What value does Virtual ReScan Software (VRS) provide with my scanner?

When purchasing a scanner for document imaging, software is bundled with the scanner that automatically examines documents and applies the correct settings to deliver high quality scanned images. Or in simple terms – it enables image clean-up and clarity to occur automatically at the point of scanning the document.  This software SAVES a great deal of TIME and is EASY to use…This little piece of magical software is called Virtual ReScan or VRS.

Many scanner manufacturers include the Kofax VRS software in the scanner purchase price. Fujitsu includes Kofax VRS Professional software with their scanners and Panasonic includes the latest version of Kofax VRS called Kofax VRS Elite bundled with their scanners.  Other manufacturers do offer the software at an additional cost (Canon, Kodak etc.).

Some of the features in Kofax VRS Elite software:

• Auto-rotation
• Auto-cleanup
• Hole punch removal
• Blank page deletion
• Color detection
• Color smoothing
• Automatic crop and deskew
• Improved recognition (increases the accuracy of OCR & ICR software)
• Scan at the scanner’s rated scanning speed
• Network-friendly images

Take a look at the Image Processing video on Kofax VRS Elite to get a visual on some of the functionality. I have customers that use the software and will not purchase another scanner without it!

Megan Lane
Inside Sales
ImageSource, Inc.

Inside KOM Day 2 – Document Imaging 2011

Tony Barbeau – General Manager “You may have read about Kodak in the news lately. CEO Antonio Perez commented on the Document Imaging division in his recent address to Wall Street Investors highlighting this division’s market growth and solid cash flow generation.” Again Kodak executives focus on the Channel Partner message.  “We need your help to extend new solutions to our customers.”

Mr. Barbeau made sure to be specific about the needs of customers in the document imaging solution space.  This was well received by the partners as enthusiasm spread throughout the room.  Bud Webster and Russell Hunt did a tongue in cheek ‘cheesy’ unveiling of some of the new scanner models being released. Mr. Webster introduced the i5000 will deliver superior productivity with advanced features. This scanner doesn’t slow down when you turn on the advanced features; dynamic flow technology allows the scanner to deliver enhanced image quality and performance. Mr. Hunt introduced the i2600 workgroup and department scanner, this unit delivers the sharpest and clearest document image clarity on the market. The ease of use has been increased with one button scan to SharePoint and an LCD operator panel for the user. When the scanner is not in use the unit swivels upright to provide a near zero footprint this makes the scanner ideal for tight workspaces. Some have said all it needs is a handle for easy portability. Kodak provides a three year worry free warranty term for the Kodak i2000 scanners. This gives customers the peace of mind to purchase a world class scanner that provides 3yr advanced replacement.

Kodak continues to deliver high end microfilm solutions with the i9600 ImageWriter. I know this is still an important function for long-term archival of historical or vital records but it sure seems old school. Nevertheless the Kodak ImageWriter leads the market in performance, durability and feature set.

Russell Hunt went on to comment that, “We remain committed to improve and enhance our process for deal registration to protect opportunities. We are committed to communication about our programs and products. We want you to understand our vision and corporate strategic direction. We will provide you with effective tools to drive business.” “Kodak wants you to be loyal to Kodak, to be a strong ambassador of our products and services. The Channel Partners can help foster open communication and increase sales to help Kodak document imaging group drive growth”.

According to Mr. Hunt no competitor offers what Kodak does in terms of Industry Commitment, End User Knowledge, Technology and the People to help drive customer satisfaction and growth. We are focused on helping you be profitable and successful; in turn this will enable us to drive our growth and goals for revenue targets.

Next up SharePoint took the spotlight with Mike Gannotti; Senior Collaboration and Technology Specialist http://www.seproductivity.com with Microsoft. You can find him on facebook http://facebook.com/samurai.mike and twitter http://twitter.com/gannotti

Opening SharePoint facts from PowerPoint 2010 Slide Deck:
• 100M+ seats of licensed SharePoint software and growing
• Windows for the Internet
• 1900 publicly reference able internet sites, Ferrari was used as sexy example

I thought it was cool that that Mr. Gannotti shared Microsoft’s internal nickname for SharePoint, ‘Pac man’. Just like the video game of the 1980’s SharePoint gobbles up other Microsoft technologies and is positioned to be the cornerstone of everything Microsoft does for Web2.0. After Mr. Gannotti’s presentation I asked Mike what he thought the single biggest revenue opportunity was for the Partners in the room. He stated that he thought Workflow consulting was a big area. This is important because Systems Integrators like to consolidate Software Sales, Maintenance Contracts, Professional Services and Hardware to give customers a single point of access.  Personally we have found that the revenue opportunities around SharePoint services are valued at a much lower rate than other project work our company does. There seems to be way more buzz around SharePoint than actual Partner revenue being generated. Eventually Partners have to see the dollars come in before a wholesale shift to focusing on SharePoint solutions occurs. As a Microsoft Gold Partner we are skeptical that the revenue opportunity is significant, we have invested time to generate revenue around SharePoint services and projects without much return.

