Benefits of Electronic Imaging
Electronic imaging is the process of converting paper information to a digital representation of the original document. Storage of digital images can be done on a number of media, but is most often seen on CD-ROM, hard disk and optical disk. The process creates the ability, when combined with the right software, to give everyone in an organization instant access to files that were once remotely located and difficult to find or retrieve.
As a result of imaging your documents through a service company you can eliminate excessive capital expenses. It is not unusual for companies to be quoted systems that can be as high as $1,000,000! By utilizing Accelerated Imaging electronic imaging services you will benefit from:
Disaster Recovery
We create a second copy of your digital information for you to store off-site. No matter what happens to your facility or your copy of the CD, a second copy is completely intact and ready for use immediately. The cost of not having disaster recovery would be your entire company not surviving for a lack of financial, manufacturing, customer service, contract and other critical information that is currently totally unprotected.
Instant Access
Images on any media can be integrated with your existing computer network to provide users a “point and click” way to instantly have an image of a document on their PC. The retrieval is completely free of labor, saving huge amounts of time every time a document is needed.
Network Distribution of Information
Today, document requests are fulfilled by pulling a file out of a box and carrying it to the person who requested it. The process is full of opportunities for employees to stop their normal work routine and engage in non-work related activities, which drain away productivity and increase your labor costs. With electronic imaging there is no workforce intervention required for records to be distributed. A list of files is presented in a database and user selects the documents they need and go to work on them immediately.
Identical Copies to All Users
With imaging on a network and use of the Internet dozens of people inside and outside the organization can look at the same image or the same file. This allows for easier communication and enhanced productivity. With paper, the alternative is faxing or running copies for internal personnel, only compounding the paper storage problem, wasting company resources and creating files that will not be reincorporated with the original file.
Leveraging Your Investment in Technology
Every large organization spends hundreds of thousands of dollars outfitting its employees with state of the art PC’s. The investment is only partly tapped into by most organizations. Electronic imaging provides an additional way your can benefit by your investment in PCs. Often times the infrastructure to distribute information electronically is already in place. Your capital investment to maximize the productivity benefits of imaging cost very little to add.
File Integrity
Files that are prepared and microfilmed in sequence are fixed in that order and cannot be shifted out of order, misfiled in another folder, altered or stolen. In addition, unlike paper files, filmed documents cannot be easily lost or misplaced. The master microfilm is archived, never being in use. Look-ups are satisfied through duplicates of master film. From these duplicates, paper copies or digitized film images made from reader/printersor scanners can be easily created and distributed. Thus, records are always available to meet user needs and legal requirements. ISO guidelines, created to improve company processes, specifically state that “Quality records shall be stored and maintained in such a way that they are readily retrievable in facilities that provide a suitable environment to minimize deterioration or damage and to prevent loss.”[1]
Elimination of Storage Space
Like microfilm, electronic imaging can alleviate the need to keep original paper files. This frees all the space taken by expensive file cabinets and storage boxes. Storage space is a hidden monthly cost that you pay every time you send in a rent check. Why spend your hard-earned money on documents that can be migrated to a more efficient media by letting them sit in your production area they can be migrated to a more efficient media.
1. Section 4.16 “Quality Records”, ISO 9000 International Standards for Quality Management. 1993.