Get To Know Them: Networked Scanners

Networked Scanners are becoming more and more popular within organizations that have been putting a heavy emphasis on collaboration and office virtualization. Especially when considering those with workflow solutions, networked scanners allow organizations to get their documents into their systems faster and more efficiently. Email, fax, printer, cloud -- all of these functions are tied into networked scanning allowing you to scan to any destination within your virtual office environment. Partnering with Kodak, Fujitsu, and Canon allows us to provide our customers with the most reliable and cost-effective solutions when it comes to these types of scanners and below are some of the specifications on what we consider to be the best in the industry.



KODAK SCAN STATION 500



Scanning Speed: Black & White - 45 ppm/90 ipm; Color - 30 ppm/60 ipm

Document Feeder: Holds up to 75 sheets

Output Resolution: 75, 100, 150, 200, 240, 300, 400, 600 dpi

Imaging Features: Ultrasonic multi-feed detection, Perfect Page Scanning, deskew, autocrop, content-based blank page removal, automatic orientation

Dimensions: 13.8 in. x 15 in. x 8.2 in.

Weight: 23 pounds




FUJITSU SCANSNAP fi-6010N



Scanning Speed: 25 ppm/50 ipm - Color and Black & White

Document Feeder: Holds up to 50 Sheets

Output Resolution: 150, 200, 300, 600 dpi

Imaging Features: Auto deskew, auto orientation, automatic page size detection, ultrasonic multi-feed detection, blank page deletion, color detection, hard and embossed card scanning capabilities, long document scanning, searchable and password protected PDF

Dimensions: 12.4 in. x 16.3 in. x 11.1 in.

Weight: 28.7 pounds




CANON imageFORMULA SCANFRONT 300


Scanning Speed: Black & White - 30 ppm/60 ipm; Color - 25ppm/50 ipm

Document Feeder: Holds up to 50 sheets

Output Resolution: 100, 150, 200, 300, 400, 600 dpi

Imaging Features: Auto color detection, automatic page size detection, bleed-through reduction, color dropout/enhance color, deskew, folio mode, long document mode, blank page removal, text orientation recognition

Dimensions: 6.2 in. x 12.2 in. x 8.7 in.

Weight: 7.9 pounds




Just imagine walking up to the office scanner and sending your documents and critical business information right to where they need to go, all with the simple click of a button -- sounds great right? Well, that's because it is. Interested in a demo unit to see how these machines can interact in your environment? Give us a call and we'd be happy to provide you with what we consider to be an office-game changer. Take collaboration to the next level today!

952-906-3022

www.imageexpressinc.com

Technology Upgrade: i700 Series Scanners vs. the new i5000 Series

Nowadays it can be tough to keep up with the newest technology – and even more difficult when it comes to deciding when your current equipment has become too old or when the new equipment is a must-have. Here at Image Express we strive to keep our customers well-informed when it comes to  SCANNER HARDWARE, which is why we like to provide product comparisons between past scanners and the latest and greatest. Furthermore, once we see a product in action for a while and recognize that it far exceeds its predecessor, we make sure our customers know that it is well worth upgrading given the new advantages brought about through the newer technology.

When Kodak’s i700 series was released, they were fantastic products that took document imaging to another level. However, as with all technology, they have been surpassed by machines that make you even wonder why they were so highly valued at the time. The i5000 series from Kodak was first released last year and after working extensively with these machines, we are confident that they will meet every one of your needs and then some. If your office is still running a i700 series, we strongly recommend making the jump to the i5000 series, and here’s why:

Speed

From 90/115/130 ppm with the Kodak i700 Series Scanners to 140/170/210 ppm with Kodak i5000 Series Scanners – a 24-35% productivity improvement.

Feeder Capacity

The i5000 series has a 750-sheet stackers, compared to a 500-sheet stackers with the i700 series, providing greater operator efficiency.

Optical Resolution

True 600 dpi optical resolution with i5000 Scanners, compared to 300 dpi with i700 Series Scanners means great image accuracy and quality, using the full capability of a 600 dpi camera. Excellent OCR read rates.

Multifeed Detection Zones

i700 Series Scanners have three sensors, i5000 Series feature five. This provides broader sensor coverage with greater functionality to pause & stop/go options at scanner instead of the host.

Illumination

LEDs are used with i5000 Scanners, not Xenon lamps means Green compliance advantages plus less power use.

Long Document Support

The i700 Series Scanners support longer document sizes of 12 x 49 inches while the i5000 Series Scanners support document sizes of 12 x 180 inches.

New functionality available with i5000 Series Scanners (NOT available on i700 Series Scanners)

-       Dynamic Flow technology—delivers optimized memory allocation, processing paths and customization capabilities which lead to speed and image accuracy benefits for the customer

-       Full Color OCP touch screen—simplifies repeated or complex functions with programmable function keys

o   Improves accuracy and processing speeds by minimizing human intervention and interaction with the host.

o   Wide-angle viewing with two ergonomically correct positions.

-       Controlled stacking—greatly reduces document handling at the end of a batch and allows checks to be mixed in with multi-sized documents

-       Multi-feed advantages—enable two additional outer sensors for smooth processing of envelopes while catching any landscape/ A4-size document multi-feeds

o   Broader coverage with ignore zones, beyond individual sensor control.

o   Pause/correct/go at the scanner to eliminate interaction with host.

-       Technology improvements in LEDs and sensors—for greater color stability and image input to enable better OCR/data extraction and use

-       Streak filtering—for cleaner images and enhanced data recognition; removes artifacts and provides clean forms for enhanced recognition accuracy

-       USB 2.0 – high-speed certified interface. Stacker jog capability – for straight and offset stacking

-       Advanced color dropout—to capture only the information you need and reduce file sizes

-       Background color smoothing—for greater color consistency and smaller files

And believe it or not, we haven’t even told you the best part about upgrading! We understand the frustration of maintaining new technology when it comes to costs, which is why we have a TRADE-IN PROGRAM that allows you to get some value out of that old scanner. OK, so there you go – no more reasons for waiting! Give us a call or EMAIL and upgrade to a scanner that is fit to handle anything and everything your business requires.

952-906-3022

5 Reasons for Kodak Capture Pro Software

It's no secret that we here at Image Express have a strong relationship and loyal partnership with Kodak Document Imaging Products. When it comes to consistency and quality of Kodak products, our customers are always happy with the solutions we provide - which in turn makes us happy as well. Kodak Capture Pro Software is one of these solutions - it continues to impress with our customers, as well as within our own service bureau. If you are unsure as to whether or not this product can help your organization, here are 5 compelling reasons Kodak has come up with: 

1. Productivity
• Intelligent Quality Control (QC) optimizes images from any source, even when original documents are unavailable, reduces cost of error correction, and cuts image review time
• Auto Import Edition offers complete control over how and when you capture and process documents

– Use existing files from MFPs, databases and more and gain the same imaging, indexing and output capabilities as from scanned images

– Automatically and continuously import and process files from designated folders to cut manual entry and file search time

• Capture Pro Software indexing workstation lets you improve productivity and gain faster access and retrieval
• Find and View application for easy image retrieval
• Automatically index using 1-D and 2-D barcodes, zonal OCR and MICR
• Automated document and batch separation
• Auto populate index fields with data from ODBC sources to cut manual data entry time and costs
• Output to file, system, e-mail and print simultaneously
• View and change multiple index fields
• Dual-stream scanning gives you bitonal and color, or bitonal and grayscale images from one scan

– PDF, PDF/A, searchable PDF, TIFF, RTF and TXT for B&W

– JPEG, JPEG 2000, PDF, PDF/A, searchable PDF, TIFF and more for color/grayscale

• Background output processing for continuous productivity
• Network Edition to centrally deploy licenses and manage workstations to resolve bottlenecks quickly, and achieve greater process consistency, speed and data integrity


2. Value
• Reduce costs with no per click or additional volume based charges
• Easily scaleable from desktop to production scanners
• One interface for all scanners from Kodak and other manufacturers
• Output unlimited searchable PDFs at no added cost
• Maximize all the features of your Kodak Scanners
• Enhanced productivity delivers faster ROI


3. Ease of Use
• Scan out of the box with ready-to-scan setups
• Single-touch customization for automating complex tasks
• Instantly familiar, intuitive interface
• Immediate visual feedback with multi-image viewer
• Share job settings via your secure network


4. Broad market application/coverage
• Full-featured, completely scaleable application supports Kodak Scanners and many other popular models
• Comprehensive integration with Microsoft SharePoint 2007 and 2010 to import index configurations and a wide array of column types; and gain faster information access

– Leverage current investments through easy integration/configuration with existing applications and databases, including EMC Documentum and others

• Define as many jobs as you need, each with customizable capture, index and output options
• Support for Microsoft Windows 7, XP and Vista Operating Systems


5. Support
• Interactive operator tutorials in multiple languages
• Real-time online help plus printable User’s and Getting Started Guides

If you are still unsure if Kodak Capture Pro is right for you, Contact Us for a free consultation and product demonstration. We are confident that Capture Pro is an essential tool in taking your business to the next level.

FileBound Case Study: Griffiths Corporation

This is a helpful Case Study provided by our friends at FileBound on how an effective Document Management Solution can provide organizations with a major boost in efficiency when it comes to issues concerning customer and vendor invoicing.

Griffiths Corporation

An industry leader in metal fabrication for 40 years, Griffiths Corporation is a privately held company headquartered in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The corporation’s 1,500 employees operate eight metal stamping and fabrication plants in six states. Customers are located around the world, but are heavily concentrated in the United States, Canada and Mexico.

 

The Problem

Despite its size and multiple locations, Griffiths Corporation operated on a paper-based invoicing system with no electronic backup. The system was extremely slow and cumbersome to use, especially since employees in eight different locations would regularly need to access invoices and the only way to find them was to search through reams of paper by referencing check numbers. Customers and vendors couldn’t get quick answers to their invoicing questions and that was frustrating to employees, vendors and customers alike.

The Solution

FileBound® ExpressTM combined with Importer Lite to update indices once invoices were paid proved to be the perfect method for bringing Griffiths Corporation into the computer age. All invoices are now scanned into the system, which has become a complete repository for all customer financial activity across the entire corporation. FileBound® ExpressTM allows everything to be stored electronically and backed up, so even if the paper records are destroyed, the invoicing is secure within the FileBound® ExpressTM Document Management Solution.

FileBound Results

Griffiths Corporation enjoys the convenience of being able to call up a customer’s or vendor’s invoicing on FileBound® ExpressTM while the caller is on the phone. What once required a time-consuming search through paper records can now be accomplished in a matter of seconds through FileBound® ExpressTM.


Image Express is a top partner and reseller for FileBound Document Management Solutions and we look forward to providing your organization with the necessary tools to take your business processes TO THE NEXT LEVEL. Give us a call today - we are happy to provide free product demos so you can see how these solutions fit in specifically with your unique office environment. There are no obligations from your end as we are positive that you will see an immediate boost in office efficiency and data protection.

No matter where you are on The Road to Paper Freedom, Image Express is here to help

952-906-3022

Info@ImageExpressInc.com

Webinar Review -- The Paper Free Office: Dream or Reality?

The people over at AIIM (Association for Information and Image Management) do some really great work in developing case studies, reviewing solutions and products, collecting data, and just about anything else that ultimately leads to educating individuals on our industry. Their webinars are a great way to keep up with current trends and issues surrounding document imaging, so we thought we'd highlight some findings from their latest webinar which you can find on their website http://www.aiim.org/.

One thing they found that shouldn't be too surprising is that the largest organizations are the one's experiencing the most dramatic reduction in paper use. The cost of paper based processes is always higher, though the figures tend to be more dramatic when facing thousands of employees as opposed only a few. However, this should not deter small and medium sized businesses from developing an imaging solution as they are very scalable, and the ROI will be there regardless of the size of your business.

Office space is not cheap at all. AIIM found that on average, paper storage takes up 15% of office spaces. You mean to tell us that this is money well spent? Let us help you GET RID OF THOSE FILES and put that office space to better use.

When it comes to incoming mail, AIIM found that it costs an average of $3.63 to collect, distribute, and process each document when in a paper-based environment. Furthermore 29% of organizations scan at least half of these files POST-PROCESS! If anyone can explain how that makes sense we'd love to hear it. With OUR SOLUTIONS we can capture that incoming mail, distribute it immediately to the proper individuals, and archive the document all in one step. We effectively eliminate that $3.63 and archive those documents much more effectively. Time and money people... Time and money.

Perhaps the most troubling statistic AIIM provided was regarding invoices and purchase orders. They found that 77% of organizations print invoices that are received ALREADY IN ELECTRONIC FORMAT! Even ignoring those that make multiple copies, this is still a completely wasteful process. Now that WE'VE MERGED WITH RELION our technical capabilities have tremendously improved. We can COMPLETELY AUTOMATE YOUR AP PROCESS which means regardless if they come in via electronic or paper format - your data gets to where it needs to go as fast, easy, and cost-effectively as possible.


Give us a call today and let us help your business cut out the wasteful spending and enter into the next level of efficiency. MAKE THE PAPERLESS OFFICE A REALITY! 952-906-3022

Image Express Merges with Relion

Eden Prairie, MN, February 23, 2012—Rochester-based Relion Corporation, an experienced integrator of advanced document capture, workflow and business process outsourcing solutions, has merged with Image Express, a leading provider of scanning solutions and document conversion services.

Both Relion and Image Express provide enterprise content management (ECM) solutions and outsourcing services to help their clients go paperless, cut costs and increase efficiency. Relion's expertise in these areas stems from their ability to integrate advanced document capture and accounts payable workflow solutions with ERP systems like SAP, Oracle and JD Edwards. Relion also provides business process outsourcing solutions, including virtual mailroom. These capabilities compliment the experience of Image Express, which includes implementing document scanner and Kodak Capture Pro solutions, in addition to a wide range of document conversion services.

Get the full press release here ---- http://www.imageexpressinc.com/pages/relion-merger-press-release.html

GET TO THE CLOUD!

An article published yesterday by InformationWeek stresses the importance of cloud computing in business not just as an additional tool to "tweak existing operations", but as a central asset that is fundamental in achieving maximum efficiency. The article addresses a survey that will be released later this week which finds that only 13% of businesses have "substantially implemented" cloud computing throughout their organization. This is an interesting statistic that likely stems from a lack of trust and misconception of security when moving to the cloud.

When it comes to running a business - especially one that has a consistent record of success - it can be a difficult decision to implement any significant changes towards processes. When it comes to the technology being used, it seems this issue only becomes more sensitive. What we are observing when it comes to cloud computing is the old dip your toe in the pool to test the water temperature - businesses are adding elements of cloud computing to their exisiting business process (i.e. dipping the toe), though failing to embrace the technology and alter their processes accordingly (jumping in). If you are looking into cloud computing, remember that it can only produce the desired ROI if it is being properly utilized.

Cloud-based technology is a major game changer. The trial period is over and it's official, this technology is going to become an absolutely necessary tool for any business looking to remain competitive in their industry. The time for testing the waters in your business is over as well, it's time to jump in and swim! As always you can check us out online to learn more about how we can help, or do the really smart thing -- give us a call and GET TO THE CLOUD!

952-906-3022