The value gained from scanning and converting your paper documents into digital format cannot be understated. Whether for salient work reasons, sentimental personal reasons, or just updating to meet the requirements of the modern digital age, transferring your cumbersome hard copy paperwork into easy-to-access digital versions is a worthwhile and often necessary endeavor. It shouldn’t be surprising that 75% of organizations have identified digitalization as their top priority. However, translating from physical to digital can be extremely painstaking and time-consuming, especially if you wish to convert less conventional types of documents. This article will detail the importance of specialty scanning in a digital-centric world and discuss how you can get the job done right.
Why Is Specialty Scanning Essential in the Digital Age?
There is a vast array of practical reasons that specialty scanning is so critical in the digital age. Perhaps the most obvious ones are due to paperwork methodically being phased out in favor of superior digital-based systems. Here’s why.
Archiving and Retrieval
Specialty documents often come in unusual sizes and styles. Therefore, storing them in physical filing systems can be a nightmare. Additionally, having to hunt through piles of paperwork to find the specific document you want is laborious and takes time. Thus, scanning and transferring your specialty documents to digital format solves all of this. It allows you to simply store, organize, and locate any given document lightning fast.
Sustainability
There is also an environmental element to digitalizing your specialty documents. Document management practices have become one of the drivers for eco-friendliness. Digitizing documentation can dramatically reduce your carbon footprint by minimizing the need for paper and decreasing waste.
Cost Savings
Converting your specialty documents can save you money both in the present and future. Purchasing filing equipment, maintaining the records physically, and renting storage facilities can be pricey both initially and from an ongoing perspective. Savings on future purchases of paperwork, stationary, and other paperwork-related materials will also provide financial benefits for your business in the long term.
Sharing
When your documents are in physical form, there are severe limitations on your ability to share those documents with others. For instance, having to manually share documents with others is time-consuming and inefficient use of resources, especially if multiple people need the same copy simultaneously. However, electronic files can be seamlessly shared with anyone, anywhere in the world almost instantly, improving your ability to collaborate and share.
Space
Obviously, storing hard copies requires that they be put somewhere. Therefore, converting your specialty documents via scanning will completely eradicate the need for physical storage spaces. Thus, freeing up those spaces to be repurposed for more useful objectives. Your office space doesn’t have to feel like it’s being taken over by lockers and filing cabinets.
Loss and Damage
The risk of losing or damaging physical documents is real and happens constantly. However, when you digitalize those documents, you will never have to worry about misplacing them or having them destroyed in some unforeseen mishap. This provides peace of mind that your documents will remain safe and secure at all times.
Efficiency
The combination of all of the above factors has the accumulative effect of greatly improving efficiency. Having all of your valuable specialty documentation stored digitally streamlines workflow and makes it a straightforward and fast process to organize, find, share, or edit any given document. Therefore, it’s no wonder that almost 90% of organizations have adopted a digital-first strategy.
What Kind of Documents Can You Convert via Specialty Scanning?
Nowadays, almost everything is created and stored in the digital ecosystem. Until recently, it was the complete opposite. Therefore, there is a wide variety of specialty documentation in existence that is yet to be transferred into digital format.
Engineering and Architectural Blueprints
Architectural and engineering blueprints are usually very large documents that contain complex information. Also, because they’re often used on-site and in offices, they can often get damaged. Therefore, converting these important plans into digital versions is vital. Traditionally, scanning blueprints is an effective way to ensure you don’t lose access to these technical documents. However, you can even turn your physical blueprints into editable CAD files, allowing you to amend them with CAD software if the need arises.
Books
Books are the backbone of civilization as they facilitate the passing on of information to future generations. Therefore, as the world shifts toward digital, it has never been more essential to scan and convert your library of literature into digital versions. This is especially true for books that are valuable or fragile. Doing so will ensure that all of your precious books are safely archived and accessible forever.
Newspapers and Magazines
Technological advancements make your life easier and more convenient. However, it also means that some older mediums have become obsolete, and this is true for both magazines and newspapers. Fortunately, scanning and digitalizing your newspapers and magazines helps preserve and protect the valuable records of the past that they contain.
Maps
When you think of maps, your mind might be instantly drawn to Google Maps. However, there are countless priceless historical maps out there that only exist in hard copy format. The only way to stop them from fading away forever is to digitalize them.
Standard Paperwork
The most common kind of physical-to-digital conversation is standard documentation. However, because it’s so common, this usually means that there is a lot of it. Therefore, it’s an extremely labor-intensive task to transfer your paper files to digital ones. Luckily, a professional specialty scanning service is perfectly equipped to handle this larger workload.
If It’s Special, Then Scan It!
Specialty scanning may seem esoteric, but the trend toward further digitalization is set to continue and expand long into the future. Therefore, the only real way to safeguard your standard and not-so-standard documents is to have them scanned and converted into digital formats.
Fortunately, if you live in Philadelphia, New Jersey, Delaware, or Eastern Pennsylvania, our skilled team at IMR Digital, a KDI company, can assist you with all your specialty scanning needs. We have over 30 years of expert experience mastering the art of digital conversion. Contact us today to get started.