Document Scanning and Imaging

Document scanning and imaging is a critical part of the quest for the paperless office. Many customers buy FileHold software for this purpose only.

The software fully supports all scanning technologies and has been certified on products from Kodak, EMC, and Kofax. Following are some of the questions we have been asked.

How do I create a Barcode cover sheet?

The software generally uses a pubically available 3of9 barcode font (contact sales@filehold.com for this file). The process is to open up an Excel document, and then using the 3of9 barcode create a barcode page and print it out. Some people turn them into PDF and then print them out.

You can create document separator sheets, batch separator sheets and other things as well. The document scanning software creates a new document when a page with a barcode is detected. You can also add the barcode value to the document file name, or you can create a filter that only detects barcodes of certain values for separation and ignores other barcodes.

It is recommended you print these out on lightly coloured paper (light yellow, pale blue, light green etc) so that visually the separator page "pops" in the stack of white paper you are about to scan. That way the scanner operator can visually separate the pages. Use a different colour for batch, document or other barcode based automation.

It is also recommended that after scanning each batch / day that you place all documents from that day in a bankers storage box, label it with a Scan Date and what types of files are inside - then shred or put into long term storage within a period of time (60 days). It is a good idea to check on 0.1 to 1-2% of all scans (depends on type of information) to maintain quality control.

Can we store images in the document management software?

Yes - Any type of file or document can be stored within the document management software, and this includes images. A maximum file size of 1.7 GB is supported - so very large files can be stored within the document management software. We would recommend using our .NET 2.0 desktop clients to upload or download these large files.

How does the document management software automate the document scanning and filing process?

The software has the following suggested processes working with Quick Scan Pro software that ships with the document management software:

1. Users can split the document into single pages (each as a PDF) or keep the entire document as one file (PDF) either is easy to setup in The document scanning software Create index fields within QuickScan Pro; for example "Owners name, address, client number, unit number and week", the scanner operator could then enter this in manually which would take maybe 20 seconds to key in within QuickScan Pro. While they do this they will see the documents they are indexing in QuickScan Pro's file viewer.

2. If some of the documents are handwritten it might be best to have the scanner operator index each batch in one easy step, The document scanning software can then apply this index information to all documents or pages within a batch. Handwriting recognition is possible, but usually not as accurate unless very specialized and expensive software is purchased.

3. At the end of the batch, with the document scanning software doing all the work except for the quick data entry of the 5 index fields by the scanner operator, the batch is closed, and a new batch can be started and the process repeats itself. The document scanning software then generates an export XML file automatically for each batch upon batch completion.

4. FileHold document management software can then read this export XML file, and pull out all index information, and automatically tag each document. Both index information and documents are than imported into the document management software using our powerful Desktop Client that is designed for batch uploads/downloads by FileHold power users and scanner operators.

5. Once imported into the document management software the users can then search for documents or files using the any/all of the index fields using the document management software powerful search engine.

6. When going paperless, the biggest cost is the time spent by people scanning, imaging, OCRing, and creating PDF documents of each scan. With QuickScan Pro and FileHold you can automate the entire process as much as you would like, keeping the scanner operator highly productive.

7. An additional benefit is you can save each batch / document type settings, and re-use them on additional or replacement QuickScan Pro workstations. Other software may require the scanner operator or IT administrator to configure the system each time, which can be a tedious and repetitive process.

8. Part of the FileHold process is to help customers understand configurations of both the document scanning software and FileHold, and to help them through the entire process. It's quite easy once the first configuration is completed.