Like most agencies, we made a lot of mistakes when we first began scanning documents six years ago. Perhaps you might find our experience instructive.

After several false starts, we decided to analyze our agency's optimum workflow. We explored the possibilities of scanning in advance of distribution, during work processing and after the fact. We decided back then that the best solution for us was for service representatives to chose which documents to scan and do the scanning at their individual workstations. The scanned documents would then be stored on a central server.

We started with Visioneer Strobe Pro scanners and thought everything worked fairly well. However, we discovered several frustrating problems with the scanners. One was that they tended to pick up ink on the scanner surface, creating a black line across the scanned document that could not be corrected by calibration. The only option was to disassemble the scanner, clean the glass surface and then reassemble the device. Each workstation scanner had to be cleaned about five times a year. Another problem was that we began to experience fatal scanner failures at roughly 18-month intervals. It cost about $300 to replace a scanner–not intolerable but an expense nonetheless. Finally, our single-page scanners scanned only about four pages per minute, which is pretty slow by 2006 standards, and they were incapable of duplex scanning (scanning both sides of a document at once).