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Old 10-31-2018, 06:14 AM   #1
Mulerider
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Scanner Advice

Well, this one has nothing to do with horse racing. Having spent thousands over the years for rental space to store documents from my small business, I've decided to start digitizing as much as possible in 2019, being careful to have multiple backups.

Can anyone recommend a good, relatively high speed sheetfed scanner that doesn't break the bank? I have a decent flatbed, but feeding documents one at a time would take forever.

Thanks!
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Old 10-31-2018, 09:54 AM   #2
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Are you looking to scan all your old paper documents plus use it on an ongoing basis or only the latter?


Help us understand the volume. Ten sheets a day, 10,000 sheets a day????
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:10 AM   #3
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Numbers and criteria as previously mentioned!

There are professional scanning services that charge approx 0.15 per page (may even be deductible). Check your local yellow pages.
They use very large professional scanners that unless you've seen one are impossible to imagine (half a room).

Sheet Feeders (accessories) are available for numerous mid-range quality scanners. One problem with auto scans is there is no quality control for individual copies. Another is the output file format (most likely PDF image (NOT searchable text)).
Quality of your originals also affects individual output. Calibration will likely only be performed on the first page, which may not be ideal quality or even in the opposite direction (bad quality).

Would advise caution for two options.
1) All-in-one scanners (scan-print-fax) are nowhere near ideal for these types of projects.
2) Online scanning services. There are many that offer a lesser rate that 0.15 per, and require shipping. Some are even located in other countries (no assurance of returning your originals or even the quality of the task (despite what their website may read)).

In the long run, nothing beats that spent time that your trying to avoid when it comes to quality.
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Old 10-31-2018, 10:51 AM   #4
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Thanks, guys. First off, I won't be going back to scan any prior years. I'll start with 2019, and destroy old paper documents per statutory requirements.

I suppose the volume would be considered light by most business standards. At most, 30 or 40 documents per day. This would consist mostly of paid vendor invoices, along with the check stubs by which they were paid (I use sheet-type checks). I'd also like to digitize employee records, from applications to I-9s to withholding docs.

Searchability is not really critical; I just need something that would pass muster in the event of an audit. And that could be from the IRS, the state comptroller, or my franchisor. Luckily I've never been subjected to any of those, but if it ever happens I need for my digitized stuff to be acceptable.

And I don't have a need for the all-in-one type of machine. Just a dedicated scanner would be sufficient.

Thanks again,

Mule
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Old 10-31-2018, 12:26 PM   #5
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Think real hard on how you catalog the stuff.

Searching for something down the road can be a nightmare if you don't have strict rules setup on where things go.

What kind of business is it?

if you don't mind me asking...........
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Old 10-31-2018, 01:36 PM   #6
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I've been a franchisee for a fast food company for 23 years. But I also have a few rental properties that I'll digitize the documents for as well.
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Old 10-31-2018, 01:49 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Mulerider View Post
I've been a franchisee for a fast food company for 23 years. But I also have a few rental properties that I'll digitize the documents for as well.
Congrats on your success. Lasting 23 years in a tough business. No small achievement 👍
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Old 11-01-2018, 10:08 AM   #8
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30-40 docs per day is nothing. 30-60 minutes max.
After you establish the routine, most anybody could follow the steps.

Sheet Feeders are generally used when the documents are all the same size, per your description that is not your scenario.

Re: locating the files in future:
Direrctory/Folder structure along with consistent use of same file names for data, along with dates tacked on end. would be crucial.
EX: InvSeller18_1101

Your likely already maintaining some records and a simple rework would likely do for the backups.

Your also going to need accompanying software (if not already included (some brands do and some don not) that allows scan out to PDF.
Unless you have color documents to scan, either Grayscale (256 B&W) of line-art (two color B&W).
The difference between the two is that very rarely are line-art images capable of being transformed to actual text, while Grayscale in most instances allows OCR (even if not present needs, possibly a future requirement).

IMO for your requirements, most any scanner will suffice.
You just need a plan and the ability to get past the learning curve that has defeated most users (at least in popularity) of scanners for decades.
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Old 11-01-2018, 01:18 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by wilderness View Post
30-40 docs per day is nothing. 30-60 minutes max.
After you establish the routine, most anybody could follow the steps.

Sheet Feeders are generally used when the documents are all the same size, per your description that is not your scenario.
Thanks.

I currently have an Epson flatbed scanner that saves to .pdf, and I don't have any problem organizing and retrieving files I've saved. But it's very tedious to have to hand-feed documents into the thing one by one...and you're correct about that time requirement. I want to get that hour down to just a few minutes, and also to not be tied down to feeding single pages into the flatbed when I could be doing other things.

Mule
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Old 11-01-2018, 03:42 PM   #10
hyipro
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BEST SCANNER

MODEL 6150 BY FUJUTSI HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR YEARS, SCANS BOTH SIDES HOLDS UP TO 100 PAGES AT A TIME, REAL FAST NEVER HAD DOWN
TIME, WHEN I BOUGHT IT NEW ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, IT WAS $800 FOR
A BUSNIESS WOULD HIGHLY RECOMEND, AND IT ALSO CREATES AN
ADOBE PDF OF YOUR DOCS AS WELL....................
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Old 11-01-2018, 04:55 PM   #11
Mulerider
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Quote:
Originally Posted by hyipro View Post
MODEL 6150 BY FUJUTSI HAVE BEEN USING IT FOR YEARS, SCANS BOTH SIDES HOLDS UP TO 100 PAGES AT A TIME, REAL FAST NEVER HAD DOWN
TIME, WHEN I BOUGHT IT NEW ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO, IT WAS $800 FOR
A BUSNIESS WOULD HIGHLY RECOMEND, AND IT ALSO CREATES AN
ADOBE PDF OF YOUR DOCS AS WELL....................
Thanks! You're the second person who recommended Fujitsu today. A friend has the ScanSnap iX500 and loves it. And his usage is a lot heavier than what I project for myself. Amazon prices average around $450.
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Old 11-03-2018, 07:01 PM   #12
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I've used Fujitsu's for about a decade. 40 pages scan in about a minute unless you need them in separate files. Good quality and one of the most reliable machines I've ever had.
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Old 11-10-2018, 01:19 PM   #13
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I have a Brother all in one laser printer that has a sheet feeder, 30 sheets at a time duplex mode. $150.
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