Six Considerations in Selecting a Scanner |
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As your organization moves toward producing a less paper environment, one of the key items in achieving this goal is converting paper to electronic documents. The key piece to making this process as efficient as possible, along with producing documents that are true reproductions of the original, is the scanner. But what determines which device is best for your solution? A question I get asked more times that I can remember is, "What kind of scanner should I buy?" The second most asked question is, "I already have this scanner, will it work with your software?" The answer to both questions should be, "it depends." There should be a thorough analysis of the entire project before hardware selection is made. Remember, when producing an electronic image of a paper document it is imperative to capture the essence of the original as the goal is to get rid of the original paper documents. The electronic copy will be used as the legal document moving forward. The scanner is the key component in reproducing the original characteristics of the paper document. Following are the key factors to consider during scanner selection. These factors can be applied to any scanning job or process. Overall selection of a quality imaging device will produce consistent and reproducible electronic documents. Considerations for Scanner Selection
Centralized/De-Centralized Scanning With centralized scanning, documents are delivered to a primary scan station that serves many users or departments. This may be a corporate office in a multi-office environment, or a file processing room in an organization. De-centralized scanning distributes the scanning of documents to many users who scan lower volumes of documents. This typically involves placing a scanner on many user desktops or in each department in an organization. It is important to select one of these strategies initially to help determine the type of scanner to select. It is not unheard of to employ both methods of scanning in the business process. Document Type A review of the documents to capture should answer the following questions:
Cost/Speed/Size For example, if you have a need to scan 1000 pages per day, a scanner rated at 10 pages per minute (ppm) would take 100 minutes to feed the images through the scanner considering only scan rating. Likewise a scanner rated at 25 ppm would take 40 minutes to scan the same 1000 pages. Even though the 25 ppm scanner may cost more, the return on investment may be recouped on labor costs in a short amount of time. Another scanner rating you might come across is images per minute (ipm). This is typically seen on duplex scanners. Since a duplex scanner processes both sides of a document simultaneously, a 25 ppm duplex scanner would have a rating of 50 ipm. Most business class scanners are divided into classes based on size and performance. Typically these are broken down into the following categories:
Here is one other tip to keep in mind on scanner speed. Even though the scanner ratings are defined as ppm or ipm, mechanically the scanner is capable of feeding a document in inches per minute. In other words, scanning a 8.5x11 inch document in portrait style layout would require feeding 11 inches of paper through the scanner. This is typically tied to the specified page per minute value. So, if you purchase a scanner with the capability of feeding documents in portrait layout, you can effectively gain approximately a 23% faster scan rate. This would effectively make the 25 ppm scanner approximately a 30 ppm scanner. Imaging Quality The quality of the scan will also be affected by the optic/lamp technology of the scanner. Many low end scanners are available, but spending a few dollars more on a higher end scanner will payoff in both image quality and longevity of use. Many times a great scanner can produce an image that is actually of better quality than the original by enhancing the document with the use of the image processing features. Software Compatibility Beware that some scanners/multifunction devices do not have ISIS or TWAIN drivers, or they have a driver that is not fully compliant with the ISIS or TWAIN specification. Be sure to check with your software manufacturer to ensure that the scanner you are considering is fully functional with the software. Service Cost/Ease of Service/Warranty The reputable and quality scanner manufactures will also offer service agreements and great warranties. These range from onsite service technicians to advanced exchange programs where a replacement scanner will be shipped out before you have to return your scanner. The higher end scanners a very reliable, but do occasionally fail so be sure to select a scanner that has a warranty and readily available parts. Selecting the correct scanner to deploy with your software solution can enhance the overall solution and success of your paperless project. Correctly sizing the scanner to your paper volume and ensuring the scanner capabilities meet your document handling requirements is crucial. Without matching the scanner to the job, you may be costing yourself money in excess labor, lost productivity, and even worse, not being able to effectively reproduce the original document. Do not underestimate the importance of a quality scanner in the overall scope of your project. Although cost is an important consideration, it should not be the only driving factor in scanner selection. A good balance of cost, image quality, speed, and reliability should ultimately determine your final choice.
ABE NIEDZWIECKI is VP of technology at Cabinet NG, provider of document management and workflow solutions. For more information, visit www.cabinetng.com. |