Find the best scanner service for your business’ needs

It’s easy for any business to end up with piles of paper documents. What once fit into a single filing cabinet can soon overwhelm your office space. You can digitize all these documents yourself if you have the right tools and enough time. But if you want to process many documents fast, you may also wish to consider document scanning services.

These scanner services assist businesses by digitizing documents in bulk. Their processes enable speedy shipping, scanning, and return or destruction of the originals. That said, your documents contain essential, and sometimes confidential, information about your business. You need to know the company you work with will treat your documents with the highest level of care. Here’s what to look for in a document scanning service to ensure you get the best results.

Want to know more about how scanner software enhances productivity and streamlines workflows? Read our guide, A Guide to Scanning Software.

7 essential qualities for document scanning services

Many companies perform scanning as a service. Their offerings may seem similar at first. Yet certain characteristics have a major impact on how well their services may be a match for your company's needs. Here are seven to weigh as you begin your search.

1. Accuracy and quality

If you're sending documents off to be digitized, you should only have to do it once. Look for a partner that shows excellence in creating scanned documents that are accurate and legible. They should have strong measures in place to spot and correct mis-scans. Every page should be accounted for and easy to read.

That said, sometimes too much quality is a bad thing with digital files. Higher-resolution scans create larger digital files. Your document scanning services partner should help you find the resolution and file types that will work best while minimizing storage requirements.

2. Security and compliance

Only work with scanner services that boast strong security features. This is equally essential for each step of the process, from the initial physical document transportation to how their digital counterparts are returned to you.

Does your business have any special compliance requirements? Abiding by HIPAA for working with protected health information is one common example. If so, ensure your document scanning service's processes are fully compliant for the documents they will handle.

3. Scalability

You may have a few legal boxes full of papers to work through. You may have whole record rooms. Either way, you should be able to count on the same level of care and attention from your document scanning service.

Look for scanner services with a good level of scalability. This means you will be able to build and maintain a business relationship with them even as your own company grows. You will also be able to count on that same company to handle various needs throughout your business cycle.

4. Turnaround time

Shipping your documents to an offsite service means you can't access those documents. The longer you have to wait for digital copies, the more likely you are to need their contents but not have them. Look for document scanning services that offer and deliver on speedy turnaround times.

The specific amount of time each scanning task takes will likely vary. The number of pages and proportion of unusually sized documents may mean some batches take longer than others. Get quotes from multiple scanner services to see how long you may need to spend without easy access to your documents.

5. Storage and access

Once your documents are digitized, how will you access them? There are many ways to send digital files between businesses. Make sure you know which ones your document scanning service supports and which will work best for your own business case.

If you want speedy and easy access from anywhere, look for a service that lets you access your digitized documents via browser. If you don't want your documents ever to be accessible online, you may be able to request secure shipping on physical media such as storage drives.

6. Secure disposal

You probably don't want the same piles of paper documents back in your office and taking up space at the end of the scanning process. But you don't want them all sitting intact in a recycling facility for anyone to read, either.

Your document scanning service should be able to shred or otherwise securely dispose of paper originals. That said, the service should also let you earmark any documents you do want to retain in their original form. This can come in handy for foundational documents and any other papers you wish to keep as part of your company's history.

7. Price

You've accounted for all the other features you need. Now it's time to see how the document scanning services cost will impact your company's bottom line. Note that not all scanning services will provide flat estimates ahead of time. Fortunately, all you may need to get a quote is a page count estimate and what kind of scans you need.

Working with scanner services can be a convenient way to tackle backlogs. However, if you don't update your approach to your workflow, you may need to pay that scanning services cost over and over again. Consider investing in your business' own document digitization capabilities as well, so that you can begin scanning in-house as you go.

Our recommendation: RICOH fi-8170 Document Scanner

Those in the market for document scanning services have no shortage of options. We take great pride in having spent the last 50+ years researching, designing, and developing some of the most advanced and powerful electronics in the world, including our professional grade fi and SP series of scanners.

Built to purpose for the most demanding document handling jobs, fi and SP scanners are capable of processing tens of thousands of pages per day at the highest levels of accuracy. Their intuitive integration capabilities with all existing work suites minimize time-to-value for businesses looking to invest in tools that will pay dividends for years to come.

The RICOH fi-8170 Document Scanner was created to be a powerful tool on its own or the flagship of a whole scanner fleet. Its remote distributed scanning capabilities offer a practical way to digitize and distribute your business documents. Deep integration with PaperStream NX Manager cuts the need to ship documents between locations while reducing costs. It also increases instant access to critical information. Click here to learn more or shop the rest of our production scanner line.

Note: Information and external links are provided for your convenience and for educational purposes only, and shall not be construed, or relied upon, as legal or financial advice. PFU America, Inc. makes no representations about the contents, features, or specifications on such third-party sites, software, and/or offerings (collectively “Third-Party Offerings”) and shall not be responsible for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of such Third-Party Offerings. Please consult with a licensed professional regarding your specific situation as regulations may be subject to change.