Small to medium-sized companies across the world are making the transition to becoming digital businesses. That means less time passing around paper documents that can easily be lost, and an increased focus on turning those documents into an electronic format.
By moving physical paperwork into a digital format, employees within your company will be able to efficiently access documents when required. You’ll also give these documents improved protection through backups and other security methods.
If your business is eager to go paperless and reap the rewards of becoming a digital business in a big data world, you will need the office technology to back it up.
In a business world that’s consumed by data, the success of small to medium-sized businesses is their ability to consume, analyze, manage and use this data in an efficient manner. That’s why transitioning paper documents into online files is a best practice for all companies.
To do this, your company will need to invest in a scanner and fax machine that works for your specific needs. Here are the top four questions you should consider when investing in a document scanner:
1 - How much office space do you have available for a scanner?
Scanners can vary significantly in size. Do you want a portable scanner that can be placed on one of your employee’s desks, or do you want a large scanner that can sit in the middle of the office for everyone to use?
Some scanners are large and bulky, while others can be easily moved around. Once you narrow down how much office space you have for a scanner and what it will be used for, you can then start thinking about which type of scanner will work for your company’s needs.
2 - How many documents will you be scanning?
Will the scanner in your organization be used to scan the odd document by employees, or will your company be scanning hundreds, or even thousands, of documents every single day? This will depend on the type of business you are and how many physical documents you want to transition to digital files.
Once you have an estimate of how many documents you will be scanned each day, you can look at the scanners that will work for you. The performance of a scanner is judged by its impressions per minute (IPM), which can range anywhere from tens, hundreds or even thousands of documents.
3 - What type of documents will you be scanning?
There are two main types of scanning machines - flatbed and sheet-fed. There are huge differences between these two scanners. Sheet-fed scanners are typically less expensive and require a smaller amount of office space. They can scan bulk amounts of documents, but tend to produce digital files that are of lower quality.
Flatbed scanners, on the other hand, are designed to produce better quality images for your digital files. They can also scan heavier documents such as books or magazines, as opposed to just paperwork. Which type of scanner technology you choose will depend on what documents you’ll be scanning and how high quality you need those scans to be.
4 - How much is your company willing to pay?
The price of scanning technologies can differ widely depending on a few factors. Features of a scanner that can affect its price include:
- The speed at which it can scan documents.
- How large the scanner is.
- The type of scanner that it is, whether it’s flatbed or sheet-fed.
- The manufacturing brand of the scanner, some are more expensive than others.
- What the scanner is designed to be used for.
The most important aspect of choosing your scanner budget is to find a price range that works for you. Don’t just go for the cheapest scanner as maintenance costs will only lead to this being a more expensive option down the line. Instead, find the most cost-effective option that will give you high-quality scanning and product longevity.
Are you looking for a scanner from a local Ontario-based supplier?
If you are looking for a scanner and fax machine but want to partner with a local Ontario-based office technology supplier, OT Group is here to help.
With more than 30 years providing innovative technologies to both large and small businesses across Canada, we can listen to your company’s specific scanning requirements and design a scanning solution that works for you.
Do you want to know more about our scanning solutions and which leading manufacturers we partner with to ensure you get the results you want? Contact our team of office technology experts today. We would love to answer any questions you have.
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