Category Archives: Scanners

High-Volume Scanners Up Their Game

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Business Solutions, July 2006

Written by: Ken Congdon

Once defined solely by speeds and feeds, today’s high-volume document scanners now incorporate new features that enhance image quality and transaction processing.

According to InfoTrends research, an expected 80% of the growth in the scanning market this year will come from the workgroup segment. This same research suggests that high-volume production scanners will have a flat sales year and may even lose ground in the years to follow. Despite this data, many scanning hardware vendors have quietly enhanced their high-volume devices with new features that move beyond increasing scanning speeds and duty cycles, but focus on enhancing image quality and reducing manual imaging processes. In addition, many high-volume scanners have become more affordable to consumers — a combination that many industry professionals believe will prove the InfoTrends research inaccurate.

“The increased affordability of many high-volume scanners has made them an attractive supplement or alternative to many distributed scanning applications,” says Kevin Neal, product manager for Fujitsu Computer Products of America. “For example, in a distributed deployment, a company may not only need to buy 10 scanners, they may also be required to buy 10 PCs, upgrades and updates to those PCs, and 10 scanning software licenses. Meanwhile, one high-volume production scanner may be able to deliver the same end result at a lower total cost of ownership over time. This scenario illustrates the opportunity for growth that remains in the high-volume segment. Contrary to the InfoTrends research, I believe high-volume scanner sales will gain ground at a modest 5% to 10% over the next few years.”

Image Quality Enhancements Improve Forms Processing
Improved affordability is just one side of the high-volume scanning coin. New features are also adding to the appeal of these devices. One feature that has become standard on most high-volume scanners is the ability of the device to be run at its full-rated speed at 300 dpi (dots per inch) resolution in monochrome, color, or grayscale. “High-volume scanners are primarily used for forms processing applications,” says Neal. “In these environments, image quality is often more important than speed. In the past, if an end user needed to scan a document at 300 dpi or higher to increase OCR [optical character recognition] and ICR [intelligent character recognition] accuracy, the scanner would slow down to a crawl. However, now users can get a high-resolution image without sacrificing speed.”

Other image enhancement features are also being brought onboard many high-volume scanning devices to improve forms processing. Features like autocolor dropout, despeckle, and line removal are all becoming fixtures on high-volume scanners, and all enhance forms processing accuracy. Autocolor dropout is particularly useful in eliminating the red table backgrounds that can often impede OCR read rates on HCFA (Healthcare Financial Administration) claim forms.

High-Volume Scanners Streamline Transaction Processing
Advanced image processing features are being added to high-volume scanners not only to improve forms processing accuracy, they are also helping to eliminate many manual document preparation activities. “Features like autocolor dropout not only improve OCR rates, they prevent the user from having to presort documents based on paper color and reduce the number of times the scanner settings must be adjusted during the imaging process,” says Eric Olsen, product marketing manager for Eastman Kodak Company. “Similarly, an autocolor detect feature automatically switches the scanner to color output mode when a preset level of color content is detected. This reduces the need for presorting and for making image processing changes while scanning.”

Other features that reduce document preparation labor include automatic page rotation and automatic blank page deletion. If the scanner can automatically rotate documents, it eliminates the need for the operator to place all the documents into the feeder in the proper orientation. Likewise, if a scanner can automatically delete blank pages, there is no need to separate single-sided documents from two-sided documents.

Some of today’s high-volume scanners are also incorporating new technologies that use the images they create to streamline transaction processing. “There is a demand for scanning to drive new incremental benefits into a transaction from its point of origination,” says Robert Sbrissa, executive VP of sales and marketing for Imaging Business Machines LLC. “In this case, a transaction is any item that needs further processing beyond archive. This capability demands more intelligence during in-line document processing and requires us to move deeper into the business applications beyond data capture.”

High-volume scanning technologies having an impact on the way a transaction is processed include using the image of the envelope that a document or set of documents was mailed in as a transaction separator. This technology saves customers time and money by eliminating the need to insert bar code separator sheets between batches or individual transactions. Furthermore, it ensures transaction integrity is maintained.

A select few vendors are actually incorporating a platform for document classification with the scanning hardware itself. This technology combines topographic image analysis with business rules to identify the document type (e.g. application, invoice, form). This eliminates the need for an operator to presort documents by type and streamlines transaction processing by accelerating each document through the appropriate workflow.

