• Accounting and Finance: Invoices, Expenses, Reports, Tax Returns, Client transactions
• Human Resources: Personnel Files, Reports.
• Medical and Insurance: Medical and Dental Records, Claims and Quotes
• Real Estate: Property Deeds, Building Plans, Sale Documentation
• Petrochemical: Oil & Gas Exploration Documents, Maps, Seismic Surveys.
• Airlines/Transportation: Flight Logs, Passenger Manifests, Crew Reports, Delivery Details
• Food Manufacturing: Daily Logs, Certificate Data, Delivery Notes.
• Office Documents: Any and All types of general office documents, files and folders.

Save Money, Time and Space - Document scanning eliminates the need to maintain paper based filing systems. This reduces the costs associated with filing, archiving and long term storage of paper records. Documents can be accessed in seconds. CD’s can hold up to 20,000 scanned pages, which is the equivalent to two file cabinets.

Security and Disaster Recovery - Paper filing systems are susceptible to be misplaced, stolen or lost. Documents that have been scanned are easily backed up and protected on network servers or by electronic storage.

Productivity Gains – With an average of twenty percent of your day spent on searching for information; by using document management software, users can access decision making information in seconds, saving time and improving productivity. Scanning systems have the capability to integrate with other business applications allowing even faster access with the ability to share information in real-time.

Customer Satisfaction – Response times are reduced, information is available in seconds from a computer, remote locations and global business offices are connected and able to respond to customer needs faster and more efficiently.

Regulatory Compliance - Regulatory guidelines such as Sarbanes-Oxley and HIPAA have pushed companies to document scanning because the technology does not allow information to be lost or stolen, scanned documents cannot be edited and document management software systems offer additional securities and controls that paper record keeping cannot provide.
How scanners work
• For flatbed scanners, the document is placed on the glass plate and the cover is closed. The inside of the cover in most scanners is flat white, although a few are black. The cover provides a uniform background that the scanner software can use as a reference point for determining the size of the document being scanned. On larger, commercial scanners, these have automatic document feeders (ADF’s). A lamp is then used to illuminate the document. The lamp in newer scanners is either a cold cathode fluorescent lamp (CCFL) or a xenon lamp, while older scanners may have a standard fluorescent lamp.
• The entire mechanism (mirrors, lens, filter and CCD array) make up the scan head. The scan head is moved slowly across the document by a belt that is attached to a stepper motor. The scan head is attached to a stabilizer bar to ensure that there is no wobble or deviation in the pass. Pass means that the scan head has completed a single complete scan of the document.
• The image of the document is reflected by an angled mirror to another mirror. In some scanners, there are only two mirrors while others use a three mirror approach. Each mirror is slightly curved to focus the image it reflects onto a smaller surface. The last mirror reflects the image onto a lens. The lens focuses the image through a filter on the CCD array.

The filter and lens arrangement vary based on the scanner. Some scanners use a three pass scanning method. Each pass uses a different color filter (red, green or blue) between the lens and CCD array. After the three passes are completed, the scanner software assembles the three filtered images into a single full-color image.

Scanners vary in resolution and sharpness. Most flatbed scanners have a resolution of at least 300×300 dots per inch (dpi). Sharpness depends mainly on the quality of the optics used to make the lens and the brightness of the light sources. A bright xenon lamp and a high quality lens will create a much clearer and sharper image. Besides increased clarity and sharpness, file sizes for saving the documents will increase as well.

Most scanners come equipped with software in order to transfer the scanned image onto the computer. Typically a scanning utility and some kind of image editing application are included when you purchase a scanner.

The types of documents that require scanning will help you in choosing which scanner is right for you. Scanning general office papers or an assortment of the documents listed above will probably warrant a standard document scanner with a good quality resolution. However, items such as photos or artwork will require a different type of scanner with a much higher quality output of sharpness and resolution.

