MFPs/Copiers and the Panel - Scanning and Capture

Okay,
I have held back comment on this one for far too long. What is up with the MFP manufacturers and what I call "Panel Insanity"? When it comes to scanning and capture, they want everything tied to the panel!!

So, I can understand, you make hardware. You want it to be as "all-in-one" as it can be, and give organizations a super powerful copy-scan-fax-print machine that can do it all.

But let's get serious for a minute, and talk about the drawbacks to panel processing for scanned documents:

1. Although the panels are getting larger and larger with every generation, do we really want users standing at the copier, pecking away, entering their metadata? Is that the most efficient use of their time? Efficiency is so important, and getting the most out of employee time in this economic environment is absolutely required.
2. Contention. When I want a copy, I want it now darnit. You scanners need to get out of my way, and yield to the almighty paper. Line at the copier? This is a bad thing.
3. Scan versus Capture? I wrote an article on the differences between the two application types on my SharePoint specific blog: Scan versus Capture? Let's move away from scanning and use some automation to collect data, rather than manually enter it at the panel.
4. Even though there are panel apps, there is almost always another component behind the scenes doing OCR, reading barcodes, etc. So now we have multiple failure points within the overall capture system. Keep it simple, the fewer application components, the better.

Just some thoughts on this topic.

The Power of Advanced Capture

In any Document Management or Enterprise Content Management System, there are four basic components: Hardware, Capture, Archive and Search and Retrieve. So what is the most important piece? Everyone nowadays seems to have the hardware. All of the copiers today have scanning capability, with the newer ones scanning at 70 pages per minute. The simplest archive is a series of folders on your server or workstation. And with files on the network, Windows Search, or the search capabilities within Abode allow you to find what you are looking for quickly (sometimes).

For the more advanced organization, they may have a Document Management System, or utilize Microsoft SharePoint for their archive and search and retrieve functions. But what seems to be lacking in most organizations, is a structured, automated way of capturing files. The argument of this BLOG entry is that Capture is the most important piece to any ECM or DM System.

As mentioned before, when we look at just about any office or organization today, they are scanning with a copier or desktop scanner. But inevitably, they take their paper mess and recreate it digitally. Why? No standardization in the process. Joe scans his files to his email and stores them in Outlook folders, Betty scans to her My Documents on her laptop, and uses a convoluted naming scheme that only she can decipher. They take their paper problem, and create a huge problem for IT. Disparate archives now pose a disaster recovery problem, along with the issues of accessibility.

So what is the answer? Advanced Capture. Advanced Capture applications provide the ability to set structure, and harness the capabilities of all the scanning hardware within the organization. They can provide standardization and structure, along with fantastic efficiency improvements. Take for example, PSIGEN's PSI:Capture. With its Microsoft SharePoint Migration feature, and auto-import capability, you can set all your scanning copiers to scan to a processing folder. Utilizing the barcode routing capability, you can create cover sheets for each library within your SharePoint site. When you scan, the software will pick up, process, rename and folder files automatically. The end result is a standardized folder structure, standardized naming scheme, and a searchable PDF all within your SharePoint site.

The other major contributor to efficiency within Capture applications is the ability to use separation technology. I see it all the time...the office that has 20 documents to scan. They walk up to the copier, and scan them one by one; a very time consuming process. With document separators, you can scan the entire stack and let the software split the documents, rename and folder them. Let the technology do all the hard work!

Scanning with your Copier or Multi-function Device (MFD)

How do you get the most out of your scanning copier?

The copier manufacturers (Konica, Sharp, Canon, Kyocera) have really stepped up to the plate in recent years, and focused on the scanning capability of their hardware. Connecting to the network with your copier used to be a costly option, but would enable the unit to print and scan. Almost all the copiers today are sold with built-in network capability, and you instantly have network scanning capability.

So why would you use a copier rather than a dedicated desktop scanner? There is an article posted at www.scanguru.com that has a list of pros and cons to both device types - Copiers versus Dedicatd Scanners for Document Imaging , but the focus of this article will be on how to best utilize your copier for scanning.

Most of the MFD/MFPs allow scanning to email, scanning to SMB or network folders and scanning to FTP sites. It is interesting, and I find that most organizations will only setup scan to email. Users email themselves documents, open the attachment, rename it, create a folder and then save. As you can imagine, this is a time consuming, very manual process. The scan to folder function on most models is also a very manual process, as with most models you have to "hard code" the folder destination, and you cannot navigate folders on your network.

So how do we improve the scanning process, and make our document imaging simpler and more efficient? Through the use of software.

In utilizing software in the scanning process, there are two schools of thought:

• Scan to the network, and then go back to your desk and desktop software to process the document
• Process the document at the Copier/MFD at the time of scan

Let's look at these in more detail.

Desktop Processing

Let's look at the flow of this solution: Walk up to the copier, press a one touch button, walk back to your desk and open the software to process. The majority of the Document Management and ECM Software vendors have realized the enormous potential in enabling the use of copiers as a "front-end" for capturing documents, and have "copier-enabled" their applications. Once you scan from the copier, the document is placed in a queue for indexing/processing at your desktop. You can view the document, enter index or keyword values, and then submit the document to your Document Management System to be shared. Document Management Software vendors such as Captaris and Docuware have built simple, easy to use Copier capture modules. If you have some heavy duty processing needs, you can use Psigen or Kofax products and their document import function to process copier scanned documents.