VARs Must Evolve With New Scanning Trends
With all the new capabilities today’s high-volume scanners provide, getting the appropriate training from your chosen scanner manufacturer is essential. “A VAR is required to master a number of different components to deliver a truly successful imaging solution,” says Neal. “For example, there are thousands of possible scanning hardware and ISIS driver configurations that a VAR can employ to enhance the image quality for its customers’ specific applications. Plus, you need to consider the operating system on the PC, the network, other software integrations, and a number of other variables. You should develop a good relationship with your vendor partners and take advantage of all the training they offer to ensure you have the latest product integration knowledge.”

Understanding the product is important, but perhaps more important is being able to decipher how the scanner addresses your customers’ pain points. “It’s unlikely that your customers are going to ask for most scanner features by name, much less understand why they are important — they will only know what they want the scanner to ultimately do,” says Olsen. “This makes it crucial that VARs effectively align their customers’ needs with the scanners that offer the best features to meet them.”

Finally, with the changing landscape of the scanning industry, VARs must ultimately alter the way they attack the market if they wish to continue to be successful. “Low-cost speeds and feeds are easy to get from a number of vendors,” says Sbrissa. “However, this makes it difficult for VARs or integrators to have a unique differentiator in their solution. Understanding the higher end of this market and moving into more of the transaction processing stream will ensure your solutions have appeal, resulting in higher margins and longer applicability in the market.”

– See more at: http://www.bsminfo.com/doc/High-Volume-Scanners-Up-Their-Game-0001#sthash.6FSgpX81.dpuf

The opportunity of Network Scanning

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Network Scanning

By Kevin Neal

fi-6000ns_scan-searchable“We live in a connected world”.  It’s a simple phrase, but it means so much.

At the present time, most of us take for granted things like cell phones, blackberries, PDA’s,  Bluetooth, pagers, etcetera.  All these communication devices are examples of being “connected” all the time;  however this wasn’t always the case.  Not all too long ago we lived within a very disconnected world in comparison to the technology currently available in 2007.  With the dramatic adoption of the Internet over the past decade, more people  than ever are connected via their home computers with a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL), Cable modem or even broadband  wireless.  According to Gartner, the number of households with broadband connections will double between 2005 and 2010.  The rate of business connectivity is a great deal of the same, just on a grander scale with greater bandwidth and a higher level of service guarantees.

With this rapid growth of computers and servers connected with high speed networking, the likely next step was to connect peripherals.   One of the most prevalent examples of a connected peripheral in an office environment would be a laser printer.  There are many advantages to having a networked printer, including sharing among groups of users, because the volume of printing for each user did not dictate a dedicated printer.  Network printers are fairly common these days; however a new, emerging trend is to use network connectivity to INPUT information into computer systems via a scanner instead of OUTPUT via a printer.

 

Networking Scanning enters the connected world

Network Scanning is the concept of taking a scanner engineered specifically with mission critical scanning considerations.  This includes paper handling, image quality or advanced multi-feed technology, subsequently connecting them directly to a network without the need for a computer system to be physically connected to the scanner.

These advanced scanning solutions, on the other hand, should not be confused with digital copiers or multifunction devices, which most of us are familiar with. While these sorts of devices are handy for extremely low-volume  scanning requirements, the majority of these devices lack either the physical attributes or true integration desired to effectively utilize them in the connected business world.  As an example, when performing  automated forms processing with advanced data extraction techniques such as Optical Character Recognition, or OCR, good image quality and excellent paper handling provided by dedicated network scanners, could dramatically increase the automation process, thus, decrease human intervention.   This undoubtedly increases efficiency, reduces costs and improves customer service.

 

Concepts and Terminology of Networking Scanning

Basic  connectivity is the most rudimentary to direct network attach solutions used for a scanner.   This translates into a scanner, which can be used as a network device and the scanner appears as a local device on the network. Or, as I like to refer to it “extends network connectivity”.  This is the least expensive, yet most restrictive option.  It is ideal for ease of use and is cost effective however it is deficient on flexibility for true integration.

Biometric connectivity is the ability to attach a scanner directly to the network exactly as in the Basic connectivity scenario;  however, it incorporates much more intelligence into the scanning process.  For example, with a biometric scanning solution, users could merely walk  up to a supported scanner, position their documents in the scanner, place thumbprint on, or hover their palm over, a biometric device then initiate scanning of the documents based on pre-configured profiles, destinations and/or applications.

‘Push-Scanning’ refers to a scenario where the scanner operator walks up to a scanner, drops the documents into the automatic document feeder, or places them on the flatbed, then initiates the scanning process to send the images to the desired location on the computer network.   This could perhaps be a “watch folder” for high-volume OCR processing for example, or it could be a shared network drive of the scan operator’s personal computer.

