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When having your documents scanned, it is important to choose a file format which is suitable for your organisation. Amongst all of the technical jargon, it can be difficult to tell what the difference is so here's a short and simple guide to three of the most popular file formats.

TIFF

TIFF is short for Tagged Image File Format and, depending on your experience with electronic files, you may or may not have already heard of it. While the TIFF format is a popular one to convert documents to, there are a number of factors you need to consider before choosing this format.

Advantages of Scanning to TIFF

The main advantage of using a TIFF format to convert your scanned files to is that this format is highly compatible with most systems and software. The file also remains uncompressed meaning you won't lose any image detail during the conversion or through frequent saves.

Disadvantages of Scanning to TIFF

There is a disadvantage to the uncompressed feature of the TIFF however and that is the file size. Because a TIFF file remains uncompressed, its file size can be really large. This can become a problem if you're wanting to share your files by email. If you just want your files to be stored and accessed from a document management system though, this can be done easy with TIFF files.

JPEG

JPEG (or you may have seen if referred to as JPG) stands for Joint Photographic Experts Group. If you have anything to do with photography, you will almost definitely have heard of this as it is a popular format for photographic images and digital paintings.

Advantages of Scanning to JPEG

In contrast to the TIFF, JPEGs are compressed files which reduces the file size making it easy to share by email. The initial compression uses good enough ratios to still maintain decent quality images.

Disadvantages of Scanning to JPEG

Unfortunately, the compression will have an effect in the long run because when you save and edit the files over and over again you will experience something called generational degrading which means the images will begin to lose their quality over time.

PDF

The PDF (or Portable Document Format) is probably the most popular format to convert scanned images to. Whether you work with electronic documents on a regular basis or not, you will almost definitely have had some encounters with PDF, from downloadable brochures to online books.

Advantages of Scanning to PDF

The main advantage of a PDF file is that it preserves all of the formatting and layout of the original document. PDFs also offer customisable features and the ability to compress the file for storage and sharing purposes without losing any image quality. The PDF is also a highly mobile format and even lets you view documents on smartphone and tablet devices.

Disadvantages of Scanning to PDF

While PDF might seem like the perfect file format, it does come with some disadvantages. It can be very difficult to edit files stored as PDFs because the format captures the document exactly as it is and remains just that. Due to the nature of the ratio, you may also need to scroll and zoom on your computer to view the entire image.

So there we go, I hope this article has gone some way to explaining the good and bad points of the three main files formats to help you make the best decision
 for your scanning project.

Here at Pearl Scan, we provide document scanning and file conversion services for companies and organisations in London and right across the UK. Our sales team can provide you with excellent consultation and draw up a free quote for your project including any one of the file conversion formats above. Contact us by email, call us or complete our online form and one of our experienced staff will be in touch.

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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 shredding isn’t something that’s usually at the forefront of every business’ ‘to do’ list but it can be both useful and important. Here’s how.

1.Going Digital

When your company switches to dealing with documents digitally, there is no longer a need to store paper copies of them too. In this scenario, all the hard copies would be doing is gathering dust and taking up valuable space. So the most efficient thing to do would be to destroy the paper documents but it is also vital to make sure you do this securely. Shredding the documents will provide a safe way to dispose of them, especially if the documents are cross shredded because this makes it difficult to piece the shreds back together.

This brings me onto the second reason you should shred your documents…

2.Identity Theft

More than 89,000 UK people are the victims of identity theft every year and a lot of this comes as a result of the criminals gaining access to personal data stored on documents that have been thrown away rather than shredded. It only takes one or two confidential documents for someone to be able to steal your identity. If the thought of having your personal details or even your entire identity stolen by some random stranger isn’t enough to make you start shredding confidential data then I don’t know what will.

3.Recycling

For the past decade or so there has been a huge emphasis on companies reducing their carbon footprints and boosting green credentials wherever they can. This has seen a lot more businesses making more of an effort to recycle but this is where the risk factor comes in. In their efforts to save the environment, many people are not realising that they are throwing entire confidential documents into the recycling bins for anyone to find. Adding a simple shredding process into the mix will allow you to continue your recycling efforts but also secure that confidential information. It’s a win-win situation as they say.

Shredding Services

Here at Pearl Scan we have been providing businesses with document scanning and management solutions for over a decade. We provide secure shredding and disposal with all of our scanning services because we understand the need for confidential data and information to remain just that.