Now that all your documents have been scanned, sit back and relax knowing you have an image of all your vital and pertinent documents. You’ve saved yourself time, money and frustration. You have room on your desk for your office’s bowling trophies and you aren’t surrounded by a circle of towering, metal filing cabinets.

Finally, what do you do with all the documents that are now digitally imaged?

That’s a great question! Check back next week when we will cover – SHREDDING!!

Scanners of modern day times are considered to be successors of the early day telephotograph and fax machines.

Several early models, constructed by various people, helped lay the foundation for the technology we are exposed to today. As early as 1843, Alexander Bain created a device made up of two pens connected to two pendulums. He joined these together with a wire and was able to reproduce writing on an electrically conductive surface.

Almost 20 years later, physicist Giovanni Caselli, built what he termed as the pantelegraph. It was an advancement of Bain’s model because it included synchronizing electromagnets to drive the movements of the pendulums. It could transmit handwriting, signatures or drawings, and was used by the French Post and Telegraph agency between Paris and Marsailles for 15 years.

Edouard Belin was a huge contributor to the advancement of technology into the 20th century. Future inventors used his “Belino” as the basic principle upon which all subsequent facsimile transmissions would be based. He invented the Belinograph, which is shown in the picture below. This machine involved placing an image on a cylinder and scanning it with a powerful light beam that had a photoelectric cell. This would then convert light, or the absence of light, into transmittable electrical impulses. According to the New York Times, on Friday August 5, 1921, the Belinograph was able to send a message from Annapolis, MD to La Malmaison, France. This marked the first transatlantic radio facsimile message sent in seven minutes. After further development, the “Belino” was used exclusively by European and American news agencies all the way up until the mid 1990’s. The machine comprised of a rotating drum with a single photodetector at a speed of 60 or 120 rpm and later on up to 240 rpm. The drums would send a linear analog AM signal through standard telephone voice lines to receptors, which synchronously printed on special paper. Other companies, such as Western Union, followed suit with the first halftone photograph, then AT&T with the wire photo service in 1924. The Associated Press began their wire service in 1935, carrying the trademark on the familiar term “AP Wirephoto” from 1963 to 2004.

Drum Scanners
In 1957, the first image scanner was used to scan a picture of Russell Kirsch’s three month old son, Walden. Kirsch led a team that developed an image scanner used with the computer, this was a called a drum scanner. “Drum” comes from the clear acrylic cylinder (the drum) on which the original is mounted on for scanning. The reflective and transmissive originals are mounted on the drum, it then rotates at a high speed while passing the image in front of precision optics that deliver image information to the photomultiplier tubes (PMT). Only a few companies continue to manufacture drum scanners because of the monetary investments in comparison to other types of scanners. They are still used in high end applications such as museum-quality archiving of photographs, and print production of high quality books and magazine advertisements.

Flatbed Scanners
A flatbed scanner is usually composed of a glass pane that has a bright xenon or fluorescent light underneath. Images to be scanned are placed face down on the glass with a cover lowered on top to shut out any light. The bright light moves across the panel reading the entire area. The image is then visible to the detector only because of the light it reflects. Charged-Coupled Device (CCD) flatbeds contains three moving rows of sensors with red, green, and blue filters. Contact Image Sensor (CIS) scans consist of a moving set of red, green, and blue LED’s for illumination.

The capabilities and technological advances of these machines have greatly evolved over the last 165 years. Sharpness, clarity, speed, and efficiency have all improved over time. We have the capability to save and scan anything including photos, film, artwork, and even objects. They have forever changed the way we view and share images, and have paved the way for CAT scans, barcoding, and satellite imaging. We can even scan such items with our phones! Let us not forget one more very important type of scanner…the document scanner!!