‘Pull-Scanning’ is a term  characteristically used when a scanner  operator controls the scanner to connect to a device, scan images and transmit, or pull these images from the scanner to a certain location.   The ability to pull these images can be achieved in many different ways and one of the most common ways is to scan via a web browser.   In other words, the user would enter the name of the device and would have the ability to scan images as well as send them to the destination of their choice.

ECM Scanning.   Enterprise Content Management, or ECM, scanning takes one or more of the above Network Scanning concepts; however, it adds an additional powerful layer of functionality.   ECM scanning incorporates a network scanner directly into content management systems via software drivers and scanning software.   The document imaging industry has seen a dramatic focus on the importance of document capture, for example.   These are extremely focused software packages so as to assist in the ability to extract important business data from scanned documents.

ECM + Secure  Scanning  is the next logical step in the networked scanning connected world.  Now that the benefits of document imaging have been proven via return on investment, increased productivity or compliance reasons, more than ever mission critical business data or highly confidential information resides in a digital format and not on paper.  It’s crucial to secure this sensitive information during the entire lifecycle of the data.  From the instant the data is scanned, when it’s hosted on the network, until the time of its destruction, or the end of the retention period.

 

What could be the future of Network Scanning

Now that connecting persons and computer systems for personal and business uses is nearly common-place, emerging technologies are being introduced that will continue to stimulate connected systems.  One of these emerging methods being utilized by Information Technology (IT) departments is called “Service Orientated Architecture”, or (SOA).  SOA is a way to create new business applications by re-using or better utilizing current technical assets within the organization.  Connected systems played a major role in developing the SOA model with industry standards such as HTML, XML and Web Services.  In a nutshell, SOA is a way to add functionality and features to a computer networks without the disadvantage of closed or proprietary systems.

SOA plays an important role for Network Scanning in particular.   While the conceptual design of SOA may be applied in traditional scanning configurations with a dedicated computer controlling the scanners operation, there are a few important considerations making a Network Scanner quite appealing to network administrators, Chief Intelligence Officers and end users.  These  important considerations include system security, updates/patches and ease of use, just to name a few.

•  From a Network Administrators point of view, the SOA Network Scanner allows them to deploy network scanners in a controlled  method  making future firmware/software updates much easier.

 •  System Administrators could ship one integrated device, or a scanner plus a network connectivity device, directly to any location where they  would like to deploy scanning.  Once the physical hardware is received the user would simply plug the network cable into the hardware and one could, in theory, be scanning in minutes.   This eliminates the costly and time-consuming tasks such as updates operating systems with patches or installing new software when versions change.   In addition, the Network Administrator would be able to diagnose any technical issues or view usage reports easily from one intuitive interface.

CIO’s, or Chief Information Officers, must earnestly consider a Network Scanning SOA approach from the understanding of compliance, security and regulation.  A scanner attached directly to a network via SOA architecture  gives the organization the ability to provide activity reports based on the individual device for example, which could help play a major role in assisting with adherence to these corporate policies and governance.

Finally, ease of use for the scanner operator plays a chief role in that it is driving the adoption of network scanning within the SOA infrastructure.  In fact, should a corporation wish to use the Pull Scanning technique, they have the capability to assemble a system that could in effect eliminate the need for any sort of user intervention whatsoever.  Imagine the power of this total SOA/Network Scanning approach.   Let’s use a Customer Service example to illustrate a few of the benefits.

In our example, the Customer Service scanning deployment will demonstrate too many remote site locations.  Our IT department benefits from the fact that they would avoid building a computer system to act as the connectivity/scanning device; we simply ship the hardware to the remote site and they plug it into the network.  Subsequently, for Pull Scanning, all the user would be required to do is physically place the items to be scanned on the scanner itself, and someone in a completely different part of the connected world would initiate scanning; receiving all of the resulting images.

 

The opportunity of Network Scanning

While Network Scanning is quickly becoming the buzz among the industry, there still are certain technical deficiencies that will need to be addressed with some of these devices in order to be considered part of a true IT integration.

As the connected world continues to improve infrastructure and new, innovative ways  to communicate emerge, the industry trend towards more Network Scanning should continue.  For example, organizations most likely will move forward on plans for additional remote location “Telecommuting” of individual workers and satellite office locations.  Couple factors that include ease of use, simplified IT management of hardware and software resources as well as additional adherence to compliance and regulation standards and the future of Network Scanning seems bright.

 

Clear Ballot Group – Election Verification System

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clear ballot

Clear Ballot is an automated, independent vote-verification system.

