When searching for the best scanning service for your needs, there are many things you need to consider. Here we have a run-down of the five most important things to think about when you hire a scanning company.

Services

The first thing you need to think about is what service you are looking for exactly. If your company doesn't have the capabilities to deliver their documents to the scanning bureau, then you must focus your search solely on services that offer collection of documents. It would also be a bonus for your company if that was done for free or already included in the price. You also need to consider how easy it is to tailor those services to the needs of your company. The idea is not to have to bend over backwards for your scanning project to be completed. You want a service that gets the job done without you needing to worry so you can focus on more important things.

Cost

It goes without saying that you must look for a service whose prices fit within your budget. You will need to check that there is no hidden extras that could take the costs over the price you are willing to pay. Often getting written confirmation for the price of the package will be enough to assure you won't be landed with an unexpected bill.

Quality

While you may be looking for the cheapest scanning deal, it is also important to ensure you get the quality you want as well as a cheap price. Scanning equipment is not cheap so usually a company offering 'too good to be true' prices will not offer as good quality as those offering competitive prices for good quality images. Doing a bit of research will be enough to tell you what price is reasonable and competitive for the service you require.

Security

When you hire scanning services, you want to know that your documents, photos etc. will be safe and secure so make sure you check for security accreditations, data confidentiality and how secure their premises are. If you're unsure about the security of the company, you are within your rights to request to see the scanning bureau before committing your custom. Some might deem it a little cheeky to request to visit, but at the end of the day, you and your company are making an investment, one that could save you so much more in the long run, so you want to make sure you go with the right services for you.

Aftercare

When it comes to getting value for money, you want to look for services which offer some sort of aftercare. Whether that's delivering your digital or hard copy documents back to you or securely shredding and disposing of the paper files. It is important that once the scanning project is done, you are not left to deal with the final details. If you have had your documents placed onto a digital document management system, you should receive consultancy from the company on how it works and what to do if there is a problem.

We think those are the most important things to consider when hiring scanning services. If you can think of any more, feel free to get in touch through our social media channels.

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer bespoke scanning solutions which tick all of the above. If you would like some more information on the scanning services we offer, including document scanning, feel free to explore our websites or get in touch for a free, no obligation, quote for your scanning project.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

Document scanning has been providing a lifeline for organisations within the healthcare sector for many years now.

Document scanning can literally save lives. As shocking or even ridiculous as it may sound, in a roundabout way, this statement is true.

Benefits of Document Scanning for the Healthcare Sector

Document scanning and medical records scanning can provide numerous benefits to all organisations but the healthcare sector can not only benefit themselves but they can also pass these onto their patients.

Efficiency-

The efficiency benefit comes about as a result of easier accessibility to documents such as patient's records etc. This quick efficiency will benefit both the organisation and its patients as a result of more patients being seen when their records can be accessed quicker for quicker diagnoses.

Cost Savings-

The less an organisation costs to run, the more money they can put into ensuring their patients receive the best possible care. With document scanning, the need to print out documents and pay for document storage is eliminated.

Space Savings-

As I've just mentioned, the need for document storage is reduced or even eliminated completely with document scanning solutions. Where files were usually stored in cabinets, boxes and folders cluttering up offices or even corridors, that space can now be freed up and utilised in an improved way.

What Does Document Scanning Mean For the Future of Healthcare?

More and more healthcare organisations have begun the transition to become fully digital organisations. The benefits mentioned above will start to come into effect almost immediately cutting patient waiting times and saving organisations a lot of money in the process. If more organisations decide to have their documents scanned and implement a digital document management system, the future of healthcare across the UK will look much brighter.

Pearl Scan's Pledge

Here at Pearl Scan, we have successfully completed a number of scanning projects for healthcare organisations who are already reaping the benefits of going digital. If you would like some more information on how Pearl Scan can tailor document scanning services to your exact needs, get in touch today or request a free, no obligation quote by following the relevant links below.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900

It is a process we offer with all of our scanning services but what is OCR?

OCR or Optical Character Recognition to use its full term, is a tool used during document scanning and data entry which makes scanned documents text searchable. It also makes these documents fully editable. OCR processes have dated back to the 1910s and have since developed into a useful service for businesses which are in the process of digitising documents. After the scanning process is completed, these companies save time, money and space as we have mentioned in previous articles but OCR processing is usually a vital part of the scanning process for organisations wanting to make full use of their digital files and documents.

Why Do We Use It at Pearl Scan?

Here at Pearl Scan, we can apply OCR processing to your scanned documents. We recognise the big advantages that come with being able to edit and search for your documents by their contents.

• You can access documents quicker.
• Documents can be edited right there rather than having to be completely rewritten
• We can OCR process multi lingual documents from languages including English, French, German, Portuguese, Italian, Spanish, Urdu, Arabic and Russian (and all other major world languages, subject to testing).
• You won't have to pay for someone to rewrite the text in order to edit it.
• Tables and original layouts can be recreated using the latest software.

While one of the disadvantages listed about OCR is its lack of 100% accuracy, Pearl Scan employs a number of experienced staff who will check over all of your documents and ensure everything is correct so you don't need to worry.

Other uses for OCR technology

While the above use is still very useful, OCR processing can also be used more productively to assist people who are blind or partially sighted. Ray Kurzweil invented a machine in 1974 that was to change the world for these people. It was a reading machine for the blind. Combined with a flat-bed scanner and a text to speech synthesiser, the machine provided a lifeline for those who otherwise would not be able to read what they wanted to.

If you are interested in learning more about our document scanning services including the OCR process, get in touch today. For a free, no obligation quote, fill out our quote request form by following the relevant links below.

Request a Quote   |   Contact Us    |    This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

The Scan-do People^tm


For more information feel free to give us a call: 
Nationwide: 0845 22 55 923          London: 0207 183 1885
Manchester: 0161 832 7991         Birmingham: 0121 285 1900