Guide to Document Scanning

Document scanning services are needed by businesses that need to scan documents and convert them to digital format. This makes the documents easier to distribute without having to pay for printing.

Several scanning companies now offer document conversion services and document indexing in addition to document scanning, which will save time. When selecting document scanning services, there are many things to consider.

1. Cost: Price will vary depending upon the size of the document scanning company. If digital document management is not their specialization, they will likely charge a lot more for the use of their machine.

2. Speed: Depending upon the document scanning software that is used document scanning can be fast or extremely slow. If the company that you choose to scan documents is a large corporation, they are likely to have speedy software.

3. Quality: Besides being fast and inexpensive, digital document management should be high quality. If pages get mixed up when scanning, it can cause major problems for you.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Get a quote for scanning medical records

Many medical offices are now scanning their medical records because filing cabinets are growing an average of 22% a year. Always verify that the document scanning services are HIPAA compliant to protect patient's personal information.

I recommend: Scan hub offers flat rate pricing per medical record. They offer 300dpi scanning. US Imaging offers medical record scanning as well as large format items.

Covert files using document conversion services

Converting documents from hard copy to digital not only saves space but time. Digital document management offers file searching features, indexing and retrieval solutions.

I recommend: Digital Documents LLC offers electronic file conversion and discovery as well as file naming and coding. Sy-Tech Solutions offers document conversion services of paper, microfilm/microfiche and AutoCad files.

Outsource to high speed document scanning services

Time is just as important as cost to many companies. That is why outsourcing to document scanning companies is often more cost efficient than attempting to scan documents on the office scanner.

I recommend: Royal Imaging offers a speedy turnaround time for less than the cost of making a copy. Electronic Copy Center offers high speed document scanning and a document conversion service.

Tips & Tactics
Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• Although it may seem cheaper to scan documents at the office, consider what you are paying your employees for their time.

The official source of Document Scanning is the Document Scanning page at Business.com