This is a quite innovative solution that I worked on with Clear Ballot Group.  From the very beginning when they shared their vision of creating an effective election verification system to actual production environments, quality of the system was a top priority.

With this system the voters ‘true intention’ is clear with an easily displayed visualization for human verification.  The Clear Ballot election verification system will literally save US tax payers millions of dollars in simple voter-intention disputes, official re-counts and/or litigation.  I’m so glad for the success of Clear Ballot Group and proud to call them friends.

More information can be found on their website:  http://clearballot.com/

 

Fujitsu fi-5900C Mid-Volume Production Scanner

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I was the proud, and extremely passionate, product marketing manager for the life cycle of the Fujitsu fi-5900C Mid-Volume Production (MVP) Scanner in the United States, Mexico and Latin America.  In the Mid-Volume Production Scanning segment Fujitsu had historically been #3 market share or often worst behind Kodak and Bell & Howell.

The truth of the matter is that I was lucky with timing, but it was also a lot of hard work, team effort and excellent execution of a plan and we eventually achieved #1 market share in MVP for the first time ever.  I proudly helped establish Fujitsu as a player, in fact, THE #1 player for years and when I left the company in 2011 we were still #1 in spite of Kodak acquiring Bell & Howell.

Below is a collection of image memories of the awesome fi-5900C which revolutionized the industry!

article_4 article_d1 5900_london_1 fi-5900C johnsondiversey Corry Publishing: BuxCo Domestic Relations for Quality Assoc. In

The Opportunity of Network Scanning for resellers

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A question and answer session on the topic of Network Scanning:

Q. Is network scanning currently taking any particular market “by storm” when compared to other scanning options?

A. Network scanning is being embraced and deployed in a range of vertical markets. While there seems to be a healthy balance of markets deploying network scanners, we’re noticing that the traditional markets that have invested more in scanning and enterprise content management, like Healthcare, Finance, Accounting, Legal and Transportation, are also quicker to the draw when it comes to implementing network scanning solutions. This is simply because of the network infrastructure they already have in place. However, we’re still seeing a strong adoption rate across many vertical markets to assist in business process management securely in a controlled environment and to achieve improved efficiency.

Q. What new features and functionalities (if any) are being added to network scanners that make it an appealing option?

A. Some of the key features of network scanning devices that are making them so appealing are based on the “user experience”. True adoption of a technology begins to gain momentum when the actual users of technology enjoy the experience of using a particular product. In the case of network scanners specifically, users overwhelming comment that a large touch screen display makes them comfortable with using a device. The learning-curve is minimal with a bright touch screen display which encourages either additional usage by a particular person or encourages usage by additional persons in a departmental environment because there is no training involved. The user-friendly touch screen is complimented by a full 101-keyboard for additional ease of use. Users can simply scan images then enter an e-mail address and type other information in the subject or body of the e-mail message. In addition, software integration with back-end Enterprise Content Management (ECM) and Line of Business (LOB) is certainly creating additional appeal for network scanners. Now, users and IT departments have the option to either use standard functionality such as Scan to Folder, Scan to Fax, Scan to Print or Scan to E-mail, but they also have the option to Scan, Index and Store directly to an ECM repository with the properly Add-In Module installed.

Q. Why would VARs want to offer network scanners as a part of a comprehensive ECM strategy? Please explain your answer.

A. VARs can absolutely capitalize on the explosive growth of the network scanner market. As part of an ECM strategy, a network scanner is just one piece of the solution, although a very important piece. The quality of the image is vital to other complimentary technical processes directly related to the electronic document. Capture techniques such as Bar Code Recognition, Searchable PDF creation or Optical Character Recognition (OCR) accuracy are either greatly enhanced or can possibly cause additional manual correction which is directly a cause and affect specific to image quality. Value-Added Resellers in the ECM market, in particular, understand the importance of the quality of a Dedicated Use Device such as a network scanner in comparison to other network scanning peripherals available in the market. Through a thorough understanding of the quality differences between dedicated scanning devices from other multifunction devices, a VAR in the ECM space has already set themselves apart from their competitors and they can leverage this expertise into the network scanner market. There are many appealing factors for VARs to offer network scanners as a part of a comprehensive ECM strategy. First, quality network scanners are easy to deploy. With a basic understanding of network concepts which involve things as straight-forward as knowing IP addresses or host names of servers, either the VAR or even end-customer themselves can have a network scanner up and running in literally minutes. Second, quality network scanners are easy to manage, maintain and update. Software utilities such as ‘Network Scanner Admin Tools’ allow authorized persons to access the network scanner remotely to view usage, update software or even change system configurations. With a traditional desktop scanning workstation this is not easily done or would require additional software of configuration. In short, network scanners are easy to deploy, simple to use and require very little maintenance.

