Datamation Document Scanning Process: A Complete Overview

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Have you thought about scanning and storing your business documents digitally, but you’re not sure exactly how it works? At Datamation, we believe that an educated customer is an empowered customer. That’s why we have a clear, easy-to-understand document scanning process.

Take a look at the video below to get a feel for our process. Or, if you rather read about it, skip to the text after.

Step 1 – Boxing/Pickup

A Datamation employee will come in a company vehicle and load your boxed documents directly into the truck. This is a low-contact pickup as we only need a signature for release. What makes Datamation unique is that your personal records and documents are never handled by a third party–Datamation is fully responsible for the security of your documents. Once the drive starts, the company vehicle doesn’t make a single stop along the way. Everything goes directly to our secure facilities.

Step 2 – Receiving

After your documents have made it safely to our facilities, we work hard to ensure that you always know exactly where they are.

During Receiving, all of your boxes are assigned a unique bar code that allows us to track the progress of the job and the location of your boxes. It allows you to always know where your files are so you can be assured that they are all in one place. If you still need access to these files during scanning, that’s no problem! The files are available to you at any time and can be found in a matter of seconds.

Step 3 – Document Assessment and Preparation

Document assessment and preparation is the most important part of the scanning process. In terms of preparation, your documents are carefully readied for the scanner with any work they need before being scanned to ensure clean, legible digitization.

Low preparation documents usually just have a few staples or paper clips that need to be removed. Medium preparation documents may have more staples, and perhaps some other minor damages. High preparation documents contain many staples, dog-eared pages, and tears that require taping. We can even scan older documents that may need more careful handling. No matter the amount of care needed to repair documents, we will make sure that each document is as clear and unblemished as it was when it was first printed.

As this process is completed, we will also be looking through your files to see what can be purged to save you time and money.

Step 4 – Scanning/Capture

As an official partner of Kodak, we guarantee that every file is scanned on a top-notch Kodak production scanner one page at a time by a living, breathing person.

With these Kodak scanners, there is virtually no need for re-scans, as their exclusive Perfect Page technology makes sure that every color is perfect and text is crisp and clear.

Blank pages are automatically deleted, ultra-sonic double detection ensures that no pages are accidentally skipped, and the quality of the document itself is constantly monitored, assuring the best results. You can have your files scanned front and back, in color or grayscale, or even in different resolutions. Every detail is accounted for.

Step 5 – Indexing

Indexing allows you to find information within your documents with an easy keyword search, much like a Google search.

Depending on your specific documents and needs, our team can index via hand-keying, bar code application, zonal OCR (Optical Character Recognition), or full page OCR. Zonal OCR allows you to find specific text within a certain zone of the page, while full-page OCR allows you to find specific text within a full page of text.

Step 6 – Quality Review

After all documents are scanned, our Quality Review focuses on three key points:

  1. Did we scan every file?
  2. Are the images clear and readable?
  3. Is the indexing accurate and complete?

The same living, breathing people who scan your documents perform these manual record integrity checks to make sure that each file in the file box has a digital match. Once this is done, your hard copies can either be shredded or returned back to your company, depending on state and company regulation.

Step 7 – Output/Finishing

Our final step is to configure the scanned documents in whatever ECM system you would like, from the cloud-based system ImageSilo to Laserfiche, OnBase, IBM, or any other format you prefer for integrated storage and distribution.

With a cloud-based system, you have access to any document in any location with internet access, and your files are protected from natural disasters and hacking. Each file is backed up and protected by encryption codes that keep your files safer than ever.

Your documents can also be archived in a folder in PDF format. If you want to take a hybrid approach, we’ll keep your paper documents in our storage facilities while you maintain the digital copies—it’s all up to you!

Pretty simple, right? We try to make the process as pain free for your business as possible. Your documents will never be as secure or organized as they are when you have them scanned with Datamation. If you’re ready to try it out for yourself, contact us today to start your free trial.

If you have any other questions about our document scanning process, or want to start a scanning project, call us at (630) 321-0601 or contact us.

 

This post is part of the Datamation Guide to Document Scanning.