Doc Doc : The Document Doctor

Large volume scanning environments often have the need to imprint, herein “Stamp”, usually date of scan on each and every page that is processed. This requirement is created for tracking purposes and sometimes compliance. Many service bureaus require more than just a date, they require batch IDs and other important tracking information. The question becomes how to do this in the best way. There are several options.

Pre-Scan Imprint

Pre-Scan imprint being the most common option allows an organization to have the stamp on both the physical paper copy and the scan. Scanners capable of pre-scan imprint will print in the proper location for the data prior to the image reaching the scanners lamps. By doing so, the stamp will also be part of the scan. The reason this is the most common is because there are times when a scanned image needs to be compared with a physical document and this is what would be required to do so. Scanners with the imprint feature come at a premium and requires more maintenance.

Post-Scan Imprint

If the organization only needs the data or tracking mechanism on the physical paper then they can imprint after scan. Some scanners support post-scan imprinting or organizations feed the paper through an additional printing process. Usually the purpose of this operation is to imprint pages indicating simply if a page has been processed or not. Scanners with the post-scan imprinting feature run nearly the same price as the pre-scan imprint and gradually being faded out in favor of it.

Software Annotation

If the organization only needs the data or tacking mechanism on the scanned image they may elect to do software annotation. Software annotation gives the greatest amount of flexibility of all three options as any combination or sequence of data can be printed on the image anywhere. Software annotation would require an additional piece of software. Very often organizations will choose software annotation instead of the premium for imprinting scanners but sacrifice the physical imprint. The application that provides the annotation needs to be automated and batch driven.

The alternative to the above three methods is manual stamping. Manual stamping is tedious, time consuming and often inaccurate. It’s up to the organization to review the three options and pick the best fit for their production and budgets.

Chris Riley – About

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