Introduction To Document Imaging

Submitted by Eastman Kodak

Download the complete article now.

Like it or not, there's no doubt that e-mail has accelerated text-based communications. The benefits of e-mail are possible because it replaces a physical information process (paper/envelope/stamp/delivery or print/fax/pickup) with an electronic process. Actual delivery takes place in Internet time.

E-mail is good for many things, but we still use lots of paper documents — more every year, according to industry studies. Keep in mind that the true value of a piece of paper is its content — including text, annotations, and signatures. Document imaging grabs all of that information and turns it into bits and bytes. Stored on a hard drive or CD, the content is accessible to authorized users virtually anywhere in a digital heartbeat. A given document can be printed and mailed, faxed, or even e-mailed as an attachment or a link.

Document imaging is not a new idea. Back in the 1990's, paper-intensive companies in insurance, healthcare, and investment management were among the first to get on board. By taking control of the hundreds of thousands of incoming documents received daily, they got a rapid payback of their million-dollar-plus systems. If document imaging proved its worth in these highly accountable industries, you can be confident it's a safe bet for you.

What is new about document imaging today is scale. With continuing innovation and the falling price of technology, implementing a solution doesn't take a million dollars. Even small offices can afford to implement document imaging. You probably have most of the essential hardware components, including computers and a network, in place and paid for already. Chances are all you need is a properly sized document scanner and the right software to take advantage of document imaging.

Download the complete article now.