Document Scanners
Document scanners came into existence due to the perishable nature of film and paper. Sure flatbed and drum scanners are still used today; however, it is recommended that if you will be scanning documents, make sure to have high-capacity, dedicated document scanners. Document scanners usually have document feeders and a tray to catch the documents as they are fed through. Scans can be done at high speeds, sometimes up to 150 pages per minute. Scanners recognize text, and create and save files. Fortunately, documents can be scanned at fairly low resolution,which will not occupy too much storage space on computers. Here are a few different businesses and the types of documents that can be scanned for each one:

• Finance: Invoices, Expenses, Reports etc.
• Human Resources: Personnel Files, Reports.
• Petrochemical: Oil & Gas Exploration Documents, Maps, Seismic Surveys.
• Airlines: Flight Logs, Passenger Manifests, Crew Reports
• Transport: Delivery Notes.
• Medical Records: All types of Medical records, Dental records.
• Insurance: Client files, Claims, Quotes.
• Stockbrokers: Client files and Transaction Data.
• Solicitors: All Client Documentation.
• Food Manufacturing: Daily Logs, Certificate Data, Delivery Notes.
• Property: Deeds, Building Plans, Sale Documentation.
• Office Documents: All types of general office documents, files and folders.

The document scanner has become an integral part, not only of the operational and procedural side of businesses, but has been attributed to saving both big and small companies huge amounts of money.

Stay tuned! Next week we will answer the ever-pressing question: “What happens after a document is scanned?”

IRS Regulation 26 CFR 1.6001-1, The Guide of Record Retention Requirements in the Code of Federal Regulations defines records and states how long each kind of record should be retained. SEC Rule 2-06 of Regulation S-X specifies retention requirements for work papers, memos correspondence and other documents including voicemails and emails.

These governing agencies require having specific compliance departments to establish guidelines and strictly enforce these rules and regulations with proper employee training. The detailed particulars in these policies by lawmakers and the disciplined implementation by business owners and employees are essential to the safety and protection and preservation of personal information of the client and customers, but protection of the business owners as well. Not only is record retention a vital risk management tool, taking strict measurements to follow these rules can save companies, time, money and legal hassles that can develop into costly and timely lawsuits.

If you don’t think record retention is important, be it physical or digital, the following will make you a believer:

Zubulake v UBS Warburg – UBS is ordered to pay $29.3 million as a result of an employment discrimination suit and not producing documents and emails that were presented by the plaintiff. The courts found UBS had failed to take all necessary steps to guarantee that relevant data was both preserved and produced, and granted the plaintiff’s motion for sanctions.

Coleman v. Morgan Stanley – Coleman’s document productions request specified emails from a certain date range, which according to Morgan Stanley resided on a complex backup system that required significant resources to recover. Morgan Stanley had not produced them in response to the Court’s order. This ultimately resulted in an award of $1.5 billion in damages. Although this decision has since been reversed, the sanctions relating to the failure to disclose were not removed.

Enter document scanning. Besides the legal implications of (see above examples) here are some other reasons why document scanning has turned the subject of record retention from a negative to a positive.

• Instant access to important documents without ever having to leave your desk.
• Documents are now digital which offers disaster protection in the event of a flood or fire.
• In situations dealing with clients, you can respond quickly to questions or concerns by having immediate access to your documents.
• Get peace of mind that confidential documents are safe from falling into the wrong hands.
• Free up physical space -no need for filing cabinets or mountains of white file boxes.
• Cut costs – no need to pay an offsite storage company; it eliminates supplies that are associated with all physical documents, such as file folders, clear covers, storage boxes and again – those heavy, bulky filing cabinets.

Imaging documents has become a critical part of the ability to comply with the strict rules and regulations that have been established in regards to record retention. It has become a saving grace for many large companies, small business owners and their employees giving them the capacity to save time, money and carry on long-standing and strong, client relationships for years to come.

Furthermore, scanning is easy and data remains in a durable and accessible format while utilizing only a small amount of storage space. Evolving initially during the 1800’s, the system began its popularity during the 1920’s. A banker by the name of George McCarthy created it for making permanent film copies of bank records. It functions similar to that of a large microscope. Overall, two types are still in use.

