Most organizations and individuals are aware of the many benefits associated with digitizing their documents but may not know where to start. Scanning documents inhouse is certainly one option and makes sense if you have a very small quantity. But what if you have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or even millions of pages?
High volume document scanning isn’t as easy as some people might think, especially if you want it done properly. Scanning large quantities of documents requires expensive equipment, a dedicated staff, project managers, technical training, space for workstations, specialized software, quality assurance procedures, and perhaps most importantly – a workflow process to ensure the job gets right.
There are several reasons why outsourcing your document scanning project to a professional service provider makes sense:
- Document scanning companies are skilled professionals that have proven processes in place that are designed to maximize image quality and data accuracy.
- They use a variety high end scanning equipment capable of digitizing various type of documents, including high-speed scanners, flatbed, wide format, photo scanners, book scanners, microfilm scanners and more.
- They have documented quality assurance procedures in place for delivering the best quality images and accurate index information.
- Document preparation requires manual labor and having experienced clerical personnel further ensures high quality results.
- Technical expertise is required to process large amounts of data into useable databases and for compatible upload into existing document management systems or cloud-hosted systems.
- The overall cost to outsource your project to a competent document imaging company is significantly less than what it would cost to perform the project in-house.
Archival document scanning is a very painstaking, time consuming and labor-intensive undertaking and the steps involved often prove to be extremely overwhelming. Outsourcing to a professional scanning company is typically the best choice for most organizations. Utilizing an experienced service bureau is less stressful, less expensive, more convenient, and quicker. It also results in a more efficient, higher quality digital conversion with significantly better accuracy.
If (when) you decide to outsource, there are a few things to consider when choosing a document scanning company. Be sure to choose a company that has experience completing projects of a similar size and scope to yours. What are their security measures and do they have a SOC 2 Compliance Audit Report? Do they have proven project workflow procedures in place in ensure your project is converted correctly, i.e. every page is actually scanned and kept in order, pages aren’t lost, all images are legible and index fields are accurate.
There is actually lot that can go wrong when dealing with large amounts of physical and electronic data. I’ve been in this business for 30 years, so believe me I know! The next section outlines a few reasons why Smooth Solutions is a great company to do business when your organization decides to digitize it’s documents.
10 Reasons to Choose Smooth Solutions, Inc. as your Document Conversion Vendor:
1. Experience and Reputation:
Smooth Solutions has been in business over 25 years with the sole purpose of providing high quality and high-volume document scanning services. Our loyal clients can testify to exceptional level of service we bring to the table and our ability to complete difficult projects on time and within budget.
2. Wide Ranging:
We provide services to organizations across a wide range of industries including Fortune 500 Companies, universities, hospitals, physicians, financial institutions, non-profits, lawyers, insurance companies, publishers and government agencies.
3. Versatility:
We are experts in the digital conversion of all types of documents and various media:
- Paper from business card-sized to large format drawings, maps, binders, bound books, etc.
- 16mm and 35mm microfilm, microfiche cards and aperture cards
- Photographs, film slides and negatives of any size
- Consumer video tapes (VHS, Hi-8, MiniDV) and broadcast tapes (Betacam, DVCPRO, DVCAM)
4. Security and Compliance:
Secure Conversion Facility with SOC 2 Security Compliance: SOC 2 – The scope of our SOC 2 addresses the principles of Security, Availability, Confidentiality and Processing Integrity. Through a third-party audit it has been certified that our security policies and procedures are in alignment with compliance standards ISO27001, HIPAA, GLBA, etc. and that we can trusted as a secure data hosting company.
5. Top Notch Equipment:
We only use state of the art scanning equipment to capture the highest quality images. We utilize Dual-Stream Scanning as a standard for all paper scanning projects. Dual-Stream scanning captures every image in both Black and White and Color simultaneously, which is especially necessary for old or fading documents.
6. Commitment & Compatibility:
Our team is dedicated to delivering the highest quality output and customer service. We have experienced project managers, Prepping Clerks, Scanning Technicians and QC Operators and Engineers. The average Smooth Solutions employee has over 10 years of experience in the document imaging industry. Our technical team ensures that all images and index data are 100% compatible for upload to our clients’ existing Electronic Document Management System.
7. On-Site Scanning Experts:
Sometimes organizations have confidential, fragile or historical documents that are not permitted to leave their facility. We mobilize a team of experienced personnel and the necessary equipment to get the job done at the customer’s site.
8. 100% Quality Control:
We have multiple quality control checkpoints throughout our production process. After scanning, quality assurance operators review each individual scanned image to verify that they meet our quality standards. Poor quality images are flagged to be rescanned.
9. No Job is Too Big:
Smooth Solutions has successfully completed and continues to excel at high volume and in-depth document conversion projects. Below are a few of our larger, more difficult undertakings:
- NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene – We scanned and indexed 12 million original birth certificates for people born in the 5 boroughs of New York City, dating back to 1910.
- Major Financial Institution – We converted over 9 million pages of financial documents in a building condemned for lead and asbestos at Ground Zero. Our team of 20 employees were required to wear double hazmat suits at all times while on premise.
- YIVO Institute for Jewish Research – Smooth Solutions was awarded the contract to scan historical documents for the Vilna Collections Project, a 7-year initiative to digitally reunite prewar archival and library collections separated during the Holocaust. The project (to-date) has included the scanning of over 7,000 rare books and fragile archival material dating back to the 16th Century. To learn more about this important project visit https://vilnacollections.yivo.org/Project-in-NY
10. Proven Process:
We follow a strict production workflow process for every conversion project. Our software engineers have developed a proprietary document tracking and management software. SPLAM (Smooth Project Lifecycle and Management) tracks all documents from the time they are taken into our possession to when they are delivered back to the client’s office. The system keeps track of which documents have been processed and what stage in our conversion process they are in (i.e. scanning, indexing, QC, etc.). The software does not allow a box or batch of documents to move to the next phase until the previous has been completed. This is how we make sure we do not miss anything when dealing with large amounts of documents. The follow is a summary of our process.
