An Innovative Blend…ILINX® Capture with Canon ScanFront 220 / 220P

This week I wanted to highlight a great ImageSource combo that delivers an All-IN-ONE system that is perfect for Workgroup Capture.  This blended technology provides a comprehensive state-of-the-art scanning solution for any organization, regardless of size.

ILINX® Capture is a powerful web based application that allows you to capture information any place, any time.  It can be used for ad hoc and production scanning and indexing.  All you need is access to a browser and you can capture documents from anywhere in the world!

With ILINX Capture you can import and process emails, faxes and business documents and it is easily integrated with third-party and legacy systems. Once released from the scanner, the documents enter the ILINX Capture workflow system; allowing access to documents and batches from a thin web client.  ILINX Capture was a winner of the 2010 Product Innovation Awards -  Network Products Guide.

Now blending ILINX Capture with Canon ScanFront 220 / ScanFront 220P scanner, this allows you to plug your captured information directly into your office network.  With the user-friendly touch screen, you can scan directly to e-mail, FTP, shared folders or USB memory and it releases to a comprehensive workflow system that is assessable from any browser. 

Worried about security and access to your network? The Canon ScanFront 220 / ScanFront 220P has robust security features offering fingerprint authentication with easy remote management.

Check out the demo of how it works on You Tube - you will see how easy it is to apply innovation in your workflow processes!

For more information see the PDF below.

Dynamic Duo – ILINX Capture & Canon ScanFront 220P

Megan Lane
Inside Sales
ImageSource Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
iPhone 360.481.5946
www.imagesourceinc.com

  

Shedding a little more light on the new Fujitsu fi-6800

I have blogged before about the Fujitsu fi-6800′s reduced footprint, the LED technology that it uses, and the many environmental friendly qualities it has, but there are other features that must be pointed out.  As you can imagine, when a company so well respected and influential in the ECM world as Fujitsu releases a new product, a lot of thought and engineering goes into it beyond just making it faster.  The fi-6800 is packed with features that enhance productivity that was based directly on customer feedback.

I saw a recent live demo of this model and it is impressive.  It’s look, size, footprint.  How quiet it is.  It also became evident, that this scanner is also easier to use than the fi-5900C, the previous mid-volume production heavyweight manufactured by Fujitsu.  This scanner weighs a mere 70 pounds compared to 100+ pounds of other scanners and its compact size makes it physically the smallest in its class.  This scanner was designed with this in mind:  bring production scanning from out back to up front without obviously disturbing the front of office business environment.

This scanner was also designed with batch scanning efficiency in mind.  For example, it can be equipped with a pre or post scanning imprinter depending on the need, and features an active stacker which controls paper speed as it exits the scanner to keep documents orderly and neat.  The front operator panel has a document counter and a batch counter too.  It is intelligently designed featuring an intuitive LCD operator panel which can be programmed in seven different languages.

Speaking of intuitive technology, the scanner offers Intelligent Multi-Feed Function (iMFF) and Automatic Image Quality Checker (aIQC).  According to Fujitsu, “iMFF allows for instant detection of a multi-feed or multilayer document, such as taped-on receipts or sticky notes added to a document. This function transports the document that has caused the alert to the exit path of the scanner, and presents both the physical document as well as the scanned front and back side images to the user so they can decide whether rescanning is required.”  The Automatic Image Quality Checker allows for document batches to be processed without interruption because it marks images virtually with potential missing data (for example folded corners) and others that might indicate multi-feed incidences.  This allows the user to check through the earmarked images and either re-scan or validate without interrupting the image order.

Lastly, the scanner comes equipped with an impressive full suite of bundled software including Adobe Acrobat 9 Standard, Kofax VRS 4.5 Professional with enhanced barcode recognition, ScandAll PRO with Scan to Microsoft Sharepoint, and QuickScan Pro Demo.  The fi-6800 fits well into any Document Management and Enterprise Content Management solution.

Once again, Fujitsu steps out into the limelight and into the front of the pack with production level document scanning for the world.

Ian Hundtofte

ImageSource

  

Goin’ Green with a Scannin’ Machine

Goin’ Green with a Scannin’ Machine

We all know that document imaging demonstrates the capacity of “going green” just by definition.  It is inherent in concept.  Technology expands so quickly and in the world of document imaging hardware, there lies no exception.  The most respected manufacturers like Fujitsu, Kodak, and Canon make the entire scanning process, from pre-scanning to post scanning, more automated and efficient for the end user, while also providing the latest in document imaging features and functionalities.

