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Is your office or desk cluttered with paper files? Wouldn’t you love to clear out that clutter and finally get organized?  

One of the biggest reasons you should convert paper documents to electronic files is to save time in the long run. People waste hours searching through physical papers for the information they need. When you digitize documents, searching for information becomes much quicker and easier, saving precious time and effort. Additionally, digital documents are easy to share and retrieve on a much larger scale.

You can access your documents remotely from your mobile device if a sudden need arises, or e-mail them to people who need to see them in an instant. There is no need to wait until you are back at your office or wherever your documents are stored. 

You can also keep better track of your documents when they are digital. Depending upon the type of documents you work with, there are various rules and regulations for handling them. Certain documents need to be kept indefinitely, whereas some need to be eliminated after a certain amount of time. After digitizing paper documents, you will have an easier time keeping track of these different types of records, ensuring that you comply with the document retention policies in place. 

The best way to accomplish this task is by converting all of your hard copy paper documents to digital documents copies that can be stored and accessed online. Physical documents can easily be digitized, offering you numerous advantages.

Let’s take a look at some of the best ways to digitize paper documents.

1. Multi-Function Devices

A multi-functional device (MFD) produces good quality digitized documents, but it requires some effort on your part. If you already have such a device, it should feature a built-in scanner with which you can digitize paper documents. However, even if your MFD can be sheet-fed automatically, this is still a rather time-consuming method of digitizing paper documents. If you have a large number of papers that need to be scanned, this method may take quite a while. Multi-function devices also tend to jam from time to time, which can lead to a lot of frustration and wasted time. 

Generally, this approach should only be used if you have an MFD into which paper is sheet-fed automatically. This saves a considerable amount of time.

2. Desktop Scanners

This is another simple, but tedious, way to digitize paper documents. There are many varieties of desktop paper scanners available so you want to choose one to best suite your needs. A few things to keep in mind are the sizes of paper the scanner can handle, the speed, whether it can scan in color, and black and white, resolution options, and software capabilities. This option could be a good way to start on your document digitization but would be quite the undertaking if you have a large volume of papers to get through, or if some of them are irregular in size or type. This may not be the absolute best way to scan documents, but it can certainly get you started if you just have a handful of regular papers you want to digitize. 

3. Apps

If you have a very small quantity of paper documents, one option is to simply scan them within a scanning app on your smartphone or tablet. For instance, the Google Drive app features OCR software that allows you to scan documents and save them onto the drive. Camscanner and Scanbot are other popular options. This method can be a great approach if you do not know how to digitize documents since most apps have pretty simple step-by-step instructions that inexperienced scanners can follow. However, if you have more than just a handful of items you would like to save, this is definitely not the best way to scan documents. Scanning a high volume of papers will take time and a lot of storage space on your device.

Once again, go with this approach only if you want to digitize limited paper documents.

4. Document Imaging Services

The go-to option for bulk document scanning projects. Send your files over to a company that offers professional document imaging services. They can digitize and index all of your documents using workflow processes and specialized equipment that ensures your documents are digitized accurately, efficiently and at the highest quality. Document imaging service providers can handle your entire project from prepping, scanning, indexing, formatting, uploading to your EDMS, right through to document shredding. This option is typically the best way to digitize paper documents in order to make the best use of your digital files. Outsourcing is also generally much less expensive, quicker, less tedious and more accurate than handling it yourself. 

If you have a lot of important documents that you need to be saved, a professional document imaging service is by far the best way to digitize documents. 

What Should You Keep in Mind

Keep the following tips in mind to prevent potential issues.

• • • It’s not always necessary to scan every piece of paper in your office. Check your organization’s document retention policies to determine what you need to keep and what just be shredded.
    • Save electronic files in a universal file format, such as pdf, to maximize usability.
    • This applies after you have digitized all documents. Now, if you ever get a physical copy, digitize it instantly instead of waiting.  If you delay it, the documents will just pile up, and it will be a hassle for you to digitize them again. Once you have digitized your backfile, setup scanner substations in your office to scan today forward documents into your electronic document management system. Streamline this practice as part your daily process so documents don’t pile up
    • Maintain multiple backups of all electronic Either store copies of your database on external hard drives, your local server and/or the cloud. 
    • Name files properly and add dates or other index fields where required so they can be searched for and accessed easily. Make sure the digital files are organized in a hierarchy into folders and sub-folders so that when you search later, you can easily find the information you are looking for. Most Imaging services will do this for you so be sure to ask.
    • Scanning high volumes of documents are no easy task and there are bound to be errors. Make sure you have comprehensive quality assurance policies in place during every step of your process to reduce errors and maximize quality.

Whether you are very familiar with the process of document digitization or have no clue where to begin, contact us today. Here at Smooth Solutions, you can trust us with digitizing your precious documents. We have over 25 years of experience, so you can be confident that our highly-trained staff will handle your important papers quickly and safely. No matter the size of your paper or film, our team of experienced professionals will get the job done. If you need to digitize your paper documents but don’t know where to start, call or email us and we will be happy to help!