Frequently Asked

Document Management &

Document Scanning

Questions

We've compiled a list of the frequently asked questions that new customers typically have when considering outsourcing their document management needs.

Frequently Asked

Document Management &

Document Scanning

Questions

We've compiled a list of the frequently asked questions that new customers typically have when considering outsourcing their document management needs.

General Document Scanning Questions

How do I estimate how many documents I have for scanning?

A bit of work, but use these guidelines to get a ballpark:

A standard banker box of documents holds between 2,000 and 2,500 pages. A large box holds between 4,000 and 4,500 pages. Those estimates vary depending on how tightly packed the boxes are and how many folders are in the box.

If your paper is tucked away in filing cabinets, there are between 150 and 200 pages per inch.

Remember that a duplex, or two-sided, page counts as two pages for scanning. While these numbers are not exact, they do give you a pretty good idea about your overall volume.

Do you reassemble documents after scanning them? In the response, we call this 're-prep'.

Yes. This is called re-prep. Your new files are electronic, but your old files may have to be managed for a limited amount of time, while in the process of your QC (Quality Check) or review. You have a few choices. You can ask us to shred your paper archives or store them (should compliance demand storage). If storage is the way to go, you can have your papers placed in their original folders loosely and neatly organized without re-stapling. Re-prep is an extra charge added to the document per-page scanning price by other companies but NOT by us. We include the loose page re-prep in our pricing as a way to add value and keep organized. Everything we do is neat and organized.

How many documents would you like to scan?

The answer is all of them. But scanning all of your documents isn’t always feasible. There are logistical and financial restraints. RDS suggests scanning the documents you use day to day first. Then chip away at your archives box by box until you have scanned all of your documents. This is called “Scan to Zero” in the industry. The advantage of Scan to Zero is an immediate gain in physical space. We take all of your files away, and we scan them to digital files on a schedule that fits your budget. That timeline is up to you!

Why outsource document scanning?

According to AIIM, 59% of organizations achieve a payback on their document scanning costs in less than 12 months from their paper-free projects, including 26% in 6 months or less. 84% achieved payback in less than 18 months.

You outsource your document scanning because your employees don’t want to scan documents. They want to do the job you hired them to do, not get paid to empty out banker boxes and filing cabinets or tackle hundreds of pounds of staple removal. Hiring a temp or a college kid to look through your sensitive documents isn’t ideal either.

Outsourcing makes sense because you pay a scanning company with highly-skilled employees to handle a task that falls outside of your core operations. You give that job to vetted professionals who use state-of-the-art scanning equipment to achieve the best results in the fastest time at the lowest cost. You get more payback because once files are digital you’re also getting rid of crippling storage costs while downsizing your footprint, utility bills, and overhead.

The value of outsourcing document scanning is that you’re future-proofing your business against everything from natural disasters, plumbing problems, incompetent employees, loss of knowledge at retirement, and threat actors while empowering your employees to be productive. They save time not looking for stuff, turn things around quicker, and curve those profit margins up.

Why should we scan our documents?

Converting paper to electronic files makes information—that’s been trapped in a dark drawer for years—searchable. You can pull meaningful information from a digital file. That happens with indexing, a feature that tags specific attributes of a document (metadata like name, contact info, invoice number, date), making it easier to find and use.

After you scan your documents, you can store your data in the Cloud, integrate it with collaboration tools like Microsoft 365, and catapult productivity with a menu of scalable enhancements that position your company at the top of your changing market.

The cold hard truth is the world has gone digital around you and people are working from wherever they want with their phones. The new remote work model doesn’t work unless you scan your paper documents. And there’s this: you likely face new compliance standards in your industry that no longer allow paper for privacy and security reasons. Not scanning could mean crippling fines and penalties.

So why should you scan your documents? Because times change. In 2020's, paper doesn’t cut it anymore. So go ahead and contact one of our friendly experts who know a lot about transitioning to a digital workforce, starting with document scanning services. Document scanning saves money and creates a digital launch pad for company growth. Ask us how you should get started in a way that is cost-effective and scalable for the future.

What is the best way to organize scanned documents?

Hands down, the best way to organize your newly scanned electronic documents is to upload them into a Document Management System. If not, a comprehensive directory and folder structure on your network will suffice. USA IMAGING can organize the digital images for import into your system or our remote file repository. The preferred choice by clients is to receive a flash drive or external HD to distribute across their departments for digital document control as well as using our secure remote file repository. Some need them organized and formatted per department for their document management system or their internal network. Whatever you need, USA IMAGING, Inc. can accommodate you.

Questions to Ask Before Scanning Your Documents

What is OCR when scanning a document?

OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. OCR is a scanning technology that identifies alphanumeric characters on a page so information can be “read” and searched once converted to digital. In other words, it turns scanned information into readable information. This is important because OCR makes it possible to index documents based on certain tags and fields. That makes finding the information you need from your digital files fast and easy. OCR plays a critical role in high-volume document scanning. Without search capability, scanned documents are simply pictures that aren’t easy to find. Unintelligent.

What is the best document scanner in the business?

Canon makes a line of business scanners we use exclusively and recommend for day-forward scanning (to keep your business paper-free after we’ve scanned your backfiles). Find the perfect one based on desired format, paper size, duplexing, network compatibility, and budget by going to Canon’s website. Remember! Day-forward scanning is a per diem thing that you must stay on top of or your business will end up buried under paper again. Use a professional scanning service to handle your high-volume archives, and dedicate a member of your team to handle the bite-sized incoming paper thereafter.

What is document scanning software?

Document scanning software is a program that captures information from documents fed into scanning hardware and converts that information into a digital file. With OCR as part of document scanning software, those scanned documents become searchable digital files. Making digital files usable and searchable is the first step on the road to going paperless. That happens with document scanning software or OCR software such as Abobe Acrobat.

How much does it cost to scan documents?

Industry-wide letter and legal paper documents cost between $0.07 and $0.15 per page to scan. A standard banker box of documents holds between 2,000 and 2,500 pages. A large box holds between 4,000 and 4,500 pages. Both numbers vary based on how tightly packed the boxes are and how many folders are in the box. For paper on a shelf or in file cabinets, you can estimate between 150 and 200 pages per inch. That number varies based on how tightly packed the shelves or drawers are and how many folders are in them. As your volume of paper increases, the average cost for scanning projects decreases. Remember this when crunching the numbers, when you allocate part of your budget to digital transformation, you quickly recoup that spend in productivity and streamlined efficiency.

Is scanning documents secure?

Yes, if you choose a reputable vendor like USA IMAGING. Our facility is equipped with 24-hour surveillance, enhanced security access, smoke detection alert systems, temperature control, and everything you need to keep your documents secure when in our custody. Off-site is the most economical and budget-friendly way to scan your documents versus on-site scanning, where you can expect the cost to double or even triple in some cases. By utilizing off-site scanning with USA IMAGING, we can deploy scanning in multiple shifts, so we're not bound to your facility access.

Can scanned documents be edited?

Yes, they can be. But only if OCR technology is used to make that file readable when scanned. The file can be edited if exported to a Word document, however, it is not recommended. The best results are in files generated in Searchable PDFs. Indexing tags the document using specified information fields. This makes the document easy to find when searched for. Once located, simply open it in your PDF viewer. Without OCR, sadly, no you can’t edit a scanned document.

How do you retrieve the documents?

Once your documents are scanned, we provide a FREE access web-based file repository where the files are securely stored and retrieved in seconds using the search option available. Additionally, you will receive a USB flash drive from which scanned files can be uploaded by your systems document administrator for local and quick access.

What is the best DPI for scanning documents?

200-300 DPI (dots per inch). Anything less than 200 DPI creates fuzzy edges. Anything more is overkill—it increases the file size by a lot without a noticeable difference to the human eye. One other way to retain high-quality scans is not to compress the file during scanning as most services do. The uncompressed file is generally larger in bite-size but much higher quality, which is recommended. Compressing the file will create fuzzy edges even at 300 DPI. Color and Grayscale scans can also be scanned at 200-300 DPI uncompressed, yielding great image quality and maintaining color fidelity. File storage is very affordable, so it is an acceptable compromise by having high-quality images with larger file sizes.

Is a paperless office possible?

More and more the answer is yes. Backfile scanning makes your legacy files digital. That gets you 95% of the way toward paperless. The other 5% falls under day-forward scanning, the day-to-day scanning that is required to convert paper that comes into an office every day into electronic files. As more companies become paperless, less paper makes its way into offices. A paperless office is only possible if a policy exists to convert paper to digital every day. Do that, and you’re a paperless office!

What is the difference between document scanning and digital imaging?

They are both the same, so don't be fooled by others. Both processes use an input device, such as a scanner that makes the paper document digital and converts paper into an image file (a digital picture of that piece of paper). You can see it, share it, and save it. If document scanning uses OCR software it turns the paper version into an image and converts the text into intelligent, searchable text, perfect for searching within the PDF document.

Where can I get blueprints scanned?

USA IMAGING, Inc. scans large format documents like engineering blueprints. We have state-of-the-art production scanners with software that makes old crinkly blueprints look much better than the faded originals that have suffered wear and tear with age.

What is the fastest way to scan a lot of documents?