A couple examples of some of these particular technological advancements take are new LED’s replacing traditional lamps in scanners as well as production scanners with smaller footprints.  For instance, LED technology is featured in the Kodak/Bell &Howell Ngenuity as well as the new Fujitsu fi-6800 production scanner.  LED technology helps significantly reduce the scanner’s power consumption during operation and as well as in “sleep mode.”  Also, LED’s are designed to last the life of the scanner thereby eliminating the cost of replacement bulbs and the production costs and waste of replacement bulbs as well.  Since there are no replacement bulbs needed for these scanners, there’s nothing new to throw away.  Speaking of consumables, like scanner bulbs, companies making document imaging scanners are also manufacturing other consumables (pad assemblies, pick rollers, roller assemblies) with longer life spans.  Fewer consumables are needed and the ones that are needed, last longer.  The manufacturer’s that are seemingly taking the lead on this front include Fujitsu, Canon, and Kodak/Bell & Howell.

Better materials used in the manufacturing of document imaging scanners is not the only advancement that is happening that exemplifies this industry embracing green initiatives.  The design of the hardware is changing as well.  Manufacturers like Fujitsu are designing and building scanners that have significantly smaller footprints – the space they take up on the desk or the tabletop in the working environment.  Take for example the Fujitsu fi-6800.  This is a full–fledged mid-volume production scanner that is the smallest document scanner in its class.  The trend is moving toward fewer materials being produced to make these machines and therefore less energy is being consumed.   This translates into less waste and fewer emissions into the environment, as is obvious.

Since these new scanners are more intuitive as a result of new technology and better design, they can recognize in advance multi-feed issues, so the user can adjust settings as necessary.  Bottom line – the user can become more efficient at document scanning and do more, in less time.

With new technology and better design comes new efficiency and related side benefits including using fewer materials and generating less waste and fewer emissions.  It’s encouraging to know that the ECM Industry continues to do its part.

Ian Hundtofte

ImageSource

  

Selling is an Act of Respect!

“First I believe that selling anything to anybody, if it’s done with integrity, is actually an act of respect. It acknowledges that the person you’re trying to win over is freethinking and autonomous”, Bruce Philp - The Orange Code – How ING Direct succeeded by being a rebel with a cause.

When I read this statement by Bruce Philp, I smiled. For over 16 years I have been selling as a profession – this statement above sums up nicely how integrity and respect is possible in a sale. The key component from the selling standpoint is you MUST have respect for your customer (or potential customer) and be willing to see them as “freethinking”. Especially when you are questioned and challenged. By having an uncompromising focus on the customer through the whole process – listening and understanding their perspective is imperative in a Enterprise Content Management Project.

Every day we are challenged as professionals to listen and understand someone else’s perspective, as well as add our opinion and expertise to the mix. Seeing customers and colleagues as partners (with their own level of expertise) is a key component to success, especially if it is practiced from both perspectives.

Looking at how we as a company communicate to our customers and talk about our customer partnerships does display many of these elements;

•  “ImageSource works relentlessly with our Customer Partners to build a relationship of ongoing success and trust. The collaborative approach…”
• “What has followed has been an extremely successful business venture that has its spirit deeply rooted in a love for entrepreneurship and innovation”
• “We take pride in our ability to overcome business challenges with integrity and sincerity. Our success is testament…”
• “… This standard results in strong and collaborative customer relationships that are ongoing.”

Do we walk our talk? Some days better than others.

Do our customers walk their talk? Some days better than others…

In the long run the best measurement of success of a sale is long-term customer partnerships and successful ECM projects…from both perspectives!

Megan Lane
Inside Sales
ImageSource Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
iPhone 360.481.5946
www.imagesourceinc.com

  

Centralized, de-centralized or outsourced capture – some surprising results!

In-Process Capture… Centralized Production Scanning… De-Centralized Distributed Capture… the discussions on which strategy is best for a company when addressing their document capture needs can have interesting outcomes. 

There seems to be no “right” answer, the technology choices for capture are continuously growing and changing and a company’s Enterprise Content Management (ECM) needs can be very specific.   A recent research study by AIIM produced some surprising results when they reviewed the issues and potential benefits of different approaches to document capture.  Document capture encompasses document scanning, image correction, recognition of text, barcodes, form fields etc. and output to an appropriate format for subsequent processing or archive storage.

