Organization is essential for every workplace if you expect to work as optimally as possible. Important business documents have the tendency to build up and over time they can accumulate to the point where you feel like you’re running out of room. One way to control the accumulation of documents is to invest in digitizing them. Digitization is accomplished through scanning, and scanning small documents can be a relatively simple task. However, many businesses often need to scan large documents at times, and some of them may even be extremely large.
Scanning large documents can be tedious as well as time-consuming. Some large documents that may need to be digitized are client charts or files, oversized manuals, large paintings, architectural blueprints, maps, schematics, certificates and awards, policies and procedures, books with numerous pages, and more.
For businesses that have traditional scanners, it can seem nearly impossible to scan a 1,000-page book, for instance. Since you can’t exactly disassemble a book prior to scanning it, you would need to scan one page at a time. This is certainly not a very cost-effective way of running a business, but fortunately, there are other options that can speed up the process.
4 Solutions to Scan Large Documents
Despite the fact that scanning large documents can be quite time-consuming and monotonous, there are ways to make the task of document scanning a lot more efficient as well as faster. Here are 4 possible solutions for scanning large documents so you can save time, space and money:
Local office supply stores
Just about every area has one or more choices of office supply stores that offer affordable equipment to use for scanning documents. However, it would be a good idea to contact an office supply store before heading over there, as most of these stores aren’t equipped for handling scanning documents of such a massive magnitude as a book, painting, or other large documents. You might luck out and find one that does, but changes are that the office supply agency simply doesn’t have the equipment necessary to handle more than average amounts of scanning.
Invest in a large format scanner
If the local office supply store equipment wasn’t appropriate for your large document scanning task, you may want to invest in a large format scanner. However, if you’re not going to be scanning large documents on a regular basis, then you may be losing more money by opting to make such an investment. Large format scanners are extremely expensive, so if you’re unable to justify the purchase of one, you may want to consider renting one. There are companies that rent large format scanners and other office equipment, so you may want to determine what the cost of renting would be versus buying.
Large document scanning software
Another option is for you to purchase scanning software that can make scanning documents of all sizes a lot easier than doing things the old-fashioned way. While scanning software can certainly make scanning large documents a lot easier and more convenient, it can still prove to be quite time-consuming and tedious. In addition, you will still need to hire staff to perform all the scanning, as it would likely be impossible and impractical for you to perform all the scanning yourself.
Outsource the scanning services to a third party
Many businesses, especially those that deal with large documents on a regular basis, opt for outsourcing their scanning services to a third party. A professional scanning service can dramatically decrease the amount of stress that you experience on a regular basis when it comes to scanning large documents. While many business owners worry about the cost of outsourcing, the cost of choosing not to outsource is often substantially higher than opting to outsource. If you choose to manage all the scanning yourself, you must purchase all the equipment and supplies yourself, hire the appropriate staff to perform the scanning, etc. By opting to outsource the service, you can sit back and focus on other aspects of running your business while allowing someone else to handle all aspects of scanning documents of all sizes into your system.
Why you should go paperless
If you are trying to convince yourself to go paperless, you should realize that there are many reasons why your business should go paperless. First of all, you can free up a great deal of space in your office, because files have the tendency to accumulate exponentially in a short period of time. Before you know it, you could have multiple designated areas just for storing files. By digitizing the files instead, you can use the space for other, more useful reasons.
There are also many other benefits of digitizing your business documents, with the main benefit being immediate and convenient access to documents, regardless of your location. Whether you’re at the office, working from home or in another country, you can easily access necessary documents with the convenient click of a mouse. Digitization of business documents also improves customer service, as well. If a customer contacts you requesting information, you can provide that information with a few clicks of your mouse instead of wasting time and keeping customers waiting while you peruse through huge stacks of files. The ability to access them digitally is much easier and faster.
Security is a major factor for many companies, and going paperless, especially by outsourcing your scanning to an outside agency, significantly increases the security of sensitive documents. When you’re relying on employees within your own agency to scan documents, it can be easy for sensitive information to be accessed by the wrong person. Third party scanning services are very meticulous and will scan, file and organize all your files so you can easily access them whenever you need to. As long as you obtain the services of a reliable and efficient scanning service companies like Tab Service Company, you can rest assured that all your documents will be properly managed in an optimal manner.
