2. • When searching for Departmental Scanners in
Ontario, it’s important to know what features
you need and those you can do without.
Rather than focus on features you’re familiar
with, like speed and resolution, instead think
about your work processes and how scanning
can make your job more efficient.
3. • Too often, buyers compare the familiar
features of standard printers and multi-
function printers to scanners. But the most
important capabilities of Departmental
Scanners in Ontario may not be the fastest
speeds and the highest resolutions. When you
focus only on these features, you can miss the
other benefits a scanner can provide.
4. • Evaluate Your Workflows
• If you need to get a document to a worker in a
remote location, how do you handle that task?
Do you search for documents in physical filing
cabinets, make a photocopy, then fax it to the
recipient? If so, you’re a prime candidate for
Departmental Scanners.
5. • When you scan a document, you can integrate it into
your electronic systems. When stored digitally,
workers can easily retrieve needed documents when
the need them and regardless of location. Document
sharing increases efficiencies and lowers the costs
associated with paper processes.
• Carefully analyzing how you perform document-related
processes can help pinpoint appropriate scanning uses.
Then you can match the key features for Departmental
Scanners to your requirements.
6. • Don’t Get Hung Up on the Specs
• Although it’s important to compare your
options as objectively as possible, don’t get
lost in the numbers. Pages per minute (ppm)
and dots per inch (dpi) are good things to
know, but they shouldn’t be the sole criteria
for selecting one scanner over another.
7. • When considering Departmental Scanners, make sure
you look at the qualitative features too. For example,
high speeds and resolutions won’t get you very far if
the scanner is difficult to use. What you save in higher
scanning speeds can get lost in complex operation.
• In other words, opt for a scanner that’s simple to
operate and has a user-friendly interface. The last thing
you want to have to do is schedule multiple training
sessions. And you certainly don’t want to involve your
IT department with regular scanner support.
8. • Other productivity features worth considering
are multi-feed and missed-feed detection.
Multi-feed detection capability eliminates
paper jams by making sure a single page is fed
through the scanner at a time. Missed-feed
detection makes sure no page gets past the
scan element without being digitized. When
mechanical errors are avoided, workers don’t
waste time trying to fix scanner issues and can
instead focus on their jobs.
9. • Also, you need to evaluate Departmental
Scanners that can handle all your anticipated
document types and workloads. Even if you
don’t have an immediate need for a certain
capability, think longer-term and anticipate
capabilities you may need down the road.
10. • In addition to simple and reliable operation,
buyers should consider the capabilities of
document scanners in Ontario most closely
related to their work processes. Things like
how much paper can be stacked in the feeder,
can it do dual-side scanning, does it
accommodate different paper sizes, can it scan
stapled documents or is it able to scan high
volumes are typical evaluation criteria in a
department setting.
11. • Fortunately, advanced production features
have made their way into Departmental
Scanners in Ontario. You can expect high
levels of performance with regards to image
quality, ease of use, dependability and
versatility. And the cost of acquiring
sophisticated scanning technology has
become increasingly affordable.
12. • Kevin D'Arcy is VP of Sales and Marketing for
MES Hybrid Document Systems, Ontario's
leading document scanning and document
management supplier. For more information
about Departmental Scanners in Ontario, visit:
http://www.mesltd.ca/product.html?id=171.
