Data Capture Info

Having boxes, filing cabinets, desks and rooms full of old documents, drawings, plans, film, microforms and other physical storage formats that are easily disorganised, destroyed, lost or misplaced is a nightmare that faces many businesses and individuals on a day to day basis. It not only costs time and manpower to sort through and keep in check, but also hard cash to pay for storage space. Also, if your documents only exist in a hard copy paper format they are virtually impossible to edit or replicate cheaply without copying out the whole thing by hand, which is not only time consuming but also adds the potential for creating new errors during the copying process. If you have reams of data that is unusable because of its format, but want to get all of it organised online on your own computer networks and file servers, you will welcome the services offered by Document Scanning companies. With modern scanning techniques you can convert your old documents and files into identical digital replicas which you can then edit, store and access without any of the problems that keeping hard copies entails. Here are some of the techniques and services available in the scanning and data capture market, and also an idea of what kind of people will benefit from this service, and how it can have an instant impact on your life and work.

There are so many types of files and formats that can be scanned using modern equipment and then processed using intelligent software and online filing tools and programs that it is easy to recommend for almost any purpose. There are many adjustable scanning and data capture options, depending on your intended application, and you can change the resolution and quality of the scan if you are capturing images, or discern between pieces of information of a form or survey. Here are some of the most common applications of the scanning services for Data Capture.

• Survey Scanning
  Many firms who operate large surveys and want to easily digitise the results for analysis can benefit from forms designed to work the best with Optical Mark Recognition technology that ensures accuracy of results when read from survey forms. The scanning process can discern between and capture important data and information, allowing you to unify your data capture and storage across your business, no matter what form the source information comes in. Survey roll outs and returns can also be unified through the companies PO BOX number, which puts much of the work out of your hands, freeing you up to focus on data analysis. You can then be sent the data in Microsoft Excel or other spreadsheet software format via CD or email ready for instant use.
• Document Conversion
  Thanks to the Document Scanning process, converting paper documents into editable Microsoft Word document files which can then be modified, replicated, emailed, printed and stored in any way you see fit is quick and easy. Bulk amounts of documents can be scanned quickly and cheaply, and using an Online Document Storage system to unify your digitised documents and make them accessible to anyone around the world with access to the internet via a web browser is then an option. Online Document Storage has adjustable levels of access permissions and a ‘check out’ facility that allows only one person access to a document for a limited time should you wish to make changes, just as you would be able to do to a real hard copy that you had checked out of a filing system. A4 documents are the most common, but documents and drawings of up to A0 size are able to be scanned. You can also have documents stored on Microfilm or Microfiche formats scanned and digitised, breathing new life into a dying medium.
• Photo Scanning and CAD Conversion
  Full colour, high resolution scans can be made of photos and images which you possess, as well as special software which can create CAD files from plans, hand drawn sources and sketches which you can then edit and adjust using your own software. This is especially useful if you do not have the original CAD file any more or wish to create a digital record of older documents.

Using Kofax Capture technology you are ensured the most accurate scanning replication of your documents. For document scanning, it is able to produce professional grade scans and then index them accurately and conveniently in the fastest possible time. For data capture it has the ability to discern and capture the significant data to your personalised specifications, even down to a tick in a box or a hand written response in a survey. The Optical Character Recognition technology contained within the software will give adjustable levels of accuracy to help with this process. The unifying indexing techniques help to streamline all of your scanned documents and captured data regardless of the format from which the scan is made.