The Scanning Process

The scanning process has 6 stages to convert documents into ready to use electronic images. These stages are:

whitespacer 1. Document preparation

1. Document preparation

Document preparation often needs to be undertaken before the paper documents can be scanned. It most commonly involves removing staples, unfolding or unrolling, removing documents from binders etc. This process also involves placing the paper documents in a specified order to ensure that related documents are scanned in a related order. This assists with the efficiency of locating the electronic images once they have been scanned. If the paper documents are to be kept then this process can be reversed so that the paper documents are secured in the manner that they were received.

All documents are prepared and stored in secure areas by experienced scanning personnel. VST is experienced in processing highly sensitive information including bank account details, personnel files and corporate financial information. Please visit the Security section of our site for further information.

2. Data capture

This is the actual scanning process. The prepared paper documents are passed through an optical scanner and the electronic images are then stored. VST uses Kodak scanning technology with image enhancement to ensure that the electronic image of the document is as clear as possible. This is particularly advantageous for older documents that have faded or documents where the legibility is low.

VST specialises in the scanning of a wide variety of document types and paper variants including:

1. the make-up of the image, for example:

printed material from laser, dot matrix, typewriter, or inkjet, all in various colours
hand-written information in ink, ballpoint pen and pencil, all in various colours
mass printed items such as company stationary and forms
thermal printer output, such as faxes and CAD plots.

2. the base media, for example:

plain paper of assorted weights and colours
coated sheets from multi-part stationary sets, in different colours
thermal paper, such as used in fax machines or CAD plotters
translucent in polyester paper drawing sheets;

2.1 Image quality

The quality of images is determined by the future usage of the electronic images. VST will provide guidance and advice on the merits for the options available in the context of the requirements of each Client. As a summary however, The quality of the image or resolution is normally expressed in dots per inch or dpi. The scanning process converts the document image into a pattern of dots or pixels, and the resolution is the number of these dots per inch of original image. Smaller pixels equate to higher dpi values. The typical range of values for monochrome scanning is 200 300 and 400 dpi, extending down to 100 dpi or less for some colour work.

Higher dpi values will give the best image quality, capturing fine lines and small character detail. They will however carry the disadvantages of larger file sizes and slower scanning speeds. Consequently the resolution chosen for commercial scale scanning is the minimum dpi value that will give the image quality needed for the application.

Lower resolution images in the 200 dpi range are normally used for good documents to be viewed and printed. Higher resolution images are needed for processes such as automatic character recognition and for drawing vectorization, which needs 400 dpi or more. When high resolution is needed check that the scanner specification quotes an "Optical" resolution figure. Some specifications give an "Interpolated" resolution value, which is the result of a software process applied after scanning to increase the dpi value. This is not equivalent to optical resolution and gives the overhead of large files without the benefits of greater detail capture. Scans made at high resolution can however be successfully down-sampled to a lower resolution.

3. Data Conversion

data_conversion Once a paper document has been scanned and the electronic image has been created VST can convert these images into a wide variety of formats.

VST will provide advice on the best format for your company depending upon document management solution being introduced. The following are the most commonly used greyscale (black and white) and colour file formats in commercial imaging:

3.1 Compressed files

Due to the fact that the file size of the scanned images can become quite large there are a number of techniques to encode the file content, effectively describing lines of the file rather than giving simple pixel by pixel values.
Monochrome files can be compressed with no data loss using the standards developed by the telecommunications industry. These CCITT compression techniques are widely adopted.
The second technique is JPEG compression, developed by the Joint Photographic Experts Group. In this approach the tonal variation range is analyzed and very small tonal variations filtered out of the image. In this way the number of discrete different colours in an area can be significantly reduced with no visible effect. Once the tonal variation has been reduced the process of describing the lines can be applied. This enables JPEG compression to be efficient without an appreciable loss of colour detail.

4. QA (Quality assurance)

quality_assurance All work undergoes a vigorous auditing process to ensure that the image quality of the documents is of a standard that can be read and to verify that all documents have been scanned. This begins with a numeric check that the number of sheets corresponds to the number of image files produced. Individual files are also manually checked to ensure the quality of the images and as such the legibility of the electronic images.

Those images that are required for form processing are subject to an advanced audit before the data extraction begins.

5. Indexing

Once all of the documents have been scanned the images are then indexed or filed subject to the requirements of the Client. This allows the Client to search for each scanned image within a system of their choosing. The term indexing applies to this process. Indexing can be as simple or complex as the Client requires meaning that the number of reference points can be numerous or few subject to the manner in which the electronic images will be accessed after the completion of the process. Enhanced scanning allows for the maximum amount of flexibility in terms of accessing images through combinations of keywords as one extreme to a bookmark equivalent through simple scanning at the other.

The indexing of documents involves a variety of techniques from keyboard data entry, bar code reading and text recognition.

The way in which a document is to be retrieved in the future should be used to define the indexing data fields. Examples might be an invoice or account number, or the name and address of someone who sent a letter.

6. Output

output The new electronic images can be supplied in a variety of formats and be accessible to a number of employees depending upon the requirements of the Client. All of our output is securely despatched and password protected to ensure the safe delivery of your data.
VST can also securely store your electronic documents and provide high quality printed copies if required.