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!

PSI:Capture 3.5 - The Killer App

Every now and then, a new version of software comes along that just amazes you. In selling Document Management and Capture applications, I am constantly looking for features to help my customers make their processes more efficient. PSIGEN's PSI:Capture 3.5 is packed with some phenomenal features to help make the scanning and capture process more streamlined, and reduce the time it takes to index scanned documents.

The new version includes OCR Assisted Indexing, or what I will call OAI. OAI allows the user to "point and click" at pertinent information on the scanned document, and automatically populates the index field. For example, a scanned invoice can be quickly indexed by just pointing at the invoice number, invoice date and vendor...no typing necessary. The software takes this function a step further, and can auto-highlight specific information on a document based on a pattern of characters.

Feature detection is a powerful tool that allows the application to intelligently identify features on a page, like say, a logo. This detection allows the ability to separate documents based on certain features, so you can "tag" the first page of every document by the logo in the right corner. No more inserting separator sheets!!! Along the same lines, you can now separate based on zone OCR values, or particular words on the front pages of your documents.

The Zone OCR function in version 3.5 has now been greatly enhanced. The product now includes the ability to anchor, based on a barcode, patch code or from the left corner of the document. This ensures repeatable zoning across scanned documents. You can now images process individual zones to remove lines, and clean up the image before OCR. The image processing enhancements include line removal, autoinvert, and the ability to run them within the Quality Assurance module.

The product now includes Optical Mark Recognition. To give you an example, in playing with the software, I created a SharePoint Routing Sheet for an accounting department. On the routing sheet I have 4 boxes, one for invoice, po, contract and correspondence. When I scan the document, the application will read which box I have checked, and then autopopulate an index field, rename the file, and route it to the appropriate SharePoint Document Library and folder!!! Wow!!

This is just an overview of the high points, but the new version also includes the following: Separation Profiles, Device Profile import and export, PDF/A OCR output, new barcode types, and greatly improved database write/read performance.

I will be covering each of the features in a separate post with screenshots in the coming weeks. You can grab some more info from www.psigen.com or on www.scanguru.com.

Should I use SharePoint as a replacement for my file servers?

Should you utilize SharePoint as a replacement for your file server?

Many SharePoint features make it a fantastic replacement for traditional file shares. The product is very strong in two key areas when it comes to files: collaboration and versioning. For those file types, like Word Documents and Spreadsheets, the product provides the ability to share documents with a group, and allow collaboration and change management through its version control functionality. The ability to share over the web makes it simple and easy for all to access files.

So is it time to move all of your file server content to SharePoint? I would say no, and restrict the system to those types of files that fit into the below categories:

-Those that need to be shared over the web
-Files that require input or collaboration from multiple parties
-Whenever version control is required
-Whenever files are subjected to compliance rules

For more information on SharePoint go to ScanGuru SharePoint Information Page.

Captaris Single Click Entry Technology

I played with some cool technology this week. I received my demo version of the Captaris Single Click Entry (SCE) technology. Captaris aquired the application when they purchased Oce Document Technologies (ODT) back in January. The application has a native integration into SharePoint, and allows you to open a TIFF scanned image, and just point and click to enter index fields/columns. So, open an invoice, click on the invoice number field, and presto, you have instant OCR field population. There are some screen shots and an associated article at:

Captaris Single Click Entry for SharePoint Article

Fujitsu and Kofax Demo

I saw some really cool technology this week at a demo our scanning distributor arranged. It was a joint demonstration with Fujitsu and Kofax. The capture side was the soon to be released Kofax Express. Kofax has built a really powerful capture and imaging application for the consumer on a limited budget. But note, this application has many of the features of a full-blown capture application. Separation, barcode index field population, and release to several formats, inlcudig Microsoft Sharepoint. Along with that, it will include all the image processing features of Kofax VRS 4.2. All this for a price between $495 and $2000, depending on the speed of your scanning device.

Along with the software, demonstrations of the Fujitsu fi-5900C, fi-6140 and fi-6770A were performed. The new Fujitsu line is pretty incredible. The fi-6670 and 6770 are replacements for the previous workhorses, the fi-5650C and fi-5750C. The scanners can also be bundled with built in hardware VRS, as denoted by the "A" in fi-6670A and fi-6770A. So what is new in this product? First of all, the speeds are at 90 ppm now, which places these scanners in a whole new class. Secondly, they have implemented a new multifeed technology that allows the scanner to learn from scanned documents, and ignore sticky notes, or other items like checks which are pasted/taped onto a sheet of paper. This can be a huge time saver.

For more info check out the links at ScanGuru Capture and Scanner Links.

Document Management Site Search with Google

I found my self searching way too many sites when I was looking for specific information, or doing research across sites for Document Management and Scanning. I have created a few Custom Google Search Templates for those of you would like to search across vendor sites for info on Document Imaging. There is a Scanner Manufacturer Custom Search, a Capture Software Custom Search and a Document Management Software Custom Search. For instance, if you wanted to look for HIPAA related articles across all the scanner vendor sites, you can do that. If you want to find all the scanners that support 11x17 paper, it is now possible.


Click the link below to use them:


Document Management Site Searching with Google Custom Search Applets

Let me know if you want any others, or want any other vendors added to the mix.

What is OCR and how can it help me in my scanning project?

Ah, OCR, also known as Optical Character Recognition. Is it really necessary to use OCR software after scanning files to TIFF or PDF? What are the key benefits of OCR? How can I use OCR to create searchable or editable documents?

OCR technology has come a long way in the past few years, and the OCR engines on the market today utilize intelligence and speed to quickly and accurately convert scanned paper documents from plain old images, into searchable or editable documents. For a quick overview of OCR, ICR and OMR, click here.

When looking at OCR technolgies, you need to determine your end goal: is it searchability or a cleanly formatted, editable document. Is your goal speed, or accuracy?

There are a number of desktop applilcations (eCopy Desktop, Adobe, OmniPage, ReadIRIS), that can provide the ability to create searchable files, as well as Word Processing files, or even spreadsheets. These are perfect for low-volume, daily conversions.

If you are scanning a large volume of paper, and need rapid and accurate conversion, most of the Advanced Capture applications on the market can accomplish the task ( Psigen PsiCapture is an example). This capture software utilizes either the Expervision or OmniPage production OCR engines, and can convert a 1000 pages in 10 minutes to searchable PDF.

For more info on OCR and how it can work for you, see the links below:

OCR Software Links

Scanning and Document Management Articles and Research