The fastest way to scan a lot of documents is also the most cost-effective way to scan a lot of documents: by outsourcing that burden to a reputable document scanning company like USA IMAGING, inc. By hiring professionals trained in large-volume scanning, you’re digitizing your legacy paper files in the shortest time frame while your employees do the job they were hired to do. That means business goes on as usual and a massive undertaking is handled behind the scenes. A professional scanning service provider feeds thousands of sheets securely into an enterprise-level scanner, indexes them automatically in high resolution and stunning contrast, and does all of that at just pennies per sheet. Whole drawers of documents are digitized in minutes. You get high-quality, high-efficiency document scanning that’s hands-off and painless for your crew.

Questions About the Document Scanning Process

How many documents does USA IMAGING, Inc. scan a month?

We scan anywhere in the neighborhood of 4 to 8 million scans a month. This is our business and we treat our high-volume production scanners with a high level of care. Ready to scan millions of paper documents with USA IMAGING, inc.? We’ll get you there in short order!

Do you reassemble documents after scanning them? In the response, we call this 're-prep'.

What is document indexing?

Indexing attaches information (also called metadata) that describes a document making it easy to track down that document so you can use it.

During the scanning process, certain identifiers are captured so that users can search for documents using those identifying “tags.” Document indexing tags specific attributes (name, contact info, invoice number, date), making it easier to find and use that document in the future.

The most common and cost-effective way to index is to use the 'folder level naming' which is the actual file name applied to the digital file. This is the most common way to search for a document. Without indexing, there’s no order. Indexing is the digital equivalent of putting a label on a document, putting that labeled document in a labeled file folder, and putting that folder in a labeled filing cabinet drawer (in a labeled filing cabinet). Only, document indexing is much faster, much more precise, and applies to digital files in your document management software.

Should I OCR my documents?

According to McKinsey, “Employees spend 1.8 hours every day—9.3 hours per week, on average—searching and gathering information. Put another way, businesses hire 5 employees but only 4 show up to work; the fifth is off searching for answers, but not contributing any value.”

So, yes, you should OCR your documents. Without OCR, your digitized documents aren’t searchable, which means you’re in the same position you were in before when your employees couldn’t find paper files. Now you won’t be able to find your digital documents either. When you outsource document scanning to a scanning company like USA IMAGING, OCR is included. Your employees deserve useable, searchable documents.

We can OCR during the scanning process but we prefer to do it in a post-process mode where we have more control. OCR may reduce the scanning speed and accuracy of OCR and may be poorly formatted.

How big is a scanned document?

Physically, a scanned document has no size. It’s invisible, so you no longer need miles of filing cabinets. Stored on a server, each scanned document is between approximately 100 kilobytes (kb) for a black and white document. Greyscale scans hover around 300 kb, and full color gets up around the 1 MB mark (1000 kilobytes). Standard text-based documents fall on the smaller end of that spectrum. Large format documents like blueprints, or graphic-based documents are bigger.

Should I scan my documents in color or black & white?

Depends on the document! Generally, scanning in black and white saves file size and is the best solution. But some documents need to remain in bitonal color, full color, or grayscale. Color scanning takes a little longer and may cost a little more. Which is best depends on the individual scan (and we talk with you about this after assessing your document scanning needs):

Bitonal: black and white, two-tone scan. Most often used for printed or text documents. Handwriting can be a bit harder to pick up.

Grayscale: palette of up to 256 gray tones that works great for black and white photographs. Also best for handwriting because details display better than a bitonal scan. Also a great choice for older records where paper may be discolored.

Color: palette of 256 to thousands of colors is used for photographs and documents where color must remain visible. Maps, diagrams, and illustrations are great examples of records that should be captured in color. To capture the natural appearance of an item, color scans may be best.

When scanning a document what file type should I use?

You can choose PDF or TIFF. What’s the difference, you ask?

Not Recommended - TIFF: TIFF can be grayscale or color. TIFF files are smaller than a pdf so they take up less virtual storage space and you can view them faster because they’re quicker to index. Adding signature forms, new pages, amendments and more is easier on a single-page TIFF compared to a PDF. If you plan to edit digital images in a working storage format, consider TIFF your go-to.

Done! TIFF is the clear winner! Well, hold on a sec because…

Recommended - PDF: is a newer file format that won over the industry thanks to mass compatibility with many different applications (including engineering applications and transactional printing apps). PDFs are used for forms on the web (they’re more web-friendly). They also meet legal requirements for signature compliance. Lastly, PDFs are viewable on any type of operating system (OS) making them best for legal forms.

Still not sure? Contact us to discuss your project.

Is outsourced document scanning secure?

Yes, when you hire a reputable scanning company like USA IMAGING, Inc., serving San Diego since 1991. We abide by strict industry protocols and we never hire temporary workers for projects, so you know your records are being scanned by an experienced operator. Our facility is equipped with 24-hour surveillance, restricted facility access between 5 pm to 7 am, smoke detection alert systems, and temperature control. We also set up what we call a chain of custody, so you know exactly where your documents are from the moment they leave your building until you have them back again (or until they are shredded). Gaining access to your records in our custody is easy with our FREE scan-on-demand services. Within 30 minutes we give you secure, online access to your priority files in whatever format you request.