We can provide secure on-site shredding services as well as mobile shredding for you to witness the destruction of your documents and gain peace of mind. For more information, check out our website or for a free document scanning quote, give us a call and speak to a member of our friendly and experienced team.

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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

Transform your admin office into a slick and efficient production line by managing your files digitally. Whatever your current problem, document scanning can help.

Admin Problems

Administration and filing are tasks that many workers shy away from but those who work all day in admin offices that manage documents manually can face a long list of problems. Here are just a few.

Poor Filing & Slow Tasks

Are you struggling to locate files in an unorganised system? Is file retrieval slowing down or even halting your everyday tasks? Paper files and documents can easily be misfiled and once a file is placed in the wrong section it is, in effect, lost until a member of staff accidentally comes across it while searching for another document. This leads to slow and often unproductive tasks.

Picture this…

You have been asked to retrieve an important file for a member of staff. When you search through a filing cabinet for this file, you find that it’s not there. You spend a long time searching the office for this one particular file but it’s no where to be seen. Not only have you just wasted a great deal of valuable time but you also have to break the news to the member of staff who needs it and they almost certainly won’t be impressed.

Compliance Issues

With an unorganised system, it becomes difficult to keep track of all of your files so if you’re asked to retrieve certain files and you can’t find them quickly enough, you can risk fines for breaking compliance laws. Breaking compliance laws also won’t do a great deal of good for the company reputation either.

Lack of Space

Files stored in hard copy can soon overrun any office with cumbersome filing cabinets, boxes and folders. Office space is highly valuable, especially in lucrative parts of the country, so wasting it by filling it with unnecessary things is certainly not the best way to go about it.

Low Morale

All of the problems above are bad enough but if you have to deal with them on a daily basis, your morale is almost certainly going to be affected. It can be stressful and knock your confidence when you feel you can’t do the job you are being paid to do.

Digital Document Management

There’s one solution that can solve all of the problems above and more. While it might sound like complicated, digital document management simply refers to the process of storing and managing files in a digital format rather than manually. Digital document management enables files to be stored electronically and if done correctly, you can end up working with a highly efficient system that will transform your office.

Digital document management (also known as electronic document management) can be used by admin offices in a wide range of industries so whether you work in education, law, finance, healthcare or any other industry, going digital can save you time, space and money and relieve compliance and security issues.

Document Scanning

Now you’re probably wondering how you can set up a system that will banish all of those problems. Well, it’s simple, all you need to do is digitise your stored files and set them up in an electronic document management system. Once the system is set up, you will be able to retrieve necessary files in an instant through simple text searches as well as securing them with file encryption and password protection. That’s not all. You can also share files electronically to avoid loss or delay.

Scanning Services

If setting up the system yourself seems a bit too complicated, we can help. Pearl Scan provide document scanning and document management solutions for businesses and organisations across lots of industries. We can scan your documents in high quality and have a system set up almost immediately so you can get started reaping those benefits.

If you would like some more information about how we can help you and your company to go digital with administration tasks then give us a call or browse our website and blogs.

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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’s one of the first questions that comes to mind when a company wants to change its document management processes and there’s a wide range of ways you can do this.

The first thing to consider is what format you want to store your documents in; hard copy or digital? Once you’ve decided this, there are a few methods you can choose between so let me break it down.

Manual Document Management

Manually managing documents is the traditional method of storage and is still a favourite with lots of businesses across the country. Whether it’s the nostalgic love of paper or the need to have something physical in their hands, despite the rise in digital business, these people still prefer to store documents in the two methods below.

Office Storage

Think filing cabinets, folders and boxes. It’s probably the image you have in mind when you think of the average business office. Storing files like this is the most traditional method and the go-to way for a number of businesses but if we really think about it, there aren’t a great deal of benefits, it just seems to be a force of habit. Having said that, for a small number of documents, office storage can be the best method.

Off-Site Storage

Sometimes when there’s too many documents and files to fit on their premises, companies hire off-site facilities to store their documents securely. While this method is more secure than storing files in the office, it has an even slower document retrieval time because you have to request for the relevant document to be sent to you.