Document imaging services use vesicular film or silver halide forms of film. Vesicular film is inexpensive and uses tiny microscopic bubbles to make and image on the polyester strip. The Silver type transfers images to film using the traditional procedure of silver emulsion on a polyester strip.

A close kin to microfilm is microfiche. It is a card of photograph film with tiny letters too small to read with the naked eye. The machine lens expands the images and makes the contents easier to read. Document imaging services can now change then save data in template format. Film densities automatically adjust as the conversion process takes place. Libraries and government offices worldwide use these photographed films for mass data storage.

Analog storage media is the most compact in that thousands of books, periodicals and newspapers only require a storage space of about 16 inches. Easily, each card has the ability to hold up to 130 pages of data. Added space also contributes to cutting operating costs. Fortunately, this storage method uses less paper and therefore plays an important role in conserving natural resources.

Document imaging services now take digital images and content and transfer them to mass data storage areas for up to 500 years. Furthermore, document imaging service experts can extract data effortlessly from microfiche documents and transform them into DVD, CD or electronic formats.

When you first switch to a medical record scanning system, it will require an investment but the savings add up when you don’t need to manually file everything. This saves time and in turn, also saves on employment costs. When less time is used, more time can be spent on caring for patients.

When you keep paper records, you use up space in the office. The storage area is paid for in your rent or mortgage if you own the office. Switching to a medical record scanning system and document scanning, you’ll eliminate the need for storage. The additional space that is now free can be used for other medical purposes.

Paper records can also be unsanitary because of the dust and other particles that accumulate on them. They can carry germs and bacteria from one place to another when they are moved. Using an electronic system will help you keep a clean and sanitary environment.

All of the information needed and scanned is available on line to authorized personnel. This increases the ability to find information about a patient, past health issues, treatments and other vital aspects. This is helpful for medical providers that have more than one location. Data and medical charts of a patient can be shared.

A medical office can be automated using document scanning procedures and it will eliminate the need for faxing records back and forth from one office to another and also protect the privacy of the patient. Administrators will have a trail of the activity in the patients’ online records so audits are easy.

Because information is readily available, duplicate testing and other duplicate procedures are prevented. You also need not worry about unauthorized people accessing the information because your data is protected. You control who can see the information and who cannot.

As we approach the 85^th year of Academy Awards (in 2013), Tarheel Imaging & Microfilming, Inc. http://www.tarheelimaging.com/ respectfully proposes an Honorary Award for microfilm.  We have already submitted a list of candidates for Best Performance of Microfilm in a Supporting Role from 1951-1989.  Now, we present our nominees for Best Performance of Microfilm in a Supporting Role from 1990-Present:

Arlington Road (1999): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0137363/ A college professor, accused of being a terrorist, uses the campus library and lots of microfilm as he attempts to disprove the conspiracy against him.  .

The Caveman’s Valentine (2001): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0182000/ A man uses a microfilm reader to research newspaper articles about a photographer.

City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly’s Gold (1994): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0109439/ Treasure hunters search through old newspapers on microfilm.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0270288/ In this movie, directed by George Clooney, a paranoid con artist uses mayonnaise as a lubricant to inventively hide microfilm in a most unusual place!  Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts and Sam Rockwell star in the film.

Deceived (1991): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0101694/ A woman, played by Goldie Hawn, suspects her husband of leading a double life.  She uses the library to read old newspapers and her husband’s old school records on microfilm.

Forever Young (1992): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104291/ Mel Gibson plays a pilot who was frozen in an experiment in 1939 and wakes up in 1992.  He learns how to use a microfilm reader to get caught up on a half-century of world history.

The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1991): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0104389/ A friend of the unfortunate mother uses newspapers on microfilm in the public library to unearth the origins of the evil nanny.

The Manchurian Candidate (2004): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0368008/ An army officer researches a politically powerful and corrupt international corporation. Using the Internet, microfilm, and the copy machine at the New York Public Library, he compiles damning evidence against the company.

