very carefully, documents can become damaged, yellowed, and brittle. In addition, unless you are very careful about storage and use, important documents can be easily torn, misfiled, or accidentally disposed of. Storing a great many documents can also be expensive -- if your company has years of documents that it wants to keep, then you've got to pay for storage space, not to mention personnel to file and maintain it. And if your company has documents that it would like to protect from public view, you'll find that it’s a lot easier to protect a document with a password than with a badly locked cabinet.
Many businesses are now storing their documents -- both archival and current -- as digital files. There are a number of file formats in which to do this, but the current favorite is as Adobe Acrobat (.pdf) files. Acrobat files record the document's actual appearance, so that you are looking at an exact duplicate of the original but unlike other image formats (such as JPEG or GIF), text and other elements can be copied and pasted into other files -- such as a Word document. These files can then be stored on a number of different digital media, including external hard drives that can be locked away, or CDs that can be easily stored. Even if you intend to keep your paper documents, it's not a bad idea to have backup digital copies in case of fire or other disaster.
There's one problem, though: Most of the less expensive desktop scanners only take one document at a time, which would take too much time even for a small company with modest scanning needs. As a result, a company that has several years of documents to archive, or that will regularly store documents on a daily or weekly basis, needs a more specialized device.
What You Want:
Document scanners are the place to go. There are several of these new, and increasingly inexpensive, desktop scanners on the market. They offer automatic sheet feeders that can hold at least 50 sheets, scan each, and save it as an Acrobat, JPEG, or other type of file.
When shopping for a document scanner, it's a good idea to make sure that the device you purchase has the kind of capacity you need. Speed is very much an issue here, and speed will determine how much you pay. For example, you can get the Fujitsu ScanSnap, which handles about 15 pages per minute, for under $500, while the Canon DR-9080C, which scans 50 pages per minute in color and 90 ppm in black, can run you about $6,000.
These days, most scanners can handle both black and color scanning; however, it pays to make sure before you buy, especially if you plan to scan illustrated documents.
If most of your documents have printing on both sides, duplex (two-sided) scanning can be a huge time-saver. Look for single-pass duplex scanning -- this means that the document is scanned on both sides simultaneously, rather than having to be scanned twice (once on each side). This can be invaluable if you've got a backlog of documents to be scanned.
Keep in mind that there are certain applications for which document scanners may not be appropriate. For example, if you've got many years of documents to be archived, and need it done in a hurry, you may want to invest in an archiving service for the backlog. In addition, keep in mind that most of these scanners only handle paper up to 8.5 x 15 inches (legal size) -- if your office documents are any larger, you will probably need to either go to a service, or (if your company can afford it) start looking at one of the floor models that can handle large-format pages.
Look For:
Features:
- Automatic paper feeder
- OCR and PDF conversion software
- Color and monochrome scanning
- Speed of 15ppm or more
Nice Extras:
- Single-pass duplex (two-sided) scanning
- Automatic detection of black or color documents
Price Range:
- $500 up.
Some Examples:
