FAQ
Document Scanning
What is document scanning?
Document scanning is the process of using document scanning software and high-speed document scanners to convert paper documents into electronic image format. These electronic images can then be indexed and stored in a document storage system which gives your users the ability to search through millions of documents in a matter of seconds.
How are documents indexed?
Documents are indexed based upon customized criteria set by you.
Scanned files can be indexed by client name, ref number, invoice number etc, as pre-defined by you.
Full Text indexing can be performed using an OCR (Optical Character Recognition) method. We can create a text file of your complete image. This allows the user to find any word (or part of a word ) that occurs in a document! In other words, using this technique you can search for document images by their content.
What types of documents can be scanned?
There is virtually no limit to the type of document that can be scanned. We can handle sizes ranging from a small receipt to as large as 36 inches wide technical drawing. "Documents" also describes pictures, posters, brochures, etc.. all of which can be scanned to your needs.
How about Document Preparation?
Document Preparation means that the paper document is "prepared" to go through the scanning equipment. PEARL offers this service at a nominal fee. Prepping documents requires that all the staples and other paper fasteners have been removed from the files and the pages are not excessively wrinkled, torn or otherwise damaged.
Wouldn't I be best doing my own scanning rather than outsourcing it?
Possibly!
If you have small daily volumes of documents which need a quick turnaround time then it is generally best to do it yourself on a small desktop scanner. We can advise on which scanner would best suit your requirements.
Larger volumes of documents (i.e. Many thousands) are generally best outsourced to a professional scanning company. PEARL use very high quality and high-speed scanners, which generate excellent image quality and keep costs down due to their high speed. You also benefit from our pre-existing QA procedures, which would take time and training to implement in house.
We don't want our documents to leave site but we don't have the capability to scan them ourselves. What do we do?
PEARL offers an on-site scanning service where we scan in documents using our own staff and equipment at your offices.
Document Conversion
What is the cost of document conversion to CD-Rom?
The cost will depend on the type of conversion and retrieval scheme which best suits your needs. We can assist you in compiling a plan that meets your goals and budget. Please contact us for further detail at info@pear-repro.co.uk
Do you offer a searchable database of my documents?
Absolutely! You may search by either having your documents OCR'd (Optical Character Recognition) whereby each word becomes the "index" allowing you to search by keyword or part of a keyword (recommended for clean documents) or you may have the document manually indexed based using customized criteria. An example of this would be "file name" (Vendor), "invoice number", "date", etc.. This enables you to search your database with ease and confidence.
What file format are the scanned pages?
PEARL offers many file formats, but we recommend black and white Group 4 TIFF or PDF for most document storage applications due to its wide support by software developers, small file size, and ability to store multi page documents in one file. Other image formats are available for full color or special applications, If you require a special format, just ask.
Do you OCR documents and convert them to MS Word, Excel and Access Format? What is the accuracy? How about accuracy and costs?
PEARL offers paper document conversion to editable file formats such as word processing files, Excel or Access commonly called OCR or Optical Character Recognition. Accuracy is entirely dependent on the quality of the original. Claims by OCR software vendors for uncorrected documents are 99.7% accuracy with a high-quality original but expect average of 95-99% based on industry experience. A document produced by a laser printer or printing press with standard fonts on white paper is considered a high-quality original. Photocopies, fax, low-resolution printouts, documents with non-standard fonts such as script, and documents with poor contrast due to similar colors of paper and ink, are all considered low-quality for the purposes of OCR and will probably require manual processing to improve accuracy. We can provide either one-pass OCR processing on a scanned image without correction, or we can completely correct the OCR results.
Document Retrieval
Do I need special training to use a document CD?
No special training is required to view or print the documents when using intuitive software such as "Imaging" or PEARL CDs. When we provide you with PEARL Software, we include a User Guide as part of the document database. Most computer users are able to get results immediately.