The Rock (1996): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0117500/ Sean Connery plays Federal prisoner John Mason, a former MI6 Agent and SAS Captain who was detained at Alcatraz for decades because he allegedly stole a microfilm of the United States’ most closely guarded secrets, including the Roswell UFO incident and the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The Seventh Coin (1993): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105361/ While looking for clues to solve some old murders, a rookie police officer uses newspapers on microfilm.

Silence of the Lambs (1991): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0102926/ Clarice uses microfilm to access old newspapers so she can learn more about Hannibal Lecter’s nefarious past.

Sliver (1993): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108162/ A woman conducts research in the library, using microfiche.

Special thanks to Martin Raish http://emp.byui.edu/RAISHM/films/introduction.html , whose annotated filmography, Librarians in the Movies, was a primary source for this article.

Since libraries began using microfilm in the mid-20th century as a preservation and space-saving strategy for deteriorating book and newspaper collections, it has played a supporting role and sometimes a leading role in many films.  Microfilm has been viewed, stolen, hidden, and chased.  As a research tool, microfilm has been invaluable in the quest to catch murders, stop terrorists and save entire governments.  It has revealed personal histories, created new identities and even added humor to cinematic plots.  Despite all the advances in digital technology, archival quality microfilm is still the preferred method for long-term preservation of copies of historic documents.  In fact, there are so many great examples of microfilm in the movies, we’ve had to create two groups of nominees!  Here is our first round of nominees for Best Performance of Microfilm in a Supporting Role from 1951-1989. (Stayed tuned for our upcoming list of microfiche nominees featured in films from1990-Present.)

The Amityville Horror (1979): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0078767/ A local resident conducts research in the town library, using microfilm.

The Changeling (1980): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0080516/ A librarian helps the lead characters use microfilm in their research about a haunted house. As could only happen in the movies, the young clerk is able to take the microfilm box out of the drawer, roll the microfilm out of its box, thread it through the microfilm reader in the next room, and spin it through to the requested article in just 4 seconds!

Crossroads (1986): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0090888/ A man conducts research on a blues musician in the Julliard library using a microfilm reader.

Field of Dreams (1989): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097351/ Kevin Costner uses a microfilm reader at the library while researching 1960s radical writer Terence Mann (played by James Earl Jones), who had once written about the golden days of baseball.

North by Northwest (1959): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053125/ In this Hitchcock thriller starring Cary Grant and James Mason, an innocent man is pursued across the United States in a case of mistaken identity.  Agents of a mysterious organization want to stop his supposed interference in their plans to smuggle microfilm containing government secrets out of the country.

Pickup on South Street (1953): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0046187/ A pickpocket snatches the ‘wrong’ purse on a crowded subway.  The young woman carrying the purse was unwittingly transporting a piece of top-secret microfilm planted by a Communist agent.

Positive I.D. (1986): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093763/ The lead character goes to the library to look through old newspapers. As she is leafing through some large bound volumes she remarks to the librarian that “I thought that this was going to be on microfilm.”

Running on Empty (1988): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0096018/ A one-time student radical has been on the run from the FBI for seventeen years. He uses the library newspapers on microfilm for obituary notices to find a new identity.

The Thief (1952): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0045230/ Ray Milland looks for microfilm hidden in a card catalog drawer in the Library of Congress.

The Spy Who Loved Me (1977): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0076752/ In this, the tenth film in the James Bond series, secret agent 007 (played by Roger Moore) is summoned to recover the plans for a highly advanced submarine tracking system that are on the market in Egypt.  Bond and his rival Major Anya Amasova (codename “Triple X”) of the KGB, travel across Egypt, tracking the microfilm plans.

When Worlds Collide (1951): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0044207/ Convinced that the earth will soon be destroyed, scientists build a rocket so some people can escape. A small library of books on microfilm is packed along with other essential items. Titles include the Bible, an encyclopedia, Anatomy of the Human Body, Practical Mathematics, The Story of Mankind, and Shakespeare.