Questions About the Document Scanning Prices & Quantities

How does the document scanning price calculator work?

When you’re ready to start your document scanning project, it can be difficult to visualize the number of documents that need to be converted, especially when stored in various containers and filing cabinets around your office.

In order to simplify this estimation, we created this tool to help you determine how many documents you need to scan based on your current storage method.

Each available container type is mapped to an estimated document count ( as you will see when you add a single item in the calculator ) which is multiplied by the industry-standard rate of $.09 per sheet scanned. This makes it easy to take inventory of each storage container you have to get an estimated total cost for your scanning project.

For example, assume you have a 18″ W4 Drawer File Cabinet. Simply input 4 into the matching filing cabinet ( 4 drawers at 18″ each ) to get a rough estimate of (12,800 documents * $.09) = $1,152.00 cost.

Depending on how full your filing cabinets are, you may find that the estimate in our calculator is higher than what you’ll actually pay, assuming that some boxes or drawers are naturally only partially full. You may also receive discounts for bulk scanning which are not accounted for in this tool.

How much does it cost to scan a document?

The national average cost to scan a paper document ranges from $0.07 to $.0.12 per page. There are a number of other factors that can affect the price, including the condition of the documents and discounted rates applied for bulk scanning (large volumes = reduced price per page).

The rages below shows the average document scanning prices per page based on the type of material scanned.

Average Cost: Paper Scanning = 0.07 to $.0.12 per page

Large Format Scanning = $1.25 to $1.75 per page

How many documents fit in a filling cabinet?

Whether you choose to store your files at home or in your office, you'll find a wide array of choices when it comes to selecting the right file cabinet size. The storage capacity of a filing cabinet can vary based on factors such as the dimensions of its individual drawers, the total number of drawers it contains, and the specific make and model of the cabinet.

Here, we provide some straightforward calculations that can help you estimate how many sheets of paper can be accommodated in the most commonly used types of filing cabinets.

18″ Vertical File Drawer Cabinet = 3,200 sheets per drawer

24″ Vertical File Drawer Cabinet = 4,200 sheets per drawer

36″ Lateral Drawer Cabinet = 6,300 sheets per drawer

48″ Drawer File Cabinet = 8,400 sheets per drawer

How can I tell how many sheets of paper I have?

In cases where documents are kept loose or stored in non-standard storage containers, it may be easier to calculate the amount of paper to be scanned based on a ruler measurement.

The average sheet of paper is 0.05 to 0.10 millimeters thick depending on the gauge, but a good rule of thumb is approx. 175 sheets of paper per inch. That means for every foot of paper, you will have approx. 2,100 documents. If your documents are tightly packed, you could have up to 200 sheets per inch, or 2,400 documents per foot.

How much does it cost to scan a box documents?

A standard banker’s box stores around 2500 documents. The average industry standard cost for document scanning is .09 per document. Scanning a standard box of records typically costs about $225. With USA IMAGING, you will never pay that much. Request a price quote.

How many pages fit in a bankers box?

The number of documents that fit inside a bankers box varies depending on the type of paper stored, the presence of file folders and spacers, and the density of documents inside the box.

On average, you will find approximately 2,200 to 2,500 sheets of paper inside a standard bankers box (12″ x 15″ x 10″). You can multiply this number by the number of boxes you have to get a rough estimate of the total number of documents you need to scan.

A long bankers box (24“ x 15“ x 10“), sometimes referred to as a transfer file box can store approximately 4,500 – 5,000 documents.

What is PDF?

PDF - PORTABLE DOCUMENT FORMAT

Portable Document Format (PDF) is a file format used to present documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems. Each PDF file encapsulates a complete description of a fixed-layout flat document, including the text, fonts, graphics, and other information needed to display it.

Standardized Subset of PDF

The following specialized subsets of PDF specification has been standardized as ISO standards (or are in standardization process)

PDF/X – a.k.a. “PDF for Exchange” – for the Graphic technology – Prepress digital data exchange.

PDF/A – a.k.a. “PDF for Archive” – Document management – Electronic document file format for long-term preservation.

PDF/E – a.k.a. “PDF for Engineering” – Document management – Engineering document format using PDF.

PDF/VT – a.k.a. “PDF for exchange of variable data and transactional (VT) printing” – Graphic technology – Variable data exchange , based on PDF 1.6 as restricted by PDF/X-4 and PDF/X-5.

PDF/UA – a.k.a. “PDF for Universal Accessibility” – Document management applications – Electronic document file format enhancement for accessibility