Every businessperson will want only the best equipment and staff in his/her office working to make a profit for the business and aiming to make the business grow. And when it comes to the document scanning department, you will notice the large array of telecommunications companies that provide expertise with the best document scanning services for your business. The only problem here is that all of these companies are looking to have you buy their products. You will never really get an honest opinion on which document scanners are perfect for your business.
And there is where this article comes to the rescue. Below is a short but detailed list of ten vital factors that you need to look out for whenever you go out to shop for the best document scanners for your business.
- Performance – images per minute
Scanning performance is a key factor that you must look into when it comes to your document volume that you expect to be processed and the period you expect the whole scanning process to be complete. You should also consider the labor rate, image acquisition type, required image resolution, etc. Overall, all of the factors that relate to the scanner’s performance.
- Hardware interface requirements
Currently, the two main scanner interfaces are the TWAIN and ISIS which are software device drivers. Most manufacturers are no longer producing the SCSI based hardware scanners. It is vital that you only choose the scanners with the interface that will work best for your business.
- Maintenance plans, consumables, and parts
You need to always have an on-site service available to service and maintain your office scanners, especially when your business runs many scanning operations. Have the consumables readily available (pickup rollers and the light sources) and even spare parts if any parts of the scanners get damaged or broken.
- Flatbed vs. Sheet feed
You need to consider whether your business will one day need to scan any documents which won’t feed well through the automatic document feeders and look for your scanners based on this fact.
- Support for dropout colors
This is when which contain some predefined colors like red, yellow, or orange, disappear during scanning, which may leave some vital information to miss out on the scanned image. Look for scanners that have the dropout technology to handle this issue.
- Included software
You also need to look into the included software of the scanners. Things like the dropout color and other relevant software that your business will need are relevant and a must-look out for when buying new scanners.
- Support for thick paper
Also, you need to consider the type of papers the scanners can scan your documents in. Maybe your company uses business card papers or 3×5 cards. It’s vital that you consider this point as well before you buy the scanners.
- Overall size and noise
If you are also considering your overall office space, then you will be looking into the different type of scanner sizes for your different-sized offices. And for a larger production level scanner, you will have to look into the amount of noise your business environment can handle.
- Pricing
Most businesses select scanners based on their budgets plus how the scanners will fit into the business’s overall needs.
- High-capacity processing needs
You may also want to look out for scanners with high-capacity processing for things like stamp documents and stuff like that. You also have to consider the overall duty cycle of the scanner before you purchase any.