Special thanks to Martin Raish http://emp.byui.edu/RAISHM/films/introduction.html , whose annotated filmography, Librarians in the Movies, was a primary source for this article.

Websites like ancestry.com can only get a genealogist so far before they need to dig through reels upon reels of microfilm. While microfilm has many benefits in terms of archiving massive amounts of images, the biggest drawback for genealogists is the inability to do a “google-style” search and the fact that you have to physically visit the library or mail in a search request and payment.

Here at Tarheel Imaging we offer a service called Source Document Microfilming (SDM) where we use digital machines to scan images from microfilm to create searchable electronic documents for use in internal or web-based databases.

Digital images that are keyword searchable is the future of family history research. That is why Genealogical Societies and libraries across the nation are raising money to digitize microfilm.

One such project was the North Carolina Newspaper Digitization project found at www.archives.ncdcr.gov/newspaper/index.html. The North Carolina State Archives digitized newspapers from its collections dating from 1752-1890s. An LSTA grant provided by the State Library of North Carolina funded the project. They scanned over 23,000 images from newspapers from Edenton, Fayetteville, Hillsboro, New Bern, Salisbury and Wilmington. That is just 6 cities.

There are unique library microfiche collections in almost every county in North Carolina. There is no doubt that we have barely scratched the surface in making valuable historical documents available to researchers throughout the world.

Contact Tarheel Imaging today and find out how we can help your local library or genealogical society digitize your treasured collections.

We were shocked to read a story about a community service program run by Dallas County in Texas that allowed convicted criminals to sort and shred confidential documents and personal information. The irresponsible practice was rightfully ended after a local TV news crew aired an eye opening story.

For over 10 years, parolees and probationers worked their community service hours by destroying sensitive documents like psychiatric exams of minors, social security cards, certificates of birth, court records, drug tests and medical records.

One document that aired in the story read: “CONFIDENTIAL AND PRIVILEGED: This report is provided for your use ONLY. It should not be revealed to any person whatsoever — not even to the person(s) to whom it relates without the authorization of the court.”

Obviously many of the county citizens were outraged to learn of the practice, as were many high-ranking county officials. The big question, who started the program and allowed criminals to have access to such sensitive information, is still unknown.

Several officials were worried that the county could be violating federal privacy laws under HIPAA by not destroying the documents through professional shredding services.

A concerned probationer actually broke the story by smuggling out a dozen documents and showing the information to the local news station. The station turned the documents over to the local DA and a judge ordered the practice to cease.

Shredding documents is serious business. Call Tarheel Imaging & Microfilming today for more information about our shredding services. We are a certified document destruction company servicing customers throughout the Southeast and the East Coast.

In this digital age, corporations and government agencies spend a lot of time locking down the security of their electronic documents, but the prospect of a paperless world isn’t quite a reality. Paper documents are still preferred by the legal system, so agencies and companies must safely store important documents.

Document storage isn’t just for mega-organizations. Small to medium sized businesses in sectors like banking, finance, and legal firms are often required to save original documents.

It is important that you not only secure your documents from theft, you should also consider keeping them safe from natural disasters. Especially when you live in disaster prone areas like the coastal Carolinas. Having your documents offsite in an appropriate facility will ensure their safety should Mother Nature show her might.

When you are shopping around for document storage services like what we provide here at Tarheel Imaging, it is important that you ask about document retrieval policies. After all, what good is storing your documents if you do not have quick and reliable access to them. Our policy is to pull boxes or single folders from inventory and schedule delivery to your office. We can also fax content if you need a quicker solution.

America’s transition to an information-based economy is changing the way organizations work. We may one day be in a truly paperless world, but until that day comes, secure and efficient management of information throughout its life cycle will be a critical endeavor for many business and agencies. Call Tarheel Imaging & Microfilming today to discuss your document storage needs.