One surprising and interesting outcome that AIIM states in their introduction of the report; “The report concludes that there is a move back to centralized scanning operations, along with a greater investment in capture and recognition software to automate date capture and indexing processes.”  At ImageSource, we have also seen an increase in companies utilizing the newer model of “distributed scanning” – at the local level to office staff processing the capture documents. The value of capturing something at point of origination and placed into an imaging business process earlier does save time and money.

Allow your business needs to dictate they type of capture solution that makes business sense for your organization.  This may include multiple avenues. Many of our customers utilize both centralized and de-centralized capture – depending on their specific business needs.   We have also seen companies move towards an increase in distributed/ de-centralized capture for their 3 – 5 year strategic ECM plan.

 So how do you work out what is the best approach for your needs? And it can vary from department to department within the company!  This is one of the greatest challenges the C-Level and IT staff come across when developing an ECM strategic technology plan. As an independent ECM  Integrator, ImageSource is uniquely qualified to help discover the ideal mix of Capture technology to conquer business challenges.  We help chart a strategic course, whether the business requires in-process capture, production scanning, distributed capture or mailroom solutions.

One other surprising result of the AIIM study was the statistics that shows a very strong return on investment (ROI) and compelling case for scanning and capture investments.  Capture is an enabling process that is a combination of improved user access to information and reduced costs.  The study showed that ROI for capture was reported within 12 months to 18 months! That is a significant and impressive return!  Yet the study shows that justifying ROI is still a huge impediment to adoption -one that many of our customers face when presenting the case to change “how things have been done”. 

The greatest benefit of research is that it stimulates all the interested parties into discussion and planning mode.  So what ECM strategies will your company implement – centralized, de-centralized/distributed capture or outsource it!

Megan Lane
Inside Sales
ImageSource Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
iPhone 360.481.5946
www.imagesourceinc.com

  

Character versus Reputation!

I was reading a professional colleague’s blog before New Year’s Eve and was surprised at a quote that highlighted the difference between “Character versus Reputation”.  Matt Younquist – Career Horizons recited a quote from Coach John Wooden which said;

“Be more concerned with your character than your reputation, because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think you are.”

Working at a company (ImageSource Inc.) whose expertise is providing full-service Enterprise Content Management integration, the concept of Character versus Reputation is enacted every single day.  ImageSource provides infrastructure and services that streamline information processes using advanced paperless technologies.  Our goal is to help customers leverage their information assets through document imaging, distributed capture, workflow and integration with existing business software systems.  Our comprehensive approach, including analysis, training and support, will advance efficiencies, security, compliance and competition through your entire organization.

We work side by side with our customers to incorporate change within an organization and the many challenges that come hand in hand with this process.  Often when ImageSource is being considered for a project, our reputation precedes our presentation based on existing customer referrals and the large list of successful project implementations.  However, the true character of a company, its culture and people shines or fizzles when unexpected challenges arise throughout the life of the customer/vendor relationship.  ImageSource has proven that character is more important than reputation (even though they are inexplicably linked), and the proof shines via our customer loyalty, our expertise and continued success. 

Another quote comes to mind from Coach John Wooden; “Success is peace of mind which is a direct result of self-satisfaction in knowing you made the effort to do the best of which you are capable.” I believe each person at ImageSource strives to achieve this every day and that our customers return the favor.

Check out Coach John Wooden’s “Pyramid of Success” model – it is something to aspire towards as a company and as an individual. May your New Year be as successful as ours will be and have fun considering whether character or reputation is more important!

Megan Lane
Inside Sales
ImageSource Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
iPhone 360.481.5946
www.imagesourceinc.com

  

Document Capture Tools

Scanning your documents into a Document Management System is a great way to improve efficiency and reduce the amount of paper in your office.  And, depending on what kind of paper you are scanning, there are lot of document capture tools available.  Tools such as Full Text OCR, Zonal OCR, and ICR can greatly reduce time spent indexing and validating your documents once they are scanned.

Full Text OCR (Optical Character Recognition) is software that captures every character in the document being scanned and processing it into a fully searchable PDF.  One effective use of this technology is when government users needing to search hundreds of pages of agendas and meeting minutes for a certain topic.  The process of searching these documents is quite time-consuming and most OCR processing occurs overnight when there is less use on the company’s day-to-day activities. 