In Conclusion I must first thank John O’Grady, Tony Barbeau, Russell Hunt, Sophia Marchi, Jeff Shuey and the entire Kodak team for the hospitality they showed me as one of a thousand attendees. I was surprised at the amount of focus on the Latin American Region (LAR) in terms of excitement for growth and revenue generation. I believe the America’s partner community and region has much to offer Kodak in terms of innovation, sales and growth. The event continues through the end of the week for Kodak Employees with the Circle of Excellence Awards.  Check out http://twitter.com/jshuey for more updates throughout the event.

Inside KOM – Kodak 2011 Americas Kick off – Unleash our Potential

Opening video messaging plays on two screens beckoning the over 800 attendees to ‘Achieve More’, ‘Succeed More’, ‘Accomplish More’, ‘Encourage More’ and ‘Deliver More’

Today John O’Grady took the stage in Orlando, FL. at the Orlando World Center Resort.  As the Managing Director of the Americas, John welcomed over 1000 attendees from 33 countries. 

Despite legal battles with Apple and concern over Kodak’s long term financial stability as noted in this recent Yahoo Finance article and interview with CEO Antonia Perez  Mr. O’Grady began by announcing key growth areas for Kodak:

• Consumer Inkjet up 21%
• APEX Install base up 45%
• 19 Flexcell NX Systems booked – up 80%
• Pocket Video up 151%
• Scanners / Software up 42%
• UWS Latin America up 96%
• Doubled commercial Inkjet business
• New 4yr retail printing contract renewal with Walmart Canada

John went on to congratulate Sales Teams across the Kodak business units and the Channel Partners

• We have the Portfolio that is unmatched in the industry
• We have the People required to succeed
• We have the Partners
• Customer Centricity Solutions

K-Zone panel interview with host Tim Palmer

Mr. Palmer moderated a discussion panel consisting of key Kodak Executives from various business units Gustovo Oveido, Chief Customer Officer | Pradeep Jotwani, President Consumer Digital Business / Chief Marketing Officer | Doug Edwards, General Manager PrePress and VP of Eastman Kodak

In order to get everyone in the room engaged Mr. O’Grady led everyone in the audience in a rousing sports inspired ‘Wave’ back and forth across the ballroom.

As the panel gets warmed up Mr. Palmer asks “What is the biggest opportunity for unleashing Kodak’s potential?”    The panel took turns and offering perspectives from each executives view.  I took away a paraphrased message that focused on Kodak’s broad portfolio. “We have the broadest portfolio of anyone in the industry” By working together we can grow each one of the components in that portfolio.  Key to the message was a focus on turning every customer interaction into an opportunity to position the other areas of the Kodak portfolio.

Mr. Palmer asked Mr. Jotwani, “How is Kodak capitalizing on the Social Media opportunities with photo sharing?”  Kodak is focused on personal imaging, people are “Preserving memories, while living in the moment” and this has created an explosion in the sharing of images/photos.  We are pleased that we have a greater focus on video and market share is growing, “we are now the clear number two behind flip in terms of consumer video products.”

Also discussed was the personal greeting card business using Kodak Kiosks in retail stores like CVS Pharmacy that give consumers the choice to make a greeting card from my FaceBook photos, printed on greeting card stock and creased like a standard greeting card.

One of the largest profit opportunities in the IT sector is consumable components, Ink business is doubling.  We have launched a fundamental new program with a brand new inkjet engine.  Kodak has told Wall Street they will grow 50% in the US with consumable inkjet products.

Kodak Services for Business, Mr. Oveido spent a few minutes describing this opportunity.  We are moving from products to solutions in the imaging business.  Data Management, Facilities Management, Print Services.  Kodak is different because we are willing to partner, we are late to the game but we are the only one that really, really wants to partner. 

We have a significant number of attendees from the document imaging partner community.  The document imaging business is a great business with lots of growth potential.  Retail is a huge opportunity for the new i5000 and i2000 scanners.