Q. Is network scanning more suited to any particular market? Is it excluded from any particular market?

A. Anywhere paper exists is an opportunity for network scanning – there is no particular market that cannot benefit from this technology. Network scanning helps accelerate all the traditional benefits found in scanning and ECM solutions, including enhanced business processes by eliminating lost or misplaced documents, decreased costs by enabling quick business process because of minimal human labor involvement, increased revenue for certain vertical markets such as being able to take advantage of pre-pay discounts in an invoice processing application, improved environmental consciousness by eliminating paper and thus our reliance on trees.

Q. What are the specific advantages (and disadvantages) to selling network scanners?

A. Selling network scanners provides opportunities for VARs and System Integrators to engage their customers in a discussion about their business processes. Resellers should embrace this opportunity to work closely with the end-customer to identify areas to improve their overall business operation. By thoroughly evaluating and taking inventory of the customer’s existing network infrastructure it is very possible to find either missing components such as servers and server software that may be needed to enhance the system. In addition, there is a possibility to offer the customers either consulting or professional services in order to properly implement the right solution for their specific business. Selling network scanners should not be considered a “cut and run” business proposition. VARs that understand this will be extremely successful. One of the potential disadvantages involved is if your network scanner itself is difficult to configure then the labor costs of just getting the device communicating on the network could far outweigh the potential profit involved in a particular installation. Network scanners present a wide range of functionalities and options as compared to simple stand-alone scanners, therefore understanding the capabilities involves a well-rounded understanding of network concepts and not just document scanning and capture. Having a solid understanding of document capture as a foundation will serve those who wish to embrace network scanners

Q. What are some common pitfalls VARs run into when selling/implementing network scanners?

A. I think a common misconception among VARs is that since a network scanner is a complete solution there isn’t an opportunity for add-on sales. In other words, since a network scanning device includes embedded software with scanning functionality there is no computer to sell or capture software to install or configure. While this may sound like it’s limiting the VARs ability to maximize their sales opportunity, I think just the opposite is true if you approach opportunities the right way. A network scanner is typically being deployed as part of a solution these days. Although network scanners can be used in an ad-hoc fashion, most of these devices offer advanced scanning features and intelligent functionality from years of document scanning experience and are used for daily business activities. Therefore potential add-on sales could include an on-site service contract to ensure maximum uptime. Also, as an example, if the customers’ network currently lacks a network fax server or LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) authentication server then this would require additional investments in hardware, software and configuration.

Q. What are the most recent innovations in network scanning that VARs should be aware of? (In other words, what is different in the hardware – or market – compared to 12-18 months ago?).

A. There have been some significant innovations in the network scanning market over the past 12-18 months. This includes hardware innovation as well as software innovation. For starters, as some of the traditional leading document scanner vendors are starting to enter the network scanner market, they are bringing the technology and innovation that helped establish themselves as leaders in the first place. To illustrate some of the special software differences, I’ve include the Automatic Page Rotation feature where the scanner can flip the page to the right-side up direction. This particular feature is found in intelligent network scanners and will likely be missing from other simple network peripherals. Other advanced features include automatic color detection, where the scanner intelligently knows to save a particular scanned document in a black & white format to decrease file size or in color and automatic blank page deletion and automatic deskew and cropping to handle mixed size documents efficiently. With regard to hardware, some of the more advanced network scanner devices include an Ultrasonic Double-Feed Detection sensor to detect whenever two pages might accidentally be pulled into the document feeder at the same time and stop the scanning process for immediate correction. If capturing each page accurately is of critical importance then you can imagine how important this feature can be. Also, some network scanning devices have the capability to scan plastic cards directly through the automatic document feeder. This is extremely useful in certain vertical applications such as Hospital Admissions where ideally you would want one device in a reception area to capture paper documents as well as plastic identification cards and plastic insurance cards through one device in a small physical footprint.

Q. Are there any trends about network scanning you would like to share?

A. As I’ve mentioned in a few of the above questions, these dedicated use devices are loaded with intelligent and advanced features innovated from years of document scanning experience. I suspect that this trend will continue and most likely accelerate as the adoption of network scanners becomes more mainstream. Connectivity to third-party software systems will be possible with Software Developer’s Kits (SDK’s) and ease of use and manageability of these devices is appealing.