Zonal OCR is similar in that it captures information, but in this case, the software is programmed to look in the same location or “zone” every time.  This is helpful when scanning in documents where the information is in the same location, such as an invoice number.  Most invoices are in a set format so zonal OCR is very effective in this scenario.  When the operator is validating this information, the Zonal OCR zooms in on the zone area that has been predetermined where the information is captured from so they can easily read if the information captured is correct or not.  Hence, one of the biggest advantages of Zonal OCR is that it improves the efficiency of searches which translates into a savings of both time and money.  Some software available that features Zonal OCR also allows the user to draw a box to establish a zone around required text rather than typing in keywords therefore allowing the document to be automatically indexed.

ICR (Intelligent Character Recognition) is the ability for the software to read hand-written information and process this into searchable information.  This is especially beneficial in the financial industry.  And although this tool can be very useful in some situations, the error rate is much higher because handwriting is so varied from person to person. 

Andrea Latham, CDIA+
Inside Sales
ImageSource, Inc.
Phone 360.943.9273
www.imagesourceinc.com

  

Network Scanners, Living in a Connected World

Network attached scanners have been available for quite a while. But the early version were extremely limited and didn’t always work as expected. The current version of network scanners come with a good sized user interface, touch screen or Keyboard and usual have a version of windows imbedded allowing for an easier setup and a familiar feel. These new units allow for quick deployment in a low volume setting and they are easy-to-use and they manage, secure, and operate as stand-alone solutions.

Many different manufacturers offer a network version of their scanner line.  Canon offers a great Network Scanner, the ScanFront 220.  With this scanner, you can simplify and standardize document management across your local branches or across the globe. Simply load your documents, log into the network, select the destination, and press the scan button.  It allows many users to access the network via one scanner using their person authentication logons.  Specific user settings can restrict the types of documents the user has access to scan, index, and view. 

Fujitsu’s network scanner, the fi-6010N, includes many enhancements for greater ease of use, simplified device management and additional security feature for compliance or to assist with adherence to regulations.  This network scanner provides functionality including scan to e-mail, network fax, folder, printer, FTP website, and searchable PDF in a small footprint which enables document sharing amount departments or the entire enterprise.

The Kodak Scan Station 500 is designed as a walk-up capture station that requires minimal user training and is easy to use. The Scan Station 500 is a standalone solution that works with an existing network and makes use of existing network shared services to communicate with other network devices or destinations. The color touch screen is easy to use and allows you to quickly send your documents via email, fax, to networked drives, networked printers or USB flash drives.

No matter which network scanner you think might work best for you or your organization, having the ability to scan directly to your network without the requirement of a PC is a great innovation in the document imaging environment.  You can purchase all these types of network scanner at ImageSource, Inc.

 

Andrea Latham, CDIA+

Inside Sales

ImageSource, Inc.

Phone 360.943.9273

www.imagesourceinc.com

Document Capture with Bowe Bell & Howell

This week we are going to focus our attention on the Bowe Bell & Howell brand Document Scanner.  They are known for their presence in the high-production environment, and with their work-horse 8000 series scanners, BB&H can really enhance your document capture solution in a production environment. 

Bell & Howell recently launched the replacement to the 8000 series line with the “Ngenuity” high-production scanner.  These 4 models of the Ngenuity were redesigned to include some of the latest technologies and to make maintaining this scanner much easier for the end-user.  For example, the lamps in the Ngenuity have been replaced by LED technology so they last the lifetime of the scanner and require no warm-up time.  That eliminates the end-user having to purchase these consumables and replacing them on a regular basis. 

The internal construction of this scanner is still all stainless steel and now includes a straight paper-path option to reduce jamming and feeding issues.  You now have the option of using two separate paper paths making the scanner more flexible for accommodating your scanning needs.  The Ngenuity also has an unlimited daily duty cycle (number of pages that it can scan per day without reducing the life expectancy of the scanner), which is a great feature not offered by many other manufacturers

Even if you have a lower production or distributed capture environment, Bell & Howell offers their Truper and Sidekick models.  The Truper 3200/3600 models are rated at 67 ppm (pages per minute), the Sidekick 1200 rates at 23 ppm, and the Sidekick 1400 at 43 ppm.  As a point of interest, the Truper made the Guinness Book of World Records for the Longest Scanned Document – an astonishing 3,875-foot document.  Many organizations use the Sidekick models in their distributed capture solutions so branch offices to scan their documents and send them electronically to the home office. 

So no matter what kind of document capture solution you might have in place in your organization, B&H has a scanner that can fit your needs.  And ImageSource is a reseller of the BB&H scanners, here to help answer any of your imaging and document capture questions.

Andrea Latham, CDIA+

Inside Sales

ImageSource, Inc.

Phone 360.943.9273

www.imagesourceinc.com