If you have more basic needs, all of the Desktop scanning manufacturers have great feature sets for processing and working with scanned documents (eCopy Desktop and Nuance PaperPort to name a few). The links below have a listing of the majority of the software manufacturers:

Document Management Software Capture Software Desktop Scanning Software

Processing at the Copier

The flow for this solution involves a touch screen and keyboard at the copier: Scan your documents at the copier, touch a button on the screen for the document destination, enter your information and click done.

These solutions are very convenient and allow you to finish the scanning process at the time of scan. You can scan to email, scan to network folders and browse the network, scan to fax, scan to your desktop, and even scan into a variety of Document Management and Imaging Systems through the use of pre-built connectors. The two market leaders in this category are eCopy ShareScan and EFI SendMe. They both have similar feature sets, but eCopy definitely wins the race with the partnerships it has established with Document Management Vendors. Go to the link below for additional info:

Copier Capture Solutions

In summary, scanning with your copier is a great way to leverage your existing investment in office equipment. The process can be streamlined, and efficiency can be gained through the use of software.

For more info on Document Management and Document Imaging, go to www.scanguru.com

MFDs are not enough when scanning

What is scanning? If you ask this question to twenty different office workers, you will get twenty different answers. The Scanning Multi-function Device (MFD) has placed scanning into the hands of just about every office worker. But the “scanning copier” has its limitations, and sometimes can create more chaos, just moving the paper problem from the file cabinet to the server. The problem I see in most customers is no plan, or strategy, when it comes to storing documents digitally. They take their scanning hardware, and just go for it, with no structure, standardization or foresight. Pretty soon, they experience the same problems they were trying to eliminate: lost files, erroneous naming, misplaced files, etc.Part of the blame should be placed upon the copier resellers, many of which do not fully understand scanning, or the business process that goes along with paper conversion. They recommend the simplest solution, which is not always the best solution for the customer. My main point here, is that all scanning organizations can benefit from some type of capture software to automate the entire process, enforce standards, and provide the ability to ensure quality when scanning and indexing documents.There are several capture applications on the market, from simple and cheap, to the complex and expensive. There are several capture software companies listed in the links section of www.scanguru.com , as well as some articles explaining the benefits and features. Educate yourself before you purchase, and find a vendor that has a strong knowledge and reference base in the field.

Stephen Boals
http://www.scanguru.com/

Dedicated Scanner or Scanning Copier?

Scanning Copier or Dedicated Scanner??

Scanning Multifunction Peripherals (MFPs/copiers) have become standard in most offices. I receive the same question all the time from prospects and customers: Can’t I just use my copier for scanning? In most cases, for a typical office, with typical documents, a copier is a perfect scanning solution. As offices become more complex in the way they handle their documents, or they expand their scanning efforts to other departments, dedicated scanners may be required to achieve the desired result.

Below are some interesting statistics provided by InfoTrends:

· 65 % of office workers use digital copiers/MFPs
· Over 50% use the “scan” feature daily
· 71% expect scanning requirements to increase from year to year
· 72% believe it is necessary to view images before processing
· 36% will require dedicated scanners versus MFP devices
· 36% believe they will need both scanners and MFPs

So what are the benefits/drawbacks to scanning with both types of devices? Below is a summary:

Benefits of MFPs as scanners:

Leverage your existing investment in the MFP
Most copier maintenance plans do not charge for scans, so you get “free” maintenance for the scanning function (no print/copy, no click charge)
MFP manufacturers are really focusing on scanning capabilities: fast speeds, better quality and enhanced drivers, etc.
Network scanning functions:
Scan to email
Scan to Windows Folders
Scan to FTP
One-to-Many relationship: all workers can use one device.

Drawbacks of MFPs:

Contention – copying, scanning and printing may cause “a line at the copier”
Poor performance with differing paper sizes
Lack of color dropout (Scanning blue or black backgrounds will result in a black page)
Lack of image correction capabilities (auto deskew, despeckle, black border removal, streak removal, etc.)
Small Document Feeder sizes (50 – 100 pages)
On average, file sizes are 10-20% larger
Duplex scanning/DPI increase greatly slows down rated speed
Black and White scanning only on some models

Benefits of Dedicated Scanners:

Convenience – scan at your desk
Duplexing does not slow down scanner
Color dropout
Superior image quality due to enhancement features
Ease in handling differing paper sizes/types
Larger document feeder selections (up to 1000+ pages)
Smaller file sizes
Ability to preview scanned documents at scan time

Drawbacks of Dedicated Scanners:

One to One relationship – directly connected to PC
Additional Maintenance costs


Above are all the pluses and minuses, but in a nutshell, when should you use a dedicated scanner?

Scanning 100+ documents per day
Workers that are constantly scanning throughout the day
Mixed paper sizes, weights and colors
Poor quality, older documents or when image enhancement is required
OCR or ICR applications
High volume copying and printing environments
Large Document scanning
High security environments