Mr. Oveido stated that for the first time in 30 years the Latin American economies are showing a readiness and tremendous enthusiasm for IT sector solutions and growth.  I see impressive opportunities for back office solutions for document management.  The market is booming, the team is in place and we have high expectations for Latin America across the entire portfolio.

Mr. Jotwani reflects on how impressive the turnaround has been for Kodak as the film business has declined and the markets predicted the worst.  The Kodak team had a strategic vision and plan that has enabled Kodak to grow in the digital IT world with new products, services and technology.  The future is bright for Kodak and I can taste the success in the future.  His closing comment was Kodak is back.

My favorite presentations came later in the day when Garth Neenan showed of the new Photo Department at CVS Pharmacy.  The completely revamped the idea of the photo lab from a carbon copy of the Pharmacy Dept. to a state of the art, warm and friendly place.  They took the audience on a journey through the conceptualization of the new Photo Department to the actual launch of the first store.  This was probably the most interesting and defining moment of the day for me.  It showed some innovation and some real customer touch that made the Kodak technology come alive.

Richard Ford also took the stage to the show how Kodak is positioning itself to capture major market share in the handheld camera and video market.  Lots of great statistics to back up the size and growth opportunity in this market with a heavy focus on the ability to ‘Share’ using various social media platforms.   Richard used Facebook as the biggest example that Trillions of images are being generated.  100,000 photos per second are served up to users, 60M photos added every week with a total of 1.7B user photos and growing.  He highlighted the Kodak Pulse digital picture frame and the PlaySport waterproof digital video camera.

What is the Difference Between Parts and Consumables?

When you own a scanner, or multiple scanners, you are responsible for keeping that equipment running efficiently by keeping consumables on hand.  The components of a scanner that touch the paper and are designed to wear out and be replaced every 3-6 months are called “consumables.”  They are different to what are referred to as “parts” of a scanner.  Consumables are designed this way to maximize the performance of the scanner and are end user replaceable, meaning you don’t have to be tech savvy to perform the operation.

The most common types of consumables are rollers, lamps, and pad assemblies.  Depending on the scanner manufacturer (Fujitsu, Bell & Howell, Canon, Panasonic, Kodak, etc..), you may have to replace one or more at least a couple times a year.  When a scanner starts jamming or double-feeding paper, the most common cause of this problem is usually worn out consumables.  Other imaging problems like: no longer reading bar codes, poor OCR results, or getting an optical alarm can usually be solved by replacing the lamps

When a scanner has a maintenance contract in place, it usually just covers the parts and not the consumables.  ImageSource receives a lot of calls from customers asking why the consumables are not covered and parts are.  The answer is because the consumables are almost always end-user replaceable and must be replaced much more often than parts.  And if your scanner is under maintenance, it’s usually required to have parts replaced by a certified technician.  See our blog on benefits of having a maintenance contract.

Not sure where to get parts or consumables for your scanner?  Contact ImageSource, they are happy to help!

 

Andrea Latham, CDIA+

Inside Sales

ImageSource, Inc.

Phone 360.943.9273

www.imagesourceinc.com

Who Needs a Scanner? I Think I Need a Scanner…

The answer is almost everyone!  From scanning bills and statements in your home office to full Imaging Departments in the largest of companies, digital images are the way of the future.  I don’t know about you, but I don’t have room in my house for filing cabinets full of old mortgage, power, auto, insurance and all the other bills and statements that I get every day!  Many State, County, and City government agencies have also run into the same problem as they are keeping 100+ years of all different types of paper documents. 

A lot of people today want to start digitizing their documents, but don’t really know where to start.   If you need some help trying to find out what type of scanner is right for you, there are a few simple questions you can ask yourself.  How many documents per day/week do I need to scan?  Do any of them need them to be in color?  Are any of my documents double-sided?  Are any of my documents of unusually large or small size?  What paper types and of what quality will I be scanning?  All of these questions are important and can help narrow down the size and type of scanner that will work best for you.   There are many manufacturers that produce scanners that range from home office/portable to the highest production scanners available.  Companies like Fujitsu, Bell & Howell, Canon, Panasonic, and Kodak all provide full lines of scanners to fit most every need.  Don’t let this unfamiliar territory intimidate you, there are companies like ImageSource, Inc. that know about and sell scanners to help you out along the way!

If you’re interesting in viewing muliple scanners at one time and location, sign up to attend Nexus ’09.  Some of the major manufacturers will be demoing their scanners there and answering the types of questions we talked about above.  Good luck and start scanning!