Digital Document Management

CD/DVD/USB

Storing digital images or files on a CD, DVD or USB means you can carry them on the go for remote site access. Files can be duplicated onto different systems, shared and viewed easily. The only downside to this method of storage is the risk of losing the CD, DVD or USB having not back the files up and the fact that you will always have to remember it when you know you’ll need to retrieve files.

Shared Network

With a shared network, the benefits are obvious; you have a network on which you can share your digital files with other members of staff or anyone else with access to the network. Shared networks can be based on a computer network or an online cloud platform. Both of these networks offer advantages but cloud storage has really taken off over the past few years because it offers the ability to access files at any time from any device with access to the internet.

Document Management System

Sometimes when companies decide to store their files digitally, they don’t have a system in place which can lead to some trouble managing the files. This is where document management software becomes a vital resource. It allows documents to be searched, organised and retrieved with ease. There are a wide range of choices of software ranging from simplistic to highly technical but the best thing to do is try one out and see if it suits your company.

Pearl Scan Can Help

Here at Pearl Scan, we provide document scanning services as well as document management consultancy to businesses, organisations and individuals from a wide range of industries including legal, HR, healthcare, education and finance.

We can scan any file from as small as a till receipt right up to a large format drawing or plan for which we can then provide image management software for your scanned images. We also have our own cloud platform, Pearl Cloud for you to host your files once they have been scanned.

If you would like some more information about our document scanning, management and storage services, check out our website or give us a call to receive your free, no obligation quote.

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

Human Resources departments up and down the country are leaking money from company budgets daily and you might not even realise it but with document scanning, those costs can be reclaimed from various different areas.

How are you wasting money?

With the current situation in your Human Resources department, you could be wasting money in a number of ways without even realising…

Storage (off-site and in office)

With hard-copy storage, there are two main locations the files can be stored in. Either they are taking up a great deal of valuable office space or you have decided to store them in off-site storage facilities and incur annual storage costs. Whichever method you choose, you are losing money regularly for something as simple as document storage.

Wasted time & unproductive tasks

With a system as inefficient as paper document storage, it is almost guaranteed that you are wasting a lot of time (up to 30% according to studies) searching for documents, re-filing and other admin tasks and that isn’t even mentioning the tasks that turn out to be unproductive because a file is lost or unavailable at the time. Time is money and with this much wasted just imagine what it’s doing to your profits.

Paper, ink and printing

This is a more obvious budget drainer. You can actually see the costs on your invoices regularly yet many companies still don’t take steps to reduce the amount of physical paperwork they are producing.

Poor reputation with clients

If your customer service is poor due to slow file retrieval and bad all-round file management then this will have a direct effect on your reputation with current clients as well as potential clients. If they don’t feel like they are getting/will get good service from you, they will turn to one of your competitors instead. Obviously, loss of clients can have a very damaging effect on profits so it’s definitely something that needs to be addressed.

If you’re worried your HR department may be experiencing lost money due to any of the above then don’t worry there is a solution and it’s a good one.

HR document scanning

Scanning HR documents and storing them digitally instead will provide a successful solution to those issues with cost. The storage of digital documents will abolish extortionate storage costs because, provided the digital copies are fully backed up and secure, you will no longer need to store the original paper documents. Digital documents are also much more flexible and reliable as they can be fully indexed and retrieved instantly. There is minimal chance of losing files and even when they are they can be found through text searches of relevant data. Files can be shared quickly too and via various methods reducing the need to print documents out. Digital business processes will reduce the costs spent on printing and sending files. Overall, the benefits that going digital will bring to the efficiency and budget of the company can then be transferred to the services you provide for your customers. This will give off a much better impression and maybe even persuade customers to join and stay with your company.

Other benefits

Not only does document scanning for HR offer annual and immediate cost savings for your business, you can also benefit from a range of other things too;

• Reclaimed space
• Time savings
• Improved security
• Boosted efficiency
• Environment
• Morale

Scan HR records with Pearl Scan

Here at Pearl Scan, we offer a completely bespoke document scanning service and document management solutions aimed at the HR departments of companies up and down the country. We can handle the entire project from collecting your documents right down to setting you up with your digital files in an efficient and usable system. You will receive high quality, OCR’d digital images in a quick turnaround to ensure minimum disruption to the company. We can even provide you with our document retrieval software, Halogen, free of charge. This specially designed software will aid the managing of HR files and help you to really reap the benefits mentioned above. For more information about how we scan HR records, take a look at our website and